Summary of Key Points
AI technology has virtually eliminated the technical barriers to starting a business (it takes just a few hours to create a product prototype), yet the failure rate of startups has increased. This is because AI cannot address the issues of market demand and the essential human capabilities: it cannot determine what users truly need, nor can it cultivate your taste, experience, or judgment. Entrepreneurs with poor decision-making skills will struggle to succeed even with the help of AI.
Detailed Analysis
1. Why does AI lower the barriers to starting a business?
In the past, starting a business and developing a product—whether an app or a mini-program—required learning programming, design, and writing copywriting, which could take several months or even half a year to produce a rudimentary prototype. Nowadays, with AI tools like ChatGPT for coding, Midjourney for design, and AI-generated marketing copywriting, you can assemble a decent product framework in just a few hours. It’s like building a house from scratch; previously, you had to carry bricks and lay walls yourself, but now AI provides pre-made components that allow you to quickly put together the basic structure—thus lowering the technical barriers to a point where almost anyone can try.
2. Why is the failure rate higher?
Although the barriers have decreased, more people are interested in starting businesses, but market demand hasn’t increased accordingly. Many people use AI to quickly create prototypes without considering who will actually use the product or whether there’s a real need for it. For example, someone might develop an AI tool that automatically generates social media posts, thinking it’s convenient, but users may prefer to write their own content (which is more authentic), or they may already have free alternatives. Such “self-entertaining” products, no matter how quickly the prototype is created, won’t be successful. In other words, AI solves the problem of whether a product can be made, but not whether it should be made in the first place.
3. Soft skills that AI cannot replace:
AI cannot learn things like taste, experience, and judgment, which must be acquired through real-world experiences:
- Taste: For instance, when designing a奶茶 shop, AI can generate 100 designs, but which one appeals to young people and makes a lasting impression on customers? This requires observing user preferences (such as knowing whether the “ins style” or “Chinese trend” is currently popular).
- Experience: When facing supplier breaches or customer complaints, AI can offer suggestions, but how to handle them without losing customers or incurring costs? This depends on past experiences and networking.
- Judgment: Questions like “Can live streaming still be profitable?” or “Where are the opportunities in AI education?” cannot be answered by AI. AI can provide historical data, but future opportunities require industry understanding and foresight.
4. Poor judgment cannot be overcome by AI:
The key to entrepreneurial success is doing the right thing, not just doing things correctly. If you choose a direction with no market demand, using AI to perfect your product will be futile. AI can give you 10 business ideas, but you need to determine which one has potential; it can help optimize your product, but you must identify the real user pain points. If you lack judgment (e.g., always choosing niche or unneeded directions), no amount of AI tools will make you a successful entrepreneur—it’s like giving a person who can’t drive a sports car a fast car; they still won’t know how to use it.
5. Lessons for entrepreneurs:
AI is a tool, not a magic solution. To succeed with AI, you must first understand what users need and then use it to improve efficiency. For example:
- Conduct market research (chat with users, analyze competitors) to confirm there’s actual demand for your product.
- Use AI to quickly create a prototype and test it with users, then adjust based on their feedback.
- Continuously gain industry experience and broaden your knowledge—don’t rely on AI to think for you; it’s just an assistant that helps you work.
In summary, AI makes starting a business easier, but whether you can succeed depends on your own abilities.
Final Conclusion
AI has reduced the cost of entering the entrepreneurial world, but it hasn’t decreased the difficulty of succeeding. The real competition in entrepreneurship is about who understands users better and makes more informed decisions.