👋 Hey friends,

This week’s issue is a special one.

It started with a simple question I kept hearing from founders:
“How do you actually start an AI company that lasts?”

Not with another Copilot, not another idea generator — but with something that compounds into a category.

That question led me to the same insight shared by every breakout founder from Harvey to EvenUp:
You don’t start with a product.
You start with a workflow.

Because the best AI startups aren’t chasing innovation — they’re chasing friction.

So today’s edition breaks down how great companies build from one painful, repeatable workflow — and turn it into an empire.

Here’s what we’ll explore together;

The Wedge Playbook — Why every enduring AI company starts by solving one specific workflow that’s painful enough to scale.
The Founder Playbook — How to uncover and validate your wedge by observing real operators in action.
The Anatomy of a Perfect Workflow — The 5 traits that predict whether your workflow can turn into a product.
The Expansion Loop — How to grow from one workflow to an entire category, naturally.
Case Studies — Harvey, EvenUp, and Hippocratic — what they did differently, and what you can learn from them.

This one’s not about building faster — it’s about building truer.

Because when everyone else is chasing big ideas, the founders who win are the ones who find clarity in the small ones.

Let’s dive in.

— Naseema Perveen

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