Building Lasting AI Value

Dharmesh Shah shares his perspective on the AI revolution, emphasizing the importance of creating genuine value rather than pursuing quick profits. As a 30-year software industry veteran and HubSpot co-founder, he sees AI as the biggest technological paradigm shift since the internet.

Key Points:

• AI Revolution Scale:

  • Bigger than the mobile revolution, which had discrete use cases
  • Comparable to the original internet in terms of impact
  • "This is an order of magnitude bigger than that"
  • Impacts everything, not just specific industries

• Approach to AI Opportunities:

  • Don't be an "AI tourist" looking for quick profits
  • Focus on solving real problems where genuine money can be made
  • Avoid being a "grifter" or playing arbitrage
  • Technology should be used creatively but not as an excuse for short-term gains

• Personal Investment Philosophy:

  • Bought chat.com (8-figure purchase) based on conviction about chat-based interfaces
  • Acquired prompt.com (7-figure purchase) seeing opportunity in prompt engineering
  • Investments driven by long-term vision rather than quick returns
  • "Have the courage of your convictions if you truly believe in an idea"

• Value Creation Principles:

  • Look for opportunities to solve substantial problems
  • Focus on creating lasting value
  • Don't take advantage of people
  • Think long-term about how technology can be applied meaningfully

• Career Advice:

  • "Don't use it as an excuse just to be an AI tourist"
  • "You're short-changing yourselves" if focusing only on quick profits
  • Iterate and build products around strong convictions
  • Find like-minded folks and pursue meaningful opportunities