Stanford Professor Who Co-Founded 4 Startups: How to use ai as a ‘Force multiplier’ to start a business

If you’re thinking of starting a new business and need advice on what to do, your first move should be turning to an artificial intelligence chatbot tool, like Openai’s Chatgpt ORANTHROPIC’S Claudge.

That’s according to Steve blankWho has written four books on the subject of entrepreneurship. He Helped Build Eight Different Tech Startups, of which he co-founded four, before retiring over two decades ago. His final stillup, business software company Epiphany, SSA Global Technologies for $ 329 Million in 2005.

Blank is currently an adjunct professor at stanford university, where he teaches courses on innovation and his Lean Startup Method.

For years, Steve Blank has Advised Students and The Founders He Advises to “Get the Heck Outside” of the office or classroom to talk to talk to actual potential customers and find out what it is thei want and future Prospective businesses according to according. Now, He Says, Ai’s Generative Tech Can Make That Process even more effective.

“AI (is) a force multiiplier to everything you do,” Blank Tells CNBC Make It. “AICOLD Help You Figure out Where to Get Outside, Probably Faster Than Anything Else. If you have a business idea, (ask) somenting like chatgpt: ‘I have Idea X, Has Anybody Done Hasn’T (IT) Worked? Where should i be this? “

In addition to summarizing market research and offering feedback, some ai chatbots can write you a whole business plan. That free feature in chatgpt, as well as in other platforms like grammarly and canva, can help you a significant boost when the need to Pay Thousands of Dollars For a freelance business consultant, Blank Says.

“Just imagine you have step blank over your shoulder, helping you ask these questions,” Says Blank. With Ai, “You have at your fingertips a pretty good consultant (who) in the past would have charged you $ 10,000.”

Thought they have made Rapid Advances in Recent YearsAI tools are still from foolproof. Their responses frequent include Errors know as “hallucinations.” Blank Advises that Anyone Turning to a Business Plan Take Recommendations with a Grain of Sal.

“Somewhere Between 10% and 50% of their answers are bullshit, sure. And the problem is you do not know which ones,” Blank Says. One 2023 Study from AI Startup Vectara Found That Chatbots Hallucinate as much as 27% of the timeWhile a recent BBC Study found that roughly half of ai assistants’ answers to news-related questions contained errors.

Even if they have from perfect, thought, blank argues that these tools still have planty of value, particular for first-time entrepreneurs who were want to move forward with a business ide and Aren’s Entrely sure what steps to take. He compares getting business feedback from ai tools to “having a pretty smart friend who’s kind of riffing.” Maybe always single suggestion

“If you take everything at face value, you might drive over the clif, but they’re music you some Great Ideas To

Feed a more simple initial questions into an ai tool, he sugges: the answers generated can help give you some class about where there is a Legitimate “Product-Market fit” for your idaa. For example:

• “I’m thinking about starting ‘x’. Can you find me a business model?”
• “Who should be my first customers?”
• “What do they care about most?”
• “Who Should I Test these Hypotheses on (And) How Can I Find Them?”

AI-Generated Insights Should Never Be a Stand-in for Boots-on-the-Ground Research, Blank Says-Putting in that work remain essential for any entrepreneur mapping out a new business. The crux of the “Lean Startup” Method Blank has Taught for Decades is Speaking with a cross-section of potential customers and clients as early in the ideation process as poses Determine the viability of any concept.

Ai Still “Doesn’T Eliminate The Need for Getting Out and Testing The Fundamental Assumps,” Blank Says. “Whether it’s a restaurant or a consulting business or gardening store or wheatver, you have a set of assumptions. The most important one is: ‘Well, who are my customers?’ And the second one is: ‘What do they want?’ “

Answering these questions before moving ahead with a business idea is essential, because they spendak to the fundamental focus and strength of any potential business, blank calls. Not doing so is a major mistake that can doom a new company before it launches.

That said, Prospective Business Ownes who are unwilling to use ai tools put themselves at a distinct disadvantage, Too, Blank Says.

“You don’t want to compes with someone who have an ai at their shoulder, because they acting like they have a team of 20 people coaching them,” Says Blank. In addition to testing the hypothesis of a business idea, after all, AI Assistants Can Help overwhelmed founders handle aspects of their business’ Finance, Administ Tasks and Web Design.

“If you don’t want to use it as a tool,” Fine, Blank Says. “No one is going to stop you not wanting to successed.”

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