E210: How Startups Can Avoid Being Disrupted by OpenAI w/Eric Olson

In this interview, Eric Olson, founder of Consensus, discusses strategies for AI application layer startups to compete with horizontal AI models from major players like OpenAI. He highlights the importance of focus, specialization, and rapid innovation, using Granola's success against OpenAI's meeting recorder as an example of how vertical products can thrive by deeply addressing specific user needs. Olson explains that Consensus, an AI search engine for scientific research, differentiates itself from Google Scholar by offering modern search and analysis features tailored to researchers. He also touches on the AI talent wars, product development approaches, and the myth of moats for startups, emphasizing execution, speed, and customer focus. Finally, Olson shares his perspective on investing in the AI market, advocating for a diversified approach across different layers and sticking to fundamental principles of backing strong founders and teams.