A Forming Idea

I keep having the same conversation.

A founder reaches out. They have a good idea, maybe funding, definitely urgency. They need to build something. And they’re stuck.

The Hiring Problem

They tried hiring. Posted on LinkedIn, reached out to their network, maybe engaged a recruiter. Three months later they’re still interviewing. The good candidates want $200K+ and equity. The ones who are available… there’s usually a reason they’re available.

Meanwhile, competitors are shipping. The market is moving. The window is closing.

The Agency Problem

So they try an agency. Get a few proposals, pick one that seems legit, sign a contract.

Then the discovery phase starts. Weeks of meetings, documents, alignment sessions. By the time actual building begins, the original requirements are already stale.

The team they were promised isn’t the team they get. The senior architect from the pitch deck is replaced by junior developers learning on the job. The timeline doubles. The budget follows.

The AI Problem

This one is newer. I’m seeing it more and more.

Founder learns about Cursor, Claude, Replit. Starts prompting their way to a prototype. It’s exciting. Things appear on screen fast. It feels like magic.

Six months later, they have something that kind of works. But the codebase is a disaster. No architecture. No consistency. Copy-pasted solutions that don’t quite fit together. Every new feature breaks two old ones.

They come to me asking if it can be salvaged. Usually the answer is: rebuild from scratch. All that time, gone.

The Pattern

The common thread is a mismatch between what founders need and what’s available.

They need senior people who can move fast. They get junior people who move slow, or AI tools that move fast but reckless.

They need partners who understand their business. They get vendors who understand their contract.

They need someone who ships. They get someone who bills.

What Now

I don’t have all the answers yet. But I know there’s something here. A way to do this better.

Small teams. Senior people. Real partnerships. AI as a tool, not a replacement for thinking.

I’m going to figure this out. More soon.