AI Is Making Your Business Idea Worthless

A few years ago, I met a founder with a bold idea.

He and his co-founder were building something interesting.

A SaaS product with real potential.

At the time, my brother and I helped them a little bit on a consulting deal.

Nothing major.

A few Ks for some initial platform setup and overall strategy.

Beyond that, they were paying us €300/month for maintenance.

But the business wasn’t sustainable.

They had no revenue, and the founders weren't even aligned on the future of the business.

They were both working full time while trying to build this project.

Soon, they shut it down.

End of the story?

Not quite.

Fast forward to today.

I have recently thought about the same founder again.

He's still working. He's also a part-time creator.

Here's the interesting part.

Someone close to him told me that despite the failed first attempt, he still wants to do it.

He still wants to build the SaaS project.

Honestly, I respect that.

If you have something in your head that you want to build, I think you should.

But here’s where things get interesting.

He believes the biggest thing holding him back is the lack of developers.

He thinks that to bring his idea to life, he needs to assemble a team of coders and build everything from scratch.

Unfortunately…

He’s wrong.

The game has completely changed.

Now before you think I'm being too harsh or whatever, let me prove it to you.

Consider this.

What took months now takes days.

My brother (a full-stack developer) and I (a marketer) can use AI, automation, and many no-code or low-code solutions to replicate his entire SaaS product in just days.

Then, we can create content, ads, and marketing material to promote this in a week or so.

That’s not an exaggeration.

What used to take months (or even years) of dev work can now be cloned in a weekend.

Sometimes, even less than that.

So what’s the real competitive advantage today?

Marketing. Branding. Storytelling.

It's simply not about product obsession anymore.

A few years ago, obsessing over the product made sense.

A unique product meant a competitive edge.

But today?

If you rely solely on having a great product, you’re playing a losing game.

Because if your product is even slightly successful, someone will replicate it.

Fast.

You don't have to believe me.

See it for yourself.

AI can generate code in seconds.

Developers can build apps in days.

White-label solutions exist for almost everything.

The hard truth is that your product alone won’t save you.

If code can be cloned, if features can be copied, then what’s left?

The only thing they can't copy.

Your brand. Your marketing. Your positioning in customers minds.

That’s THE game now.

Not “who has the best developers.”

Not “who builds it first.”

But who tells the best story, attracts attention, and builds a brand people trust.

Skills are shifting.

A decade ago, coding was king.

Now? Storytelling is.

Because in a world where products are commodities, people don’t buy based on features.

Those can be replicated.

They buy based on emotions, trust, and connection.

That’s why the smartest founders today aren’t obsessing over product development.

They’re obsessing over distribution.

Marketing. Branding. Ads. Funnels. Content.

And that’s why if I wanted to, I could take this founder’s idea, build it in a week, and beat him with marketing in no time.

Distribution simply matters more.

Every. Single. Time.

Now, here's the point.

If you’re still obsessing over what to build instead of how to market it, you’re missing the real game.

AI will keep getting better at building things.

But it won’t replace human connection, trust, and branding anytime soon.

Or maybe it will, and we will have to adapt again.

That's a conversation for another day.

Talk soon,

Nick

P.S. If you’re working on a product right now, ask yourself—am I spending more time on the thing itself or on how I’m going to sell it? Because if it’s the former… you might be in trouble.