[Iter-X] 47/100days

Day4️⃣7️⃣

The recent popularity of image and video models based on 4.0 has been quite interesting. I admit I’ve also been “experienced” by 4.0, and I believe there are still many aspects where 4.0 cannot match the solutions like ComfyUI + SD. However, I think in most scenarios, it’s the best solution because the barrier to entry is so low. Many people overlook this point, which is incredibly important for a product to reach regular users. It’s crucial to discard the mindset of “this is nothing, *** could already do this” and let go of arrogance and self-righteousness. We need to deeply understand and think about the market and people’s reactions. A product doesn’t need to pursue the most cutting-edge technology to achieve great success. Countless companies and products in history have proven this. We can reflect on why so many people are celebrating, why the design community is panicking and upset, and why OpenAI’s servers are once again unable to handle the pressure. There are profound reasons behind all of this.

Riding the wave of this momentum, let me share my thoughts on future startup teams. I think I’ve briefly mentioned this before. I believe future teams will be small and agile, only needing a few key roles:

1. R&D Personnel: If someone says that a person without any research background can replace this role, I strongly disagree. While Vibe Programming exists, it cannot replace everything. Of course, you can raise funds and hire people once your MVP is out, but fundamentally, you still need someone highly effective in terms of cognition and R&D. Personally, I can now develop several features in half a day, which I would never have imagined before. It used to take me 1 hour to code a feature by hand, but reviewing and making small adjustments now only takes around 10 minutes. The difference in productivity is evident.
2. Product: Excellent product design is something AI cannot fully replace at the moment. It might be a chemical reaction from the subjective irrationality of carbon-based life forms interacting with the real world, including some industry experience. I believe a good idea and a good product direction are the foundation of success. It’s true that anyone can be a product manager, but many products are also just mediocre.
3. Designer: Design is absolutely necessary. AI can do many things, but not everything can be covered by AI. It’s best to have your own unique style and empower it with AI. I actually think design is becoming an even more important role in the future. Although many people worry about being replaced by AI, I see this as a trend, just like how AI may eventually replace R&D personnel. However, there are higher-level elements that human designers can offer, which act as their moat.
4. Operations: A product requires ongoing operations. A key point in operations is having a style and knowing various operational strategies. We can let AI help with operational materials, but the actual implementation still needs people with sufficient cognition and experience.
5. Business Growth: This is a crucial area. AI can’t help you with business, at most it can help you write a business plan, but it can’t help you find investors, pitch your ideas, or think about business growth based on actual situations. In fact, I think business is one of the areas where AI currently has the least impact.

Perhaps in the future, teams will only need five “superheroes.” If you find that the people in your team can’t use AI, you might want to be cautious. Of course, I don’t oppose Old School; I think it can be a form of sentiment ❤️

I still like my key point: AI can’t help you stay persistent, it can’t help you always stay motivated. The only thing that can stop you from moving forward is your heart and your comfy sofa 😇

Summary of current progress:

1. Prototype Design & UI/UX Design: 33%
2. Backend (Go) Development: 39%
3. Client-side (Flutter) Progress: 30%
4. Data: 10%

If you think you meet the following criteria, feel free to reach out:

1. Can persist
2. Has dreams
3. Is interested