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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)
So I don't really use LinkedIn. And when I do the content I see are genuinely 50 % about founders building really cool shit and sharing that. But sometimes the other 50 % makes me want to cringe. And today I think there is one of these posts. So there's one of this post by a very well-known VC and from the Valley. let me read you part of it, right? With his tone. Founders move back to SF. Today, another founder that I backed has moved back to SF.
They are opening an office in downtown. If you're a founder, you should consider doing the same because being successful as a founder, it's about luck. So you should maximize the chance that you can be lucky. You know, I was immediately cringed out because, okay, here's another VC from the Silicon Valley who has never built anything in his life and he's telling everyone else about what to do. And I'm going to tell you exactly why his advice is complete BS and is complete wrong because it is expensive.
It is outdated and is completely disconnected from the reality of building companies in 2025. So here's the things I think what he said already got to me. So first of all, this VC is talking about founders like there are chess is on his board. You should move here. You should do this. You should maximize your luck. But in reality, have this guy actually stayed up at 3 a.m. debugging code? Has he ever had to choose between paying himself?
And paying his developer? he ever, well, has he ever had customers screaming at him because something broke and he's the only person that can fix it? You know, just three simple questions. And what do you think is the answer? I doubt it. Because if he had, he probably would have understood that building a company is not just about Geometric's approximation. It's not just about how close you are to Sand Hill Road and to Silicon Valley. It's about the proximity to your customers, your problems and your solutions.
And while I do appreciate he did mention that it is important for you to also be closer to your customers. I do think that overall in 2025, thanks to AI and thanks to remote work, you can actually build billion dollar companies from a coffee shop in Arkansas, in Idaho, and in Wyoming. And I'll tell you why.
Six years ago, when I was building SimpleDirect, maybe this advice at a time, would have made sense. It was a different time back then. It was right after the pandemic and Silicon Valley was center of everything. Everyone was raising, the interest rate has gone to zero by the federal reserve and the venture capital industry has been hotter than ever before. So at that time, if you're a founder, it's fortunate to actually be going to SF, go around, maybe raise around and leave, right? Or if you're moving SF as your base.
You're looking at yourself from pre-seed to seed to series A in just under six months and perhaps even series B in a year if you're lucky. And that was a different time, right? And maybe at the time, you know, before AI, there was a reason to move to SF to access top talents, to get the meetings with the VCs and to feel legitimate in front of your investors and your customers. But today I'm running my companies from Toronto, Canada, which is like a long distance away from San Francisco, right? Simple Direct serves.
contractors across the United States. And as you guys know, there are the people who are doing kitchen remodeling in Ohio, bathroom renovations in Texas. And those customers wouldn't care if I'm in San Francisco or I'm actually in like somewhere far, far away. say Mandela, Bangkok, or Tokyo, Japan, right? They only care about if the product works and you know, I'm also helping ANC, which is like our consulting company. were helping students and entrepreneurs all while to be building great companies in the States or in Canada.
None one of them has asked me, do you George, do you have an office in Palo Alto? They just wanted to know if I can help them build something that can make them money. And here's why I think VCs don't really understand, which is like the cost of bootstrapping in 2025 has gone essentially to zero. And I have lived that myself from obviously building a company in 2020 building company in 2022 and building a company in 2025. Those are complete different timelines. Whereas you can have a lot of costs in 2020 and 2022 and 2025.
We're building two great companies with just five people, right? With a very simple SaaS tools, with self-hosted tools and our monthly burns are quite low, you know? And I think we all heard about my 14 people story and we all can imagine how much burn we had back then. And that's the difference. That's the difference between building in 2022, 2023 versus building 2025, right? AI is able to do a bunch of the work that we are already doing and
It's not about replacement theories. We're not using it to replace people per se, but as a bootstrap company, what is important? What's important is expenses, maintaining a low level expenses. And for any bootstrap company, think that's all the same, especially true for earlier stages, bootstrap companies, for a lot of you listeners, that is important. Right. And moving to a city, essentially San Francisco, where a single bedroom man can easily top six, 8,000. Right. And finding housing is closely impossible. Same goes for New York city.
It's not practical advice for founders. Maybe that's something that founders get stressed about because they have to pay all the high rent and that's not practical for a bootstrap company. I'm personally paying a reasonable amount for rent right now. And I think if I do get to pay like, let's say three, four or five times of the rent paying right now, I'll be quite stressed. As a bootstrap founder, that's not the equation where you should put yourself in at the beginning.
If you have parents, maybe it's better to start your bullshrap company from your parents' basement or garage initially. And there's completely no shame with that because you're saving more capital to reinvest in the business. And that's also what 2020-2025 has taught me. It's just to save expenses as much as you can, invest them elsewhere, like AI tools, resources and building your personal brand, content, anything. The playbook has changed. And quite frankly, I don't think the playbook, ⁓ the venture capital.
lists out there understand, right? And there's nothing I have against them. I just only believe that they have not done anything themselves to put themselves in the founder's shoes. And all they read is the wall street journals, the French and times is Bloomberg, which I read by the way, they read all that and their thinking is just basically based on their conversation with founders and founders. know they don't take those VCs quite that seriously. I'm sure that's
Everyone knows in the industry by now, you know, but I just think there's a, story basically becomes a, think there's a disconnect. You see, still understand. And I think founders understand and founders are able to make better decisions. For my bootstrap company, we're able to write code with AI. We're able to let AI take over customer support and still delivering the same customer satisfaction rate as we did years ago. We're able to use it to create content while also maintaining our values and principles. We're able to use it analyze data, create a world maps.
And writing social media posts, writing personal blog posts and company blog posts and everything like that. My team in South Asia and my team in Africa are able to use the same AI tools that teams in San Francisco are able to use as well. And think about it, there's really no difference between the tools that you're able to access, right? The information is rarely available online. And if you're in San Francisco, you're in New York versus someone in Wyoming, there's really no difference. If you're a founder that really gets things done.
You're better off with wherever you find yourself the most comfortable and moving to San Francisco is not the solution. And we also hear about these glamorous stories. I think there is this one issue about the advice of moving to San Francisco. As venture capital in the U S is rising for more than 60, 70 % year over year compared to 2024. However, most of that capital is going to AI startups, which means that if your company's name doesn't end with AI.
You're likely not going to get a funding, right? And I think that's the reality that most founders forget. And if you're making the next chat, CPT, or if you're making an AI tool, we're burning a lot of cash is the other way forward, AKA the LM developer. Then I do think you need to move to San Francisco. But other than that, if you're, if you're an AI enabled business, which I think 99 % of the current AI crowd is, there's still no reason for you to move yourself just for the sake of moving it.
Just so that you can get there before the real estate that becomes more expensive. Like what kind of advice is that? It's just gibberish. And I personally know founders who have moved to SF and who has raised money and they burn through it because their VC tell them to go fast, go fast. And they ended up selling the company and they personally ended up with nothing. And I personally have at least I think three or four founders who are like that. And that's just crazy. I have also personally heard stories about people who are living in Southern France, Eastern Europe.
and they're making seven figure businesses, right? That VCs will call themselves lifestyle companies, but they actually make money that make tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars sometimes. And they're low profile because you don't hear about them that much. And there are those companies that exist and VCs will call them boring and not interesting, not inspiring. However, in 2025, ask yourself, which is the one that's more uninspiring? Is it the one that raises hundreds of millions of dollars or billions and then go bust, meaning nothing to them and the investors? Or is it something that makes
uh, know, tens of millions of dollars a year and consistently, and perhaps even growing ask yourself and, to put a cherry on top, ask yourself if you can make that team less than 10 people for the second scenario, how sweet would that be for you and, and no investors. And I think that should be the freedom that every funder should be going after. And I personally find it unsustainable and a little bit unforgiving even that we're still in this day and age where the VCs are still selling the pipe dreams.
Whereas you can be a founder and you can raise capital and you can be a billionaire and you can even be a multi-millionaire overnight. That's something that even intrigued me three years ago. But today thinking back again, super glad I didn't take venture capital, super glad I didn't sell my soul for venture capital and super glad that I'm in charge of my destiny and I'm able to change my company quite freely in a changing environment. know, so that's pretty important. And let's also think about
The reality is that we are right now at this moment in September of 2025 in an AI bubble, right? And Sam Ullman himself, himself has clearly admitted it. And when an AI bubble pops, which of course it will pop, it's just like the NASDAQ pop, it's going to pop this time. Where do you think those founders who moved to SF and structure their entire business around VC funding and around this like quote unquote AI.
going to be, right? We only see the glamorous side. only see open AI raising valuation and throw up a raising valuation, all that. But we don't see exactly what's going to happen when the current cycle ends. And of course, inevitably it's going to end. And I think the main problem is that founders were taking advice from VCs and there are so many of them on Twitter and some of them are on LinkedIn as well. And I personally find it uninspiring because don't, because I don't think a founder should be getting their advice from VCs instead of other founders. And I personally, I made this mistake many years ago when I first started out.
I registered Twitter and I started following the prominent VCs and I personally believe they will have the wisdom about how to build a startup. And I think YC also has some good content, I think I just got too obsessed over it. Right. And also like the YC partners and stuff, the folks who don't have, some of them don't have founder experience per se. And they're pumping out a content, which is great for them. But I think as a founder, you need to put your brain together and listen to founders and not listening to investors and VCs.
Three years ago, when I was raising capital, I was able to get to know many founders accidentally because I was looking to get one referrals and more introductions to VCs. I got to know many founders who I still call great, great friends today. And in fact, this morning I talked to a founder just this morning and just had, I think less than 10 Slack messages on Slack. We didn't even, we didn't even call and it was just super, super motivating and inspiring. And it made me realize I'm 10 years younger.
You know, I'm 17 again and I'm, you know, building things for my garage and it just makes me feel super good and super motivated and super want to do things. Right. Whereas when I'm, when I'm talking to people who are quote unquote, label themselves quote unquote in tech and talking to them, just feel, I feel dreaded and I feel like I want to fall asleep, you know, and that's like the personal experience for me. So if you are a founder or if you're thinking of building something, put your filters through and only listen to other founders, make friends with other founders. Don't.
try to meet as many VCs as you can. That's a mistake I made as well. Meet founders, build crazy things, build great things, build valuable things, and people will come to you. So my conclusion is that I don't really vouch for venture capital anymore. I don't think it's the right approach because I think venture capital, I've run the math as well. I understand exactly how venture capital works by running the math and trying to do it a little bit myself back in the days. It optimizes for their outcomes. VCs give the vice because it fits them. Doesn't mean that it fits you, right? You're a
piece of chess for VC to put on the chessboard and they have many chesses. So they call it a portfolio. VC is one shooting SFF because it makes their job easier. They can do more board meetings in one day. They can make more introductions between portfolio companies, right? To keep, to have the portfolio companies use each other's products and grow the inflation revenue and keep tabs on their investments. But that's not your job. That's not your job as a founder. Your job is to build something that customers want and customers will pay for and your customers.
Don't live on Sandhill road. They live in where you are, you know, and for me, I personally have just changed my approach about just a complete abandonment of venture capital. I'm building my companies. That's like a sovereign wealth engine, right? We compound equity and we grow, um, we grow things forever, just like Berkshire Hathaway instead of exiting. And I think most founders were building 2025. If you can, you should also think the same. How can you optimize for decades and not quarters, you know, and it's something
I guess it's easy to say it's much, harder to plan. And it took me a couple of months or even like, like, I think it's more than a year now to be choosing my own path and blazing my own path is my word and deciding that venture capital is not for me and building sovereign businesses is for me. And I want to do what's right for me and not what's right for my quote unquote investors. So the real network effects also, just as we're on this topic, the real network effects comes with knowing
more founders and getting to know more people, matter where they are. Right. Think about when you met the last founder. We're thinking about the last time you went to a networking event. For me, it's actually been like perhaps a year or two ago. And the people I met through networking events never actually made sense. And I know I understand that in San Francisco, there are many parties or many cafe shops, or there are many like, you know, founder parties and all that. I have attended them too. You know, I attended many those parties and I never met anyone that ended up becoming a real friend, you know, because
I personally believe real founders, technical founders, and when they are building something cool, they're probably at their home coding instead of going out to those like parties. You so that's also an networking part where I think everyone should realize if you really want to build something cool, you will get to know people who are just as cool as you and more cool as you. There's no math that just says that you have to move to San Francisco to be cool people. You know, so eventually here's my challenge for all you listeners.
It's just to stop taking advice from people who never done what you're trying to do. VCs or investors, ranger investors, whatever has never built both strap businesses. They have never tried and they never had the chance to make something profitable from day one. Right. They probably have worked in the MBAs or Harvard MBAs and they never had to choose between growth and survival. Right. They're the math of basically making one to 2 % annually from their, from their LPs. That's why it is.
They make management fees and performance fees. That's what they do. You are a piece on their chessboard. So don't follow them and follow the best builders and founders instead. See what they do, talk to them and learn from people that you walk the path you're on. And definitely don't just blindly move to SF because some VCs think you will maximize your luck. Your luck comes from solving real problems for real customers and not for being the same zip code as some investors.
So while everyone else is fighting over the expensive SF one bedroom and chasing the AI hype rounds, I personally do believe there's a massive opportunity for builders who think differently and put people who actually think contrarianly, right? If you can build something real, something that compounds and not just chasing the AI bubble, something that people actually want, you will stick around and you will stick around fast and long, right? Think about Amazon and the .com bubble almost crushed its, it did crush the stock price and almost wiped out the business.
But they kept going see and see where they are now. The future also as that lesson goes, belongs to founders who can build global businesses from anywhere and not from founders who think they need permission from Sandhill Road to succeed. So that's today's founder reality check. If you're tired of VCs who really think they know how to do everything and know how to do, think they're better than founders. know, share this episode to your networks and
You know, definitely share this episode with your network, with your friends or their founder friends. And I'm sure let me know in the comments what you think. I personally do agree with this approach and I have basically unfollowed just about every VC. Except I feel like I truly have personal relationship with and I truly respect. There are some that are really great, but I do not put myself in the shoe of blindly following VCs anymore. So this is George and this is Founder Reality. Screw those VCs who think they know better and let's start. Keep building. Thank you.