AI founders are finally turning to paid marketing… and the internet is losing its mind!This week, James and Daniel unpack the debate sparked by Andrew Chen and Bill Gurley, and question whether paid marketing really kills creativity. They also explore why, despite 25+ years of data, there’s still no clear startup playbook and why that might never change.Plus: the shift from hiring people to hiring tech, why AI could reward leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, and a few bold takes from Paul Graham.It’s the funniest era of tech, where everything is easier to build, harder to grow, and somehow… ads still work.

The ecommerce marketing playbook has evolved and most brands haven’t caught up yet. In this episode, guys sit down with Olivia Kory, Chief Strategy Officer at Haus, to talk about why the modern marketing stack is more complex, more fragmented, and more important than ever.

Olivia explains how brand strategy has evolved in the age of omnichannel, what it actually takes to measure marketing effectiveness across channels, and why the brands winning right now are the ones treating measurement as a competitive advantage from day 0.

This week is a bit of a reality check (in a good way). If you think you’ve missed your window, this episode might change your mind.

James and Daniel talk about why execution is becoming more important than ever, how having a clear “playbook” can be a cheat code, and why the ability to tell a great story is quickly becoming one of the most valuable skills you can have.

On the AI side, things are getting interesting—algorithms are becoming less secret, entire marketing teams are shrinking to one person, and the barrier to building something is basically gone.

We also get into why things that used to feel like weaknesses (being chronically online, ADHD brain, etc.) might actually be the biggest edge in today’s world.

Building something has never been easier. Getting people to notice? That’s a different story.