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Founder Reality with George Pu. Real talk from a technical founder building AI-powered businesses in the trenches. No highlight reel, no startup theater – just honest insights from someone who codes, ships, and scales.
Every week, George breaks down the messy, unfiltered decisions behind building a bootstrap software company. From saying yes to projects you don't know how to build, to navigating AI hype vs. reality, to the mental models that actually matter for technical founders.
Whether you're a developer thinking about starting a company, a founder scaling your first product, or a technical leader building AI features, this show gives you the frameworks and hard-won lessons you won't find in the startup content circus.
George Pu is a software engineer turned founder building multiple AI-powered businesses. He's bootstrapped companies, shipped products that matter, and learned the hard way what works and what's just noise.
Follow along as he builds in public and shares what's really happening behind the scenes.
New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
George Pu (00:00.214)
I'm very passionate about today's topic and that topic is what mode do you still have in the AI first world? And I'm going to answer my own question, which is I believe personally that AI has basically killed every mode for a software founder except one. And that one thing that you need to have is distribution. If anybody can build your app, your competitive advantage is not about your code, it's not your product, it's not your features, it's your crowd.
Looking back at how venture capital or even like the tech world used to do things. It's very different than where we are today. Today is 2025. We're looking at a complete different playbook as compared to the same people who are doing tech in 2010s. So there was a 2000s, which is the Peter Tio, Elon Musk days, PayPal mafia, and there's 2010s, which we saw the rise of like Uber, Airbnb, for a base startups, right? Companies were raising hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars, DoorDash and many, many other different type of.
products and tools. So there were obviously tool kits and ways to do business that were different rule books than the 2010s 2010s is different from 2000s. And I have argued that after 2022, November 30 is which the day that chat, JVT was introduced. We have been in a new era where people are not realizing that well enough. I don't think enough people are talking about it. And that's basically AI is coming for all of us, all of our companies, all of our jobs, et cetera. And
In order to beat the AI First Crowd competition, I really believe you have to have distribution. You have to own your content. And if your founder's day was not creating any content, that should probably be your number one priority.
George Pu (01:50.448)
I clearly remember the 2010s playbook because I I started my college around that time. studied about startups around that time and it was all about raising big on blitzscaling. You know, if you have heard that term, it's blitzscaling. It's like grow at all costs. Uber grow at costs. AirBB grow at all costs. They threw money at the competition to beat them. Well, I'm here to tell you that the playbook has completely changed. We all know what's happening with AI, so I'm not going to like overcomplicate.
ourselves with that. I personally have been a software founder since 2020 or even like late 2019 and I have built basically various different software applications. Many of them are production grade applications that are currently online and I have slowly started to realize that there is basically no moat as well for my products and we can probably see the same thing about all the other
products on the market today. It's hard to really argue what mode there is. I like to use the example of customer support application, but you can also bring the same examples to tools that we all know. For example, hate to use the example, but like even buffer for social media scheduling. It is essentially just pulling out different APIs of different social media platforms and building a really intuitive application. Elon Musk last week has announced he is starting a new company with an XAI that's called Macro Hard.
which is basically a mockery of Microsoft and that they announced they're going to build AI agents inside their macro hard division to basically go after Microsoft. That will be interesting to see how it goes because Microsoft has also the basic CEO Santana Mandela has also been saying on the podcast that he doesn't personally envision people be using Excel in the near future. And he basically self declared death of Excel in the next few years because people would not be needing a user interface anymore. So everything is obviously changing.
But we haven't, but we have all heard of those like high level discussions about like Claude CEO, Thropec CEO talking about 50 % of junior jobs are dead and all things like that. But very few people are talking about like, how does it matter to you, the software founders who are building a product? And personally, I believe nowadays anybody can build a ship and MVP weeks and not months. I remember building my first MVP and it took me a couple of weeks for a very simple MVP.
George Pu (04:08.259)
That was just basically taking the user's inputs, building a very simple HTML slash react website about what services that we provide and how we're better than the others and the signup box, And building the backend and all that. So that actually took a few weeks. And today, obviously I can, I can prompt the same thing probably in less than an hour and put it online on Netlify or service, you know, or different other cloud channels, digital oceans, what I was trying to say. You can host it there very quickly and then you can validate and test.
So for production grid product, started, believe in April, 2019, and we didn't actually build our production grid product until I think January, 2020. So it's almost eight months to build a very simple MVP out to give it to our customers. And today, obviously that will be weeks at the most, if not less. And it really depends on your principles about how you want to build. And I'm not talking about the vibe coding. I'm talking about like AI enabled coding. So for a really good software application, like a software team,
They should be able to build a very good MVP in a week, so not months. And also we are seeing that the era of infinite builders era as well. if you heard the last couple of episodes, obviously I personally have reservations about Vibe coding, but obviously not everyone thinks that right. And obviously anybody can pick up cursor or clock code or, you know, whatever, other different tools and code quickly about application and then trying to beat you or anyone else in the market. And we basically have eliminated this barrier of code.
which I think personally is a good thing for humanity as a whole, but obviously bad for in a short term for software builders like myself, like you guys. So we have infinite number of builders and there's also a term I have been researching recently is called feature parity and feature parity happens instantly. And what I mean is like, if a competitor comes to your platform and your competitor takes screenshots of your platforms all of a sudden, and then understands your workflows, they can essentially copy your core product overnight.
They have access to your products and they know how to use it. So this is putting software builders in a very difficult spot. And I personally have founders who are DMing me who are asking me that they're really concerned about their products being irrelevant, their products being like stolen or copied in the IFRS world. And I personally have also shared a similar sentiment as well with you guys, although I'm not intending it to be fear mongering. think of more of what I'm trying to do is to let you know about the concern that I have.
George Pu (06:33.103)
So you can prepare early on and then we can all mitigate this upcoming disruption, right? By being prepared. So I think I'm not being fear-marketing. I'm more about being realistic about what is going to happen in the software industry. However, I've said, I've said quite a lot about the problem, which I'm sure you guys are perfectly already aware. So let's talk about the antidote. Let's talk about what AI hasn't democratized. And then first of all, I think, you know, having an audience is getting super important in a founder.
first game. we see what is going on, you know, throughout human history, influence, it's always a thing that has existed throughout the years, right? In old days, a few couple decades ago, was digital, it was media, right? It was the old media, was the CNNs, the NBCs, and you know, like, CNBCs and all these different media companies, and newspapers, they held enormous power, and they're able to influence people's thought process, and they're able to build a quick followings on TV stars, TV personalities.
in the nineties and eighties were able to build a huge following because of simply they're appearing on TV and TV is their way of distribution. Obviously we're seeing the post social media age where everything like Instagram, Facebook, if you used to use it, and a TikTok and we're seeing Twitter, different, different, different platforms that have their own algorithms. And nowadays what I'm seeing is that even politicians are leveraging social media to reach their audiences. Right? So even
politicians are basically clipping their best moments and putting that on social media. And I think that's just such a systemic change about like what's happening in the distribution world these days. And as a founder, think we all know, I'm sure everyone was listening is aware, perfectly aware about the importance of social media and the importance of marketing. However, a lot of us aren't putting
aren't taking it that seriously. Even just for myself, I will say a few months ago, my thought about social media was just basically using ad generates and posts, you know, about something relevant for my audiences, I will copy and paste it, I will copy and paste on my, you know, simple direct agency accounts, and I'll post it using the company's accounts. And then I will be like, okay, why are those accounts not performing that well? Like, why are people aren't liking it? And that was like my honest reaction to just a few months ago.
George Pu (08:50.223)
And also we are posting a lot on SEO. We've invested a lot on SEO as well. And obviously we've been posting as brand voice, right? Like my brand is like simple, it has hundreds, more than 300 articles published to date. And we do drive some traffic from surprisingly not from Google, but from like Yahoo, Bing and the other search engines, which is like interesting. right. However, that was my understanding about how some marketing works. I got the inspiration from different people that I've seen.
media personalities, but I've really built a successful content empire online as a founder is important to create content. Next step, a natural step forward is to think about like, what is your product and who's a primary target customers for your product. And obviously if it's a B2B content, if you're selling to, know, office workers, founders, startup founders, know, office workers, CFOs, CEOs, CEOs in the fortune 500, et cetera, et cetera. It is becoming more and more important to create content and that's the best target audience for creating content.
because these are type of people who are spending their time online. You know, they read LinkedIn, they read Facebook, perhaps, you know, they read blog posts. They're actively looking to better be better at their jobs and being promoted. That's the most people's thinking anyways, in large corporate environment in a first for a small startup companies always try new things. So I'll give an example of ourselves. So for simple direct, which is by software company, we have recently pivoted into AI tools a little bit.
briefly and then we also just starting to realize that okay, this is actually like so difficult everyone is basically doing the same things here and we have like hundreds or thousands of companies, know in in around the world from Europe to North America to like Asia the companies are pumping on your products about it However, I want you to step back for a second and think about the sphere of influence a little bit So in a final word today, we have novel we have Elon Musk and we have all the other folks as well horse super super influential
But you know, on a micro level, we're not seeing that as well much played out yet. We're not seeing founders embracing basically tweeting on Twitter or whatever, beyond just getting some initial customers and, building a small brand. And I think 99 % of founders that I know, they don't post, just, they do on sales calls. They work really hard. Obviously I'm a founder. I know how hard we all work, but I think really, really small segment of founders that I've personally know or who are out there are actually leveraging content. And that is why for SimpleDirect, have
George Pu (11:13.205)
pivoted out of AI tools. Again, after realizing how competitive the space is, and we have built this new tool called Stem Product Chat, and then we have basically just abandoned it and only use it internally because we see how competitive the landscape is. However, as you are listening, you probably have also realized that I'm also spending more and more time creating content. And that is because all of us, every single one of us is unique in our own ways, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses. And sometimes I think the most
You know, like if you feel like the content that you're posting out. I started 2021 with my layman to raw foreign homes, read, you know, recommendations to start building a founder brand. And back then he told me, George, you need to build a founder brand. And that is the most competitive space thing you can do right now. And that's before Chachapiti came out. And he gave me this book called founder brand. And I have just read recently, I have to admit, I have not read this book for like four years. I bought this book, but I have not read it until a month ago. So basically he told me to start tweeting about it. And I started tweeting.
And yeah, when I started tweeting, there was no followers. I started with zero follower and I slowly built it up. And slowly, think, I think I've kept doing it for the past four years, which is a bit crazy. And initially I started doing one post per day and just to see how people react to it. And slowly and slowly I'm realizing, okay, people are getting engaged in the content that I'm posting, which is for my, for myself, more about founders and more about some contrarian thoughts that I have. I always share with my friends.
But I've never thought about like a sharing on the internet. So that was like a niche that I have. You can also find your niche, right? There are every single one of us is unique in our own ways. And for me, talking about founder is great. For me, about the front journey is great because I have first hand experience and I also have I'm also like my personality type is that I'm a type of who thinks outside of the box a lot. I don't want to be told about what to do. So that's my personality, which created this podcast that you're listening right now. And also Twitter. But for you, obviously you have your own target audience as well. I think my best analogy
is to not just to create a podcast or create like a Twitter and then finding your audience. If you're a founder, you probably already know your audience. So know really well who your audiences are and then creating the type of content that is tailored for them that they really like. me, and also like going back previously to something I said before, you really need to do the things that doesn't feel like work. So creating content shouldn't feel like work. And for me, at least what have worked is I really emphasize on the authenticity part.
George Pu (13:40.315)
and just breathe being myself when I'm recording a podcast or putting it on Twitter. If it's something I don't believe in, I'm not going to post it. I'm not going to say it. I only say things I truly, truly, truly believe in and I truly think that can help people out there. So that's my niche. So find your niche, find your audience and really hammer down who your audience is. If you have a product already, then you know what the audiences are, right? You know how distribution angles to get there. And even for the niches on target customers. So for me, for SimpleDirect initially, we were targeting
home improvement contractors, which is like the hardest, hardest type of segment of customers that you can ever target. Right. And I think there were a few of them. think medical is one of them. I think construction is one of them. There's two more. That's like super, super hard to get, to get them to like say, yes, it's, it's close impossible. But also for a conscious, what we try to work is that we just basically created, we just created Facebook book groups and we post the memes about construction and you're like, George, how do you know about means of construction? Well,
I have some external help. So I posted all means about construction. We post every day. And then we were able to build a Facebook group that has more than 20,000 home improvement contractors who are using it, know, who are using the chit chat and, and, and really love the means that we're posting. So that is a differentiator. So even for the most marginalized type of customers that you can think of, they're still online. They're just somewhere, right? There's obviously a way for you to find them. No matter how niche your audience is, you're always able to find them. And then I think the most important thing after discovery includes your audience is just to get
keep going and understand and do something that's really consistent, right? Going back about like what I'm creating this podcast instead of like creating it with a few other my friends, which I've tried and also interviewing guests. I've tried as well, and it could totally do that. It just like for me, I think managing people in terms of the podcast space is getting too difficult. And I also think I have a lot to share as well. So that's why I'm doing this solo podcast for the time being. If you're sure we might invite other people to come on home on the pod.
Come into community and talk about it in the meantime. However, do what's work for you, right? If solo podcast is something that you can do at least once a week or once a month, then do that. Consistency is the thing that's like really underappreciated and I've seen so many people that just do a few episodes and gave up and so no one, nobody's listening to my podcast or nobody's, nobody's interacting with my posts. I've done all of that before. And at the beginning, you just need to adjust your expectations to think about this is something that compounds.
George Pu (15:57.961)
This is not something that, you know, that's like instant hit. have 1 million views and you're just going to be all good. That's not the reality about what's happening here. You know, so creating really good content just takes patience, just takes execution and research and most importantly, consistency. And what I was talking about, why it's being the mode is that because that is what makes you uniquely you. If you're listening to the podcast, maybe you know a little bit more about me that you don't know before. Think about people who, who code email you, who code DM you on Twitter.
who cold email you or cold message you, you're not prone to respond back to that person because you don't know about them. However, going back to my early example, why are people so attracted to like Kim Kardashian and the other people is because of their stories is because, you know, maybe the controversy is whatever, but going back is their story. It's about the story that they tell about themselves that makes them truly special. And I think as a founder, your story is truly special. You know why? Less than 1 % of all people decide to be an entrepreneur.
And then the 99 % you know, naturally just they're not entrepreneurs. So if you're an entrepreneur, I actually decided to do it. Right. And you don't have to be tech, it be anything. That is the unique story to tell. Like that's the unique story in and of itself. Like why did you choose entrepreneurship? Why do you choose to start a company when there are so many different other easier ways that you can, you know, generate revenue, make money or whatnot. What is that? What is that? You know, light bulb went over your head. Every time I hear some story about like how people are starting their company, I got super, super inspired because just because like
how sheer difficult it was for somebody to start a startup. I'm less impressed about people who are like super, super successful in the corporate ladder and then start a startup. You know, I rarely see it work. So I don't appreciate those as much as possible. And now we're looking at the new playbook, which is this, let's just call it 2025 plus, right? From 2025 forward, what is the new playbook? First, build an audience first. the audio, like use what I've talked about in this episode. Build an audience, solve distribution first.
Sometimes it's important to also realize you can build an audience way before you have product. And then why is that? It's because you don't have to have a in order to talk about your stories. You can talk about your stories way before you have a product. And most founders underappreciate this, think I have to have a product. And to be very honest with you, if you have a product now, like launch today, and then you're starting to think about content, you're too late. You have to start early. If you're still building your MVP now,
George Pu (18:21.781)
If you're still early in your founder journey, like go, like after this podcast, just go out, go out and start your founder social media journey or like some founder posting journey, building your own brand. I'll be sharing more of these resources as well on my website, founderreality.com as well. But you know, do those two things first. And the third thing about what works is that if you already have a founder brand and people are discovering you through your social media and then going to your product, what do you do after? You get referrals, referrals. like to use the word earn, earn referrals through a
authentic relationships. One of the most successful products I've built in terms of variety went viral is because I have a lot of referrals going on at the same time. We basically pay people to refer their friends and then when their friends came in, they also get paid. So you don't have to make this strictly about money. You can really make it about community and you can also give a little bit like something that's like not money away. For example, if you're building a sleep app, a sleep analysis app, offer one more free months of free trial once you refer somebody.
And that person also gets a free month as well using your referral code. Make it something really special and unique. And then after you get your distribution, get referrals, a lot of people feel incentivized to refer their friends, family, their social media contacts to you. That is a third wheel. So the first two wheels are creating, being your own content creator, creating your own content and using the content to get traffic. The third is to earn referrals through authentic relationships. The fourth one, which I think is optional, is basically bootstrap.
with high margins because you don't really need huge teams. And that's something that you could do it. mean, I obviously always recommend going post-trap. Obviously not everyone's the same. If you feel like you need to raise, by all means, go do that. I think for majority of people who listen to the podcast, you probably don't need to raise. So you just go ahead, build something that has really high margins and that you probably don't need a huge team in order to execute it. So that's important. So let's just recap what we have learned. People buy from people that they know and trust.
And that's super, super important. Think about the Kardashian example again for one second. Content lets you show your expertise before selling. Like why do we follow people on Twitter? Why do we follow founders? It's because we think they know something that we don't. We think they're the success, right? We're following success stories to learn something that we don't. So it lets you show your success in your expertise in that industry. For example, I don't know anything about like taxes. And I just found someone online. I talked very well about how to like save taxes on a certain topic.
George Pu (20:44.093)
Of course I'll follow that person. I want to know, learn more about it, right? Because I have instant need and I'll probably reach out and he'll probably get my business. And that's the way it goes. Authentic relationships, in my opinion, scales differently than ad spend. Remember I talked with you a few episodes ago that I will never spend money on ads as much as I can. That is true. And then I'm building this charity together with you guys to show that you don't have to spend money on ads to build authentic relationships and also build a successful business. Right? So the concrete results can speak for itself.
Start with your personal brand as the easiest to start and use that to slowly scale that and bring that influence to your other business brands as well. And I will give you the recommendation of don't over strap yourself and don't try to run too many things at once. Always start with one social media platform that you think is going to perform the best and always start with one brand. Right. If that could be, just be you. Right. If you, if you see you and your company, just be you. People follow people. People don't follow companies that easily. Right. So always putting audience around your personal brand. People want to know about person. People want to know about you.
So start with you, start with one platform, and if it works, you can plan accordingly as well. And I'll also open source some of my own learnings from it. know, I'm found in reality.com as well. So remember in the AI first world, I truly, truly, truly believe that the only mode that AI hasn't killed and probably will not kill for a very, very long time is distribution. And there's no better way of earning that distribution than being your own brand and being a really good founder and being only good founder.
on the internet and teaching people how to start companies and sharing about like what you have personally learned is the only only way I personally believe that will make your product break out in the future. So that is the episode. I thank you so much for listening. If you're really interested in the episode and want to learn more, you can also you can find me on Twitter at the George Poo and you can also found this episode and many many more episodes and resources and free templates on founderreality.com as always.
This episode on this podcast records every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So we record three times a week and I will always share more about what I have learned with you guys. If you find this podcast to be valuable, please listening on. There are many, many episodes and the purpose of that is for it to be evergreen content that every one of us can get something away with and then everyone else can listen to the things that we truly need. So I really appreciate all of your support. I really appreciate being able to share my experience with you guys.
George Pu (23:05.489)
and we're all going together, right? So that's why it matters. So thank you so much for listening to Founder Reality. This is George. See you soon.