Henrik Werdelin is on an AI-fueled mission to launch thousands of startups a year.

He is the founder of BARK, which went public, and prehype, a studio that has incubated several unicorns. With Audos, Henrik is building AI agents that can coach founders how he would — if he had infinite time to do so.

And Audos is not just for the cliche founder looking to launch a unicorn… It’s for entrepreneurs of all stripes. With AI making things easier, Henrik expects to see lots more “DonkeyCorns,” i.e. highly profitable businesses operated by just one or two people.

“DonkeyCorns party like unicorns, but they grind like mules.”

Check out this episode for lots of practical tips for how you can get more out of AI. Plus, we’ll peer into the weird future we’re building.

Takeaways from this episode:

AI enables new businesses to be created, launched, and tested very quickly. Henrik will share all the ways that Audos is using AI agents to help founders focus on their customers, run ads, launch websites, and get their first 100 customers.
Henrik likes to talk to his AI agents like they’re people: He gives them names and backstories. By doing so, he finds he has a better partner than a bot or Google search would be.
Be creative with your prompts. The more creative you are, the better the AI response will be. e.g., Ask your AI for “ten ideas that will definitely get me fired”
“Customer-founder fit” is the most important ingredient to Henrik when evaluating startups
Use “signal mining” to prove there is real demand for your product.
“The swipe” is the best way to prove there is real intent for your product, i.e. get people to pay for it, even if you haven’t built it yet. We’ll hear how Henrik did this when launching BarkBox and BARK Air.
BARK succeeded (it’s gone public) by following its mission (to be “Disney for dogs”) not by following its utility. As Henrik shares, it made more sense for them to keep making dogs happy than to launch products for cats.
“Relationship capital” and “humanity” are going to be even more important going forward as AI continues to excel at technical jobs.
Corporations need to take AI seriously right now. And Henrik says senior leaders need to be using it themselves.
Henrik hopes more creative people will embrace AI, despite their fears. He doesn’t relish a future where it’s only McKinsey consultants looking for “faster and cheaper” with AI
It’s weird out there: We discuss the uncanny valley of talking to AI agents (including those that impersonate your dead spouse)
Rock and roll – Henrik tells the story of his career break: As an intern, he pulled an on-air stunt at MTV that he was sure would get him fired, but instead got him a huge promotion.

Henrik is the author of The Acorn Method: How Companies Get Growing Again. And he’s writing a new book, Me, My Customer, and AI.

Henrik also co-hosts the podcast Beyond the Prompt, which features the interesting, weird, and uncanny-valley ways people are using AI in their day-to-day lives, as well as practical tips for how you can go beyond “beginner mode” in your own use of AI.

Key Moments

(00:00) - Intro
(02:56) - Henrik’s method for launching startups
(04:08) - Why “customer-founder fit” is the first thing he looks for and how it manifested at BARK
(06:43) - How to use “signal mining” to prove there is real demand for your product
(08:42) - Launching BARK Air, “a totally real airline for dogs”
(12:28) - Launching Audos and using AI to launch thousands of startups a year
(18:07) - “DonkeyCorns!” Why we will see more highly profitable companies run by just one or two people
(22:32) - How Henrik uses AI, creates great prompts, and why he personifies his agents. Lots of practical tips here on how you can get more out of AI
(28:52) - The stunt that nearly got Henrik fired at MTV, but instead was his big career break
(32:02) - Why big companies need to take AI seriously right now, and why senior leaders need to work with it directly
(35:29) - This moment in innovation: How Henrik advises people looking for their next play
(38:14) - “Pursue interestingness”
(39:26) - The uncanny valley of AI embodying people
(40:52) - Outro

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From Dogs to DonkeyCorns! Using AI to Launch Thousands of Startups a Year | Henrik Werdelin (Founder of BARK, prehype, Audos)

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