2 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #9: Fake Moats AI Will Expose

AI will not only create new advantages. It will expose fake ones. That may be the more useful lens for operators. Before asking what AI lets you build, ask which profits were quietly protected by friction, confusion, slow competitors, or customers who had no better option. A fake moat can
2 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #8: Process Power: The Moat Hiding in How the Work Gets Done

Process power is the least glamorous of the Seven Powers and probably the most interesting in AI. It is hard to copy because it is not a single asset. It is a way of operating built over time: habits, judgment, systems, feedback loops, incentives, tooling, and accumulated know-how. Competitors can
2 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #7: Cornered Resource: Scarcity Still Matters, But It Moved

AI makes some resources feel less scarce and makes others matter more. Basic coding ability, generic analysis, ordinary copywriting, first-pass design, and routine support are easier to access. That does not make them worthless. It just makes them less likely to be the protected asset. Cornered resource means a company
2 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #6: Branding and Trust: When Everyone Claims Intelligence

Branding gets stranger in the AI era. When every vendor says the product is intelligent, fast, secure, and transformative, the words stop carrying information. Buyers learn to discount the language. They have to. The market is loud, and most demos look better than the operating reality. That does not make
2 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #5: Switching Costs: Workflow Lock-In Is Not the Same as User Pain

Switching costs are often confused with inconvenience. A customer may dislike migrating data, retraining staff, or changing vendors. That does not mean you have power. It means the customer has chores. If the replacement is meaningfully better, cheaper, or bundled into a system they already use, chores get done. AI
3 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #4: Counter-Positioning: The AI Move Incumbents Cannot Copy Cheaply

Counter-positioning is the most abused strategy story in AI. Every startup wants to believe incumbents cannot respond. Sometimes that is true. Often it is wishful thinking with a pitch deck. Counter-positioning means a new entrant adopts a model that an incumbent cannot copy without damaging its existing business. The damage
3 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #3: Network Economies: Workflow Networks Beat User Counts

Network effects are claimed far more often than they exist. The AI era will make this worse. Every company with users, data, or shared templates will be tempted to say the network gets stronger as more people join. Usually it does not. More users are nice. They are not automatically
3 min read Free

Seven Powers in the AI Era Series #2: Scale Economies: When AI Makes Size Matter Less, Then More

Scale economies are easy to misunderstand in AI. The lazy version says: AI lowers marginal cost, so scale matters less. The equally lazy counter says: AI requires huge compute budgets, so only giants win. Both are sometimes true. Neither is strategy. Scale economies exist when unit costs improve as volume
You've successfully subscribed to Antoine Buteau
Great! Next, complete checkout to get full access to all premium content.
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Unable to sign you in. Please try again.
Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content.
Error! Stripe checkout failed.
Success! Your billing info is updated.
Error! Billing info update failed.
Press ESC to close.