$20 to top-performer status? Here’s how.
The daily AI habit, clean delegation system, and GTM clarity smart founders are using now
If you’re building fast, you don’t have time to chase shiny AI trends. You need what works—right now.
This week, I’m sharing the tools, habits, and systems I’m seeing work inside real startups: how founders are actually using AI, what clean delegation looks like, and where the hype ends and real value starts.
Today’s agenda:
📈 The low-cost AI habit that compounds quickly
🏃 How founders are embedding AI into go-to-market
🛠 Why delegation fails—and how to fix it fast
💼 Briefly: Thought leadership, AI execution, and brand as GTM
⏱️ Up & coming: What real AI agents look like inside companies
🪴 Your $20 growth hack
Founders ask me all the time: “What tool delivers the biggest ROI?”
Easy—pay $20/month for ChatGPT. Keep it open. Use it constantly. That’s it.
I broke it down recently on the Outside Sales Talk podcast with Steve Benson, where we discussed AI, automation, and where founders get the most leverage right now.
👇 Watch the quick clip:
Here’s the play:
Open ChatGPT every morning like it’s Slack.
Run ideas, drafts, and tasks through it.
Don’t wait for perfect prompts—just use it.
Let it teach you how to think faster and see clearer.
You’ll start learning faster than everyone else. That alone is enough to move you into top performer territory.
🎧 Full episode: AI, Automation, and the Future of Sales
🏃 Stop chasing AI trends—start using them
There’s no shortage of AI hype in marketing. But here’s what actually matters for founders:
➡️ AI isn’t the strategy, it’s your co-strategist.
Smart companies are using AI with intention—not just to save time, but to scale identity, precision, and decision-making across the whole go-to-market machine.
📊 Here’s how it looks in practice:
Predictive insights that shape strategy—not just reports
Personalization at scale that still feels human
Automation that frees up time without losing your brand voice
💡But this only works when AI is embedded—systemic, not surface-level. You can’t bolt it on and expect transformation.
And here’s the kicker: the real advantage isn’t speed anymore. It’s perspective. If you can see clearer, you move smarter.
📖 Read the full article: How to Leverage AI Trends in Your Marketing
🛠 A simple system for clean, effective delegation
Most founders know they should delegate—but when they try, it doesn’t go how they hoped. Expectations are fuzzy, work comes back off-target, and they end up taking it back just to keep things moving.
But delegation only works when it’s built on clarity—what’s expected, who owns it, and how success is measured. Once that structure is in place, your team delivers better—and you get your time back.
🧰 Here’s how to build that clarity:
Define the outcome: Don’t just hand off tasks—explain what success looks like and why it matters.
Delegate the right work: Start with tasks that are repetitive, reversible, or below your paygrade. If you’ve done it more than 3 times, systematize it.
Write a tight brief: Every handoff needs context, clear outcomes, and the right resources. This is how you empower—not overwhelm.
Set a rhythm: Use kickoff and check-in points to keep momentum without micromanaging.
Stay visible, not invasive: Dashboards, async updates, and shared docs give you control without becoming the bottleneck.
Build the system—and let go without losing control.
👉 Step-by-step walkthrough: How to Delegate Without Losing Control
Briefly
🧠 Stop publishing—start leading
Most teams believe in thought leadership, but few know how to actually do it. This piece breaks down a simple formula: start with your audience’s reality, add original research, and distribute with intent. It’s not about writing more—it’s about saying something that actually moves the market.
🎨 AI just became your marketing team
One founder built an entire campaign mid-flight using ChatGPT-o3—and the graphics weren’t mockups, they were final assets. With deep context and a few smart prompts, o3 turns into your creative partner. Think less “assistant,” more “agency in a tab.”
🧑💼 Your personal brand is your sales funnel
Turns out, the fastest way to earn trust, generate leads, and close sales isn’t more ads—it’s putting a face to the business. This piece breaks down how to use your own story and expertise to attract the right people, teach what you know, and turn comments into conversions.
Up & Coming
There’s a lot of talk right now about AI agents that can handle anything. But in the real world, the most useful agents don’t think big, they think narrow. They monitor for one event (like a new invoice), run a checklist, and take action. Quietly, reliably, and without being told.
🤖 That’s the takeaway in this breakdown: real enterprise wins come from solving closed-world problems. For founders, that means skipping the hype and building systems that ship.