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There are so many products and services that people would want but are far too niche to be built and deployed in a profitable way. We’re starting to see very small services emerge, from research and consulting to career support and production shops, that are founded and led by just a few people, without the intention of ever scaling.
“[S]mall services emerge… led by just a few people, without the intention of ever scaling.” – this was my company even before AI and it was a good business. But it also wasn’t really a business because if I left or stopped working—poof—it’s gone. But if there had been a way to notably scale my income at the time without doing more work (or hiring), I would’ve tried it. Similarly, if there was a way to create a process around it that others could step into, that would’ve made it more valuable. It’ll be interesting to watch what happens here with AI.
Also:
In the era ahead, humans will crave more scarce, authentic, and offline experiences than ever before. We will crave small restaurant experiences with proud chefs. We will crave one-of-a-kind art infused with human story. We will crave theater and emotional films with deep meaning. We will crave shared experiences and live music. In the age of AI, there will be rampant demand for stuff that only humans can create.
I’ve said it before, but this is my hope. Reading about a business where AI drives everything, creates everything, communicates everything, and scales itself leaves me feeling… well, “bleh”. I think we’ll all be able to tell, to some extent. And in some business areas, we’ll be ok with the tradeoff for lower cost products (or faster service). But in other areas, many of us will a human touch.
Watch
I won’t pretend I’m cool enough to have heard of Doechii before this Tiny Desk session, but… whew… I just love everything about this performance.
Backed by a full band, horns and two background singers, Doechii’s performance was a masterclass in creativity. Sporting vintage academia looks, complete with matching cornrows and beads, Doechii delivers a freshly rearranged medley of cuts from ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL, tailored specifically for Tiny Desk. While hip-hop remained at the core, she truly gave us everything: a jazz arrangement of “BOOM BAP,” heavy rock vibes on “CATFISH” and a Southern praise break outro on “NISSAN ALTIMA.”
Give it a watch / listen.
Read
Nothing baffles me more than watching someone make a coffee order, ask for it “to go” only to sit at the cafe for an hour, later tossing their trash on the way out the door.
The pandemic absolutely helped normalized this and it breaks my brain. Five years after its onset and most coffee shops I frequent in LA have flipped their pre-pandemic default from re-usable containers to disposable trash. I even know a few that eliminated re-usable dishware entirely.
My rant wasn’t the point of Jen’s piece, but she touches on related themes:
My seemingly lifelong dedication to “economic mindfulness” has led to several everyday wares never appearing on my shopping lists
I love the term “economic mindfulness” – Jen has a great list of things she considers based on the physical and economic impact to her life, day-to-day.
We won’t solve systemic problems like climate change on a personal level, but one thing that I’ve never understood is the fatalistic take of, “well, I can’t make a difference, so changing my behavior isn’t worth it”.
People love flexibility and capitalism loves to hide the real costs of consumer decisions, but it might be helpful to realize we do not pay economically-realistic prices on many of the goods and services we consume.