AI startups: Sell work, not software

Service firms are hired for two reasons:

• Do a job that the client doesn’t have the bandwidth or expertise to do.


• Offer third-party expertise in decisions (cynically, to cover the client’s a**.)

That execution-oriented first bucket tends to include IT implementations (like cloud migration projects), financial audits, and outsourced customer support – ... See more

I feel like tech-land forgets that you can build really big services businesses.

However, we have noticed in many cases that AI companies simply don’t have the same economic construction as software businesses. At times, they can even look more like traditional services companies. In particular, many AI companies have: