It’s starting to feel like every product has an ‘AI-powered’ badge slapped on it. However, the SEC put its foot down earlier this year, charging US$400,000 for the false claims made by two companies.

“AI washing” is not only misleading, but it also undermines the perception of AI-first products and leads to disappointment among customers and investors.

Understanding the difference between AI-enabled and AI-native solutions helps clarify competitive edge, scalability, and market positioning. While AI-enabled solutions focus on enhancing existing products and may appeal to a broader customer base with a more familiar offering, it’s essential to understand the constraints to scale regarding incompatible data sources and legacy limitations. 

Let’s decode the jargon, find out how to spot AI that delivers, and ensure you get what it says on the label.

AI-enabled solutions

Beginning as conventional technologies, AI-enabled solutions are those that later integrate AI to boost performance. 

For example, HubSpot integrates AI to automate tasks like email scheduling and lead score predictions, enhancing its CRM functions. While Netflix uses AI to personalise show and movie recommendations, transitioning from a standard digital platform to one that leverages AI to analyse viewing habits for better suggestions.

What these companies have in common is, although not AI-native, they are digital-native. Both companies have accumulated vast amounts of user data over decades, fueling their AI engines. Netflix has viewing history, ratings, and metadata, while HubSpot has customer interactions, marketing data, and sales information. They have also invested heavily in AI talent.

When looking for AI-enabled companies to invest in, it’s crucial to ensure they have clear goals for their AI initiatives and are prepared to keep developing. Netflix invests 10 per cent of its revenue into its technology and development budget.

Also Read: Embracing AI in Southeast Asia: The strategy for avoiding cost overruns

What specific problem has your prospect investment identified that AI can solve? Are they continuously investing in their AI journey, or do they see it as a one-time project? AI initiatives must constantly evolve and adapt with their user base, so you must ensure your AI-enabled ventures have an agile culture to allow for rapid iterations.

AI-native solutions

Since AI-native solutions are built from the ground up using AI, they inherently offer more sophisticated capabilities. This means they have the elasticity to scale, deliver high performance with minimal resource consumption, and are designed for continuous AI advancement — they are positioned at the forefront to reap the benefits of rapidly evolving technology.

However, since these market disruptors often pioneer new fields, redefining industry standards, they come with a price tag and notable uncertainty.

Look at OpenAI’s GPT models. Its products are fundamentally AI, constantly advancing their ability to understand and generate text. Altogether, VCs have put in just over US$300 million at a valuation of US$27 billion – US$29 billion.

Similarly, Waymo is designed to utiliSe AI for navigating and making decisions, functioning as a fully integrated AI system rather than just a car with AI features. The autonomous ride-hailing service raised US$2.5 billion in its second round of funding.

Some of the smaller players looking to compete in the market often use third-party technology, like OpenAI, to address a specific lucrative use case. Labeled thin wrapper startups, these AI founders take existing technology and add their own unique value proposition — like Salesforce did with Oracle database.

The important part is to ensure your prospective startups keep listening to their audience, iterating their products, and confirming they solve a painful enough problem so that, over time, they can become thick wrappers with strong defensibility instead.

Wrapping up

In essence, most startups can’t compete with ChatGPT. Ninety percent of AI startups fail, most commonly due to a lack of market awareness, funding, or expertise. Jasper AI is an example of this, as its revenue and valuation crumpled after the source, OpenAI, released ChatGPT, a model that did precisely the same thing. 

Also Read: One-third of Singaporeans never used AI tools in their workplaces: Survey finds

You must check whether your prospective AI-native startups solve a big enough problem, but more importantly, ask yourself: Do you believe in them? If you do, enquire about their business model. Is a focused strategy in place to meet achievable objectives? Have they got the right expertise? And what evidence do they have to show they can pivot if needed?

The fundamental nature of the space right now is that everyone is excited by AI, but we’re just coming to the tail of last year’s AI explosion, where many AI-enabled projects or AI-native startups that don’t have a strong enough use case or market won’t survive.

Only those that grow and meet revenue targets will retain their spot in the field. Startup ‘down rounds’ are often some of the first triggers that reduce investor confidence, and the loss of competitiveness or ability to meet growth targets is likely to impact employee and founder morale.

Choosing what companies to invest in requires careful consideration. But the results can be highly lucrative. Do you play safe and invest in renowned companies? Or is their market maturing? And what is their track record with implementing emerging technologies? Sometimes, after all your analysis, it’s about taking a leap of faith and trusting your gut.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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This article was first published on September 17, 2024

The post How are the companies you invest in leveraging AI?  appeared first on e27.

More often than not, goals have typically been viewed as a list penned down at the start of the year, followed persistently for a couple of days, and revisited remorsefully at the end of the year. With no tangible end in sight for most, these goals don’t necessarily pan out as habits that last longer than a few weeks at a time.

The rise of self-improvement mobile apps has made the process easier in recent years, allowing users to keep track of their progress and habits through tech-enabled platforms that provide them with rewards in return for sticking to their plan.

While most understand the importance of goal setting, not many see them through. As an entrepreneur and a strong advocate of self-improvement, goals have grown to become a guiding vision that keeps me focused and motivated.

Whether an individual is looking to work on themselves or an entrepreneur on a mission to grow their business, here are some benefits to logging goals digitally to ensure these intangible plans turn into reality through the help of technology.

A step closer to reality

Acting as a guiding light towards the right direction, keeping and sticking to goals comes with the right mindset. From listing down ideas to eventually reaping the fruits from an evolved perception and lifestyle, planning for tangible benefits takes consistent effort and commitment.

One such example is everyone’s yearly New Year’s resolutions to either lose some weight, to be financially prudent, or even to lead a mindful lifestyle. These positive thoughts are typically followed by wishful planning that, most often than not, rarely result in consistent actions that can effectively mesh into an individual’s lifestyle organically.

Also Read: Zilliqa Capital debuts with the goal to invest in decentralised and fintech solutions in SEA, India

Through tech-enabled platforms, such as GoalKeepin, goals get broken down into smaller, measurable targets for individuals to keep track of their progress. Bigger generic goals no longer seem daunting and hard to achieve, allowing individuals to make constant tangible changes that align with their goals.

Community-driven success mentality

In this age of social media, goal setting and progress tracking is fuelled by what individuals observe on their social platforms. People often pander to make changes to their lifestyle based on how they are influenced by those around them.

Through tech platforms like GoalKeepin, users can join a community of those who choose to make a difference in their lives with each goal they set, defined by their values.

As an entrepreneur myself, I understand the importance of how influence-based self-reflection is crucial in ensuring consistency of hitting each defined target and milestone.

Undeniably, having a community that strives towards a common goal can aid in boosting commitment and discipline to achieve each target that is set. Whether it is a group of friends on a shared mission or an online community striving for a similar outcome, a sense of camaraderie is a good motivator to get started and persevere.

Self-care applications with networking capabilities to connect and interact with mutuals bring about a sense of togetherness, especially when users are able to keep track of one another’s progress, acknowledge and celebrate key milestones together.

The power of tangible benefits

Tangible rewards are found to be an effective motivator in establishing a healthy, long-term pattern. Allocating a reward for each goal met allows for individuals to be positively reinforced in their journey towards change.

On the other hand, rather than simply remaining stagnant, negatively reinforcing individuals becomes an added motivator to stick to their intended game plan.

This key aspect differentiates GoalKeepin from other lifestyle mobile apps in the market through its inbuilt reward system. Each goal is attached to a monetary reward that is given to those who successfully finish their challenge, while users who fail to do so wind up losing their participation fee.

Also read: 5 productivity hacks for successful people

Not only does this keep them on their toes but it allows users to be accountable for tracking and completing each challenge that they sign up for.

As attention spans and the constant usage of digital platforms shape the way everyone makes and keeps to their intended goals, such tech-enabled tools can aid in them forming lifelong habits that are here to stay. GoalKeepin has been proven to be an effective solution that aims to break down complex goals into action plans while connecting users to a community of people who are on a similar journey and with an added monetary benefit.

Despite 2021 being disruptive and with half the year has flown past us, there’s no time like the present to start on a goalkeeping journey to move towards a positive lifestyle.

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The article was first published on August 3, 2021

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Startup founders and executives often struggle to delegate. As a result, they get overwhelmed and burn out.  

Jessica Lessin, CEO of The Information, recently wrote:   

“A few weeks ago, I was reporting on two possible M&A deals and asked my sources why each company was looking at a sale versus an initial public offering down the road. In both cases, the answer was the same: The founders were done. There’s not a founder or CEO I talk to these days that doesn’t have some version of that story. They are exhausted.”  

Samuel Ajiboyede, the author of the book The Entrepreneur’s Diary, said, “One reason a lot of startup founders and entrepreneurs get burnt out is the tendency to take on too many responsibilities.” His message is, “Don’t be afraid to delegate.”  

If you are like a lot of startup leaders, several beliefs keep you from delegating:  

• You think you save money by doing everything yourself.  
• You think no one will care as much as they do.  
• You believe it will take more time to teach someone to do tasks than doing it yourself.  
• You do not want to put more work on others’ plates.
• You do not know how to delegate.
• You have a tough time giving up control.  

These beliefs are reasonable when you are small. But if you do not delegate, your business cannot grow beyond the time you can spend on it. You also run the risk of exhausting yourself.  

What you should delegate  

If you want to delegate, you have to decide what you should hand off to others. A valuable tool for choosing what tasks to offload is the Eisenhower Matrix, based on former general and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower’s statement, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. Urgent problems are seldom important, and important problems are seldom urgent.”  

Steven Covey turned this comment into a matrix with four quadrants to organise your tasks and who should do them.

• Tasks that are urgent and important, must be done by you
• Tasks that are important but not urgent, schedule these for later
• Tasks that are urgent but not important, delegate these
• Tasks that are neither urgent nor important, eliminate these tasks  

Also Read: 6 leadership lessons I learned after we raised our seed round

What tasks are urgent but not important? It is a little misleading because calling anything unimportant can be confusing. For example, an Asana report found that managers spend 58 per cent of their time on administrative tasks like:

• Email triage
• Calendar management
• Travel planning
• Expense reports 

Calling these tasks unimportant is misleading. They are important but do they need to be done by you? Probably not. Consider this:  

• Most executives spend three hours a day on email
• It takes 25 minutes to schedule a business meeting  
• It takes 12 hours to plan a door-to-door business trip
• It takes 30 minutes to complete an expense report  

You can easily hand off these tasks to others. Other candidates include:  

• Invoicing and payment processing
• Contact management and CRM maintenance
• Document prep
• File management 

Does it save money to do this work yourself? Think about it this way, you are paying yourself to do tasks that you can outsource to others at a lower cost.  

What you should not delegate  

Going back to the matrix, to decide what you should not delegate, list the tasks that only you can do. These tasks require your judgment, experience, and leadership, and the buck stops with you. Examples include:  

• Defining and amplifying your vision and mission
• Business strategy and planning
• Hiring the key executives
• Terminating executives
• One-on-one meetings with direct reports
• Fundraising
• Meeting with investors, partners, and key accounts
• Board meetings and reports
• Keeping your team aligned and inspired  

These are executive functions core to your business that only the top executive in a company can do. Depending on the size and status of your business, you might also be responsible for:  

• Product definition and roadmap
• Sales strategy
• Go to market strategy

Who you should delegate to  

One reason executives don’t delegate is that they don’t want to give others more work to do. That makes sense when you look at the nature of the tasks you should offload. They are administrative tasks, and you may not have a team member at the appropriate level with the right skills to do that kind of work.  

Also Read: The 5-part agile leadership guide that will make you a better business leader

You could hire some to do your administrative work, but it is probably not a full-time job, and administrative assistants are hard to find. The Lensa Index found that administrative assistants are the third most challenging position to fill. Also, the time and expense of recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training become one more distraction.  

Consider virtual assistants  

Startup executives and owners are turning to virtual or remote executive assistants as a cost-effective way to delegate time-consuming administrative tasks. The virtual assistant market grew by 40 per cent in 2020 as remote work became the norm and executives realised offsite personnel can be productive and effective.  

The virtual assistants usually work in areas of the world where college-educated, English-speaking talent is plentiful but opportunities for meaningful work are scarce. And most virtual assistants are already trained and have experience supporting executives, and have developed best practices for the tasks you want to offload:  

• Email organisation  
• Calendar management  
• Travel planning
• Expense reports  

There are a few ways to find virtual assistants, all with pros and cons.  

Hire a freelancer through a job board:  

• Pro: the lowest cost option
• Con: risk of a bad hire, you must do the management and quality control

Hire an independent contractor through a virtual assistant agency:  

• Pro: more vetted candidates make this less risky
• Con: You still must do the management and quality control

Use a managed virtual assistant service provider:  

• Pro: the service provider hires, trains, and supervises the virtual assistants, so you do not have to
• Con: not the least expensive option

Develop your superpower  

Sam Corcos is a four-time founder and CEO. Corcos says, “Delegation is a superpower. It also takes practice.”

If you have internal resources to take on administrative tasks, great! This guide should help you get started. If not, there are people from around the world eager to help.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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This article was first published on May 23, 2022.

The post How startup leaders can delegate to prevent burnout   appeared first on e27.

Talent acquisition has become a competitive sport in today’s fast-paced job market. Recruiters and hiring managers constantly seek top-notch professionals who can bring value to their organisations.

Many have turned to talent marketplaces, platforms designed to connect employers with potential candidates to achieve this. While these marketplaces have their merits, they also face a significant challenge: the dichotomy between active and passive job seekers.

The challenges of talent marketplaces: The active-only conundrum

Talent marketplaces have traditionally focused on active job seekers. These individuals actively search for new career opportunities, update their resumes, and apply for job openings. They are the low-hanging fruit of recruitment, easily accessible and readily available. However, here lies the issue: active job seekers make up only a fraction of the talent pool.

The elusive software engineer

Nowhere is this more evident than in the tech industry, where software engineers are in high demand. These professionals possess specialised skills and knowledge vital in the digital age.

Yet, the number of active software engineer job seekers is disproportionately low. They often receive multiple offers and are constantly fielding inquiries from headhunters. This need for more active software engineers exacerbates the fierce competition among recruiters.

LinkedIn’s unique position

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, has carved out a unique space in this landscape. It functions as a hub for both active and passive job seekers. Unlike traditional talent marketplaces, LinkedIn allows individuals to maintain profiles and professional networks even when not actively job hunting. This means that recruiters can tap into a broader pool of potential candidates.

Also Read: Are you a human resource?

The one-source dilemma

However, despite LinkedIn’s versatility, it, too, faces a common challenge shared with traditional talent marketplaces: reliance on a single source of candidates. While LinkedIn offers a vast network of professionals, it’s still just one platform. Relying solely on LinkedIn can limit a recruiter’s access to diverse talent, potentially leading to a talent shortage.

The balancing act

So, how do we strike a balance? How can we tap into the most significant talent pool while focusing on specific, high-demand groups like technology engineers?

The answer lies in diversifying recruitment strategies. LinkedIn is a powerful tool, but it should be just part of a comprehensive recruitment approach. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Leverage multiple platforms: Explore other job boards, industry-specific forums, and social networks to find active and passive candidates.
• Employee referrals: Encourage current employees to refer potential candidates. They may have connections to passive job seekers who are an excellent fit for your organisation.
• Networking events: Attend industry events, conferences, and meetups to connect with professionals in your field. These gatherings are excellent opportunities to identify both active and passive job seekers.
• Recruitment agencies: Partner with specialised recruitment agencies with access to niche talent pools.
• Online communities: To identify potential candidates, participate in online communities, such as forums and discussion groups related to your industry.
• Proactive talent pools: Build and maintain your talent pool of passive candidates for future hiring needs.

Talent acquisition in the digital age requires a nuanced approach. While talent marketplaces have their place, they should not be the sole source of candidates. Balancing the needs of active and passive job seekers, especially in high-demand fields like technology, demands a multifaceted strategy.

By diversifying your recruitment efforts and exploring various channels, you can access a broader range of talent and increase your chances of finding the right fit for your organisation. Ultimately, it’s about creating a harmonious blend of active and passive talent to thrive in today’s competitive job market.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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This article was first published on October 18, 2023

The post How can we maximise the full spectrum of tech talent in the digital age? appeared first on e27.