"Don't stop believin'!" — Journey
You're probably wrong about when to enter the AI market. So is everyone else.
The people making the most money in AI right now aren't the ones building the most advanced models. They're the ones who entered when everyone else was afraid.
The Truth About Timing
Most people think they need to wait for AI to be "ready." This is backwards. Markets pay for solutions to real problems, not perfect technology.
I've talked to dozens of AI founders. The successful ones all have one thing in common: they're solving problems people already pay money to solve, just with better tools.
Why You're Too Late
If you're just now thinking about entering the AI market, you're probably too late for the biggest opportunities. Here's why:
- The infrastructure winners are already decided (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
- The tool ecosystem is already crowded (everyone and their dog has an AI wrapper)
- The low-hanging fruit is gone (simple AI features are now table stakes)
The real opportunities now are in implementation, not innovation.
The Contrarian View
Everyone thinks AI is in a bubble. They're wrong. The bubble is in AI companies, not AI technology.
The technology is real and valuable. The problem is that most companies building AI products are solving fake problems or building features instead of products.
What Actually Works
Based on what I've seen, here's what actually works in AI right now:
- Boring B2B tools that replace expensive human labor - Lovable, Scale.ai
- Vertical-specific solutions that understand domain expertise - Jasper, Harvey, Clay
- Implementation services that help companies actually use AI - n8n, retool, zapier, lindy
Not sexy, but profitable.
The Strategic Window
We're in a 12-18 month window where:
- The technology is mature enough to build real products
- The market is educated enough to buy them
- The competition is still beatable
After that, it's just another crowded market.
What I'm Building
I'm building something boring that solves a real problem for real companies. Not the next ChatGPT. Not the next big thing.
Just a tool that helps companies do something they already do, but better and cheaper. Stay tuned to know more.
The Hard Truth
Perfect timing doesn't exist. The best time to enter any market is when you have a real advantage and the market is ready to pay.
Everything else is noise.
If you're building in AI, I'd love to hear from you. What's your contrarian take?
Follow my journey here.