In partnership with
👋Hey friends,
A few weeks ago, a founder gave me a demo of his new AI startup.
Beautiful dashboard. Clean interface. Dozens of integrations.
When he finished, I asked one question:
“What’s the one workflow your users can’t live without?”
He paused. Then smiled a little too long.
That silence told me everything.
It reminded me how easy it is to believe that success in AI comes from building more — more features, more models, more hype — when in reality, it comes from making one small thing work so reliably that people build their habits around it.
Every lasting AI product — from Jasper to Rewind to Notion — started with a single workflow that worked just a little better than expected. Then they doubled down, learned fast, and scaled slowly.
That’s what separates products that grow from demos that fade.
So today’s issue is all about that: the discipline of starting small, learning fast, and building deep.
In today’s edition, we’ll explore:
Why small, focused experiments beat big ambitions.
How narrowing your wedge accelerates learning and adoption.How to turn one clever AI idea into a repeatable workflow.
The process of transforming a working prompt into a system that runs (and improves) on its own.Why scaling learning matters more than scaling code.
The simple framework top AI teams use to compound insight over time.Common Pitfalls When Scaling AI Products.
The four mistakes that quietly kill momentum — and how to avoid them before they derail your loop.The Macro Shift — From Tools to Ecosystems.
Why the future belongs to adaptive systems that learn faster than competitors can copy them.
Let’s dive in.
— Naseema Perveen
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROKU
Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays
Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.
Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.
