Here Come the AI Detectors...

And is podcast translation a startup opportunity?

On Saturday I sent our my takeaways from an interview I did with Brett Adcock, a founder who’s taken one startup to a $100 million acquisition and another to a $2.7 billion IPO.

That deep dive and all others are for paid members only as of today — learn more and join the community to get full access and not miss out on future deep dives.

Today at a glance:

  • Opportunity → Podcast Translation

  • Framework → S.P.A.D.E.

  • Tool → Survey Feedback for Startups

  • Trend → AI Detectors

  • Quote → Business is Positioning

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💡Opportunity: Podcast Translation

Imagine if you could listen to a podcast that was originally recorded in a different language.

Some big YouTubers like Mr. Beast are already doing this with their videos, but it’s early and hasn’t jumped into podcasts yet (afaik).

Levels is right that existing podcast players like Spotify could do this, but there’s an opportunity to actually build the underlying tech first and take it to a nice acquisition in a relatively short amount of time. Since Spotify isn’t the only podcast player, you’d have a fair amount of options.

The jury’s still out on this idea, though. It’s unclear whether it’d be defensible against those larger, incumbent players in the space. If a winner emerges here, they’ll likely need either unique data about podcasts or a unique way of processing podcast data.

🧠 Framework: S.P.A.D.E.

Gokul Rajaram is a board member at Pinterest and Coinbase who previously held exec roles at Meta and Google. He created an awesome framework he calls S.P.A.D.E. for making difficult decisions.

  • Setting → What, when, and why are we doing?

  • People → Who is responsible, who should consult, and who should approve?

  • Alternatives → Create a feasible, diverse, and comprehensive list

  • Decide → Collect feedback, get approval, and make the call

  • Explain → Call a commitment meeting (if necessary) and broadcast your decision

The catalyst for this framework was a conversation with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who interrupted a presentation Gokul was giving and said “STOP, who is responsible for this decision?” Three different people raised their hands. He then said, “I’m ending this meeting right now, and don’t come back until you have a clear decision-maker.”

🛠 Tool: Delighted

As a founder, getting high-quality feedback from users is the best way to build a product that people love and share organically. You want the good, bad, and ugly.

Delighted has built a new way to analyze survey feedback via their self-serve management platform. It’s already used by top brands like Instacart, Allbirds, Peloton, Affirm, and doesn’t need technical knowledge to use.

Right now they’re offering a $2,000 credit to get started.*

📈 Trend: AI Detectors

Q4 2022: Millions of people start using AI tools like ChatGPT to help them write and create.

By Q4 2023 we’ll see established players emerge in detecting whether something was created by AI or not.

We're already seeing a huge spike in interest for these tools, and applications range from spam detection to digital identity verification, along with many more.

💬 Quote: Business is Positioning

What you’re selling isn’t a product — it’s how you make users feel. How does your product improve their sense of self-identity?

A restaurant can sell the same calamari different ways, for different prices as long as the environment and branding matches user expectations:

Here are 3 ways for me to help you close your fundraise, find PMF, or accelerate growth:

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