Key Advice for Starting an AI Business

Recently I came across a talk by Joseph Lee — the CEO of Syncly, an AI platform that helps companies understand customer feedback at scale. He specifically shared his insight of 3 years of AI entrepreneurship.

These insights are quite enlightening and I learned that the key to success in this space is

not just about the technology itself, but about how you approach building and scaling your AI-powered venture.

Focus on Customer Value, Not Just the Technology

One of the most important lessons is that customers don’t actually care what technology you’re using — they care about the value you can provide. In one of the customers’ own words, quoted by Lee, “I don’t care if you use AI or not. What I want is to get my job done using your solution.” This realization was a turning point for him, as it made him understand that the true value of AI lies in its ability to solve real-world problems for customers, not just in the technology itself.

Build a Complementary Co-Founder Team

Finding the right co-founder is crucial when starting an AI business. As Lee mentioned, the co-founder relationship is akin to a marriage, and it’s essential to have a great fit in terms of values, priorities, and complementary skill sets. As Lee said, his co-founder and him have been working together for one decade, and…