WorkSlop or workflow? Founders share systems while AI clutters the office

Hi ,

Is personal branding a real growth engine, or just LinkedIn theater?
We’re running a quick 11-question survey.

If 1,000 founders respond, we’ll publish the unfiltered results.

Quick, click here.
 
Let’s dive in.

This week from the AI for Founders podcast on Spotify:

Somatic Leadership for Founders with Owen Marcus - LINK
Owen Marcus shares how nervous system training and men’s groups unlock resilience, better relationships, and embodied leadership for high-performing founders.

Scaling to $100K Months with Royan Nidea - LINK
Royan Nidea reveals how he turned 4,000 emails into $16M, built systems for $100K months, and cracked the code on balancing automation with personalization.

Crossmint’s Alfonso on AI, Stablecoins, and the Future of Money - LINK
From CAPTCHA to crypto rails, Alfonso Gómez-Jordana Mañas explains how AI agents and micropayments could rewire the internet’s entire economy.

Tip of the spear:

China Plans Robot Gyms - LINK
China wants to build fitness centers where robots—not trainers—keep you in shape.

Microsoft Adds “Vibe Working” to Office Apps - LINK
Microsoft wants you to brainstorm with AI in real time—turning Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into group chats with Copilot.

Facebook Adds AI Assistant to Dating App - LINK
Facebook wants AI to be your wingman inside its dating app.

WorkSlop: AI Content Is Slowing Everyone Down - LINK
AI-generated “workslop” is clogging offices and killing productivity instead of saving it.

Prompt of the week:

You are my strategic analyst. I want you to look at my business with fresh eyes, as if you were an outside investor who cares about growth, efficiency, and defensibility. Your job is to surface insights that I might be blind to because I’m inside the business every day.
Here’s what I’ll give you: a description of my product, customers, revenue model, costs, team structure, and current goals.
Here’s what I want back:

1. Patterns or opportunities in my data or story that I may be overlooking.

2. Early warning signs of risks or bottlenecks that could derail growth.

3. ‘Hidden levers’—underutilized assets, processes, or relationships that could unlock new revenue or efficiencies.

4. Competitive or market shifts that might not be obvious but could impact me in 6–18 months.

5. A list of questions I haven’t asked but should, to uncover blind spots.
   Speak plainly, don’t hedge, and aim for uncomfortable truths. Prioritize what would have the highest impact on revenue, margins, and founder time if addressed.

Are you raising venture capital?

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Keep it moving

Caltech Builds World’s Largest Quantum Computer - LINK
Scientists at Caltech just unveiled a quantum computer so powerful it could dwarf everything before it.

OpenAI Launches Parental Controls for ChatGPT - LINK
Parents can finally lock down ChatGPT, deciding what their kids can and can’t ask the AI.

DeepMind Says Video AI Is the Next GPT Moment - LINK
DeepMind claims video models will transform the world just like large language models did for text.

EA Reportedly Selling for $50 Billion - LINK
Electronic Arts could soon be snatched up by private investors in one of the biggest gaming deals ever.

Apple Quietly Built a ChatGPT Clone - LINK
Apple secretly tested a ChatGPT-like AI to see if Siri can finally stop being a joke.

Trump Approves TikTok Deal by Executive Order - LINK
Trump just greenlit TikTok’s U.S. survival with the stroke of a pen.

Meta Launches “Vibes” Feed of AI Slop - LINK
Meta wants you scrolling AI-generated junk videos in its new “Vibes” feed.

Cloudflare to Launch Net-Dollar Stablecoin - LINK
Cloudflare is cooking up a U.S. dollar stablecoin to power AI-driven payments.

OpenAI Says GPT-5 Matches Human Jobs - LINK
OpenAI claims GPT-5 is so good it can go head-to-head with humans across entire industries.

Spotify to Label AI-Generated Tracks - LINK
Spotify will now tag AI music so your playlists aren’t flooded with spammy robot songs.

Y Combinator Offers “Early Decision” for Students - LINK
YC is pitching students on skipping graduation and launching startups straight out of school.

AI Spending Boom Compared to Past Tech Bubbles - LINK
Analysts warn today’s AI gold rush may not be the dot-com bust 2.0—yet.

How Google’s Dev Tools Boss Makes AI Coding Work - LINK
Inside Google’s push to turn AI-assisted coding into a mainstream developer habit.

Code Story Podcast: It’s like therapy for startup founders, except the therapist is a microphone and everyone’s listening. Code, chaos, and confessions served weekly.

What I’m thinking about:

• Tesla’s Lightning Legacy: The Colorado Springs Experiment Blog

• What if your biggest success came from a total collapse? Interview

• Give people their flowers when they earn them. Interview

Uncover the AI tools (here) you didn’t ask for, but now you’re weirdly into.

Thanks for being here.

-Ryan

p.s. When you are ready, here’s how I can help.

We have successfully booked podcast interviews for over 800 funded startup founders, entrepreneurs with exits, and C-suite executives. If you're ready to lead your company from the front, let Kitcaster handle your podcast scheduling and create a powerful stream of content for you and your brand.

I write about Revops, Product, and Founder-led marketing on Linkedin, X, and my blog.