Evening time came as I was walking with a lady on a Tel Aviv street.
We had a lovely conversation, as I got a text message.
“I am not going to check this message,” I said, “ I am focused on you, my darling”.
I did check the message.
It was a friend telling me to check this new AI SaaS startup whatever that is looking to raise Series A, and asking if I want to take a look, help with fundraising, or write songs about them or something.
“Dude”, I texted my friend, “don’t they do exactly what company (X or Z) are doing?”.
“Yes, yes, but just the ICP is different,” he texted.
These bloody AI SaaS startups if I didn’t love them, I would hire a developer to build an app that tracks the Open AI API usage of these startups.
But I do love them because they can be so sexy, very sexy, if they just realize this very apparent thing: SaaS is a bloody, hand-to-hand combat game.
It is darling, it is. There are like 50 startups that do exactly what you do! And Open AI knows it, and NFX knows it, and A16Z knows it for fucking sure. Altman is happy.
Does this mean you shouldn’t do AI SaaS?
Fuck no. It just means you need to have a USP that is bigger than the product features that are easily replicated, and no, adding dark mode is not going to do the trick; it might help with other tricks, not this one.
Then what is? Well, it is actually building a brand around the product and marketing it to your ICP in a way that makes them want to make love every time they hear your brand name. You need to be aggressive with it. Remember, it is a bloody arena.
Too many of these CEOs act like they have invented the electric car. Dude, it is an AI SaaS tool. You literally have 200 competitors.
But, but, but, you can ride with that; you can make it into a spectacular AI SaaS tool that is seen everywhere and talked about everywhere.
It’s the Kardashian genius sort of thing.
Addictive storytelling to your ICP.
Leadership teams should be more like filmmakers than accountants.
Trust me, as someone who has worked closely with more than 110 of these rising SaaS brands, the creative leaders who are not afraid to go all in on marketing are the ones who win in such a tight, competitive space.
So, instead of another leadership “strategy” session that ends with your CEO talking to a bunch of WhatsApp typers, do a “filmmaking” session and make fireworks!
Also, study Kim Kardashian; she knows a thing or two.
And if she decides to build an AI SaaS app, it will explode like Mentos in a Coke.
