CEO Diaries 2: AI Collapsed Software Building Time
AI has compressed software building time. The new challenge is not whether we can build, but where to keep iterating and where to stop.
AI collapsed the time it takes to build software.
That changes the startup strategy.
Before, choosing one vertical felt like a big commitment. You had to spend months building, launching, and learning. Now a small team can build a serious prototype in days or weeks. That means we should try several verticals at once instead of pretending we know the answer too early.
The obvious verticals are still obvious for a reason.
Legal tech, especially compliance, is attractive because the work is document-heavy, high-stakes, and painful. Language learning is also strong because AI can give instant feedback, personalized practice, and voice-based coaching at a level old apps could not.
Some markets feel harder. Customer support is real, but crowded. Many companies are already selling AI agents, chatbots, helpdesk copilots, and call center automation. It may still be a good business, but it is not an empty field.
Other areas deserve real experiments:
- HR and recruiting
- AI tender and procurement assistants
- Education beyond IELTS
The hardest question is not what to build first.
The hardest question is when to stop.
AI makes building cheap, but it does not make focus cheap. Every vertical can look promising after the first demo. Every prototype can be improved one more time. Every weak signal can be interpreted as "maybe we just need another iteration."
So the discipline has to change.
Build fast. Test fast. But decide in advance what proof you are looking for: paid pilots, repeated usage, urgent customer pain, or a workflow that clearly becomes better with AI.
If the signal is there, keep iterating.
If the signal is not there, stop cleanly and move.
The opportunity is huge, but speed only matters if it creates learning. Otherwise, fast building becomes just a faster way to avoid choosing.