AI First with Adam and Andy Building Is Easy Now: Why Distribution Is the Real AI Startup Bottleneck
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Jan 14, 2026 
Greg Gottesman, a seasoned venture capitalist and co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, dives into the complexities of startup success in today's AI landscape. He reveals that distribution is the true bottleneck for startups, even as AI reduces product development costs. Gottesman contrasts AI-native companies—where every function integrates AI—with those that only have isolated teams. He discusses the evolving role of humans in oversight as AI takes on more tasks and emphasizes the need for leadership in AI adoption across businesses.
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Track Record: Rover, Boundless, And 43 Spinouts
- Pioneer Square Labs spun out 43 venture-backed companies and helped build Boundless, a large digital immigration agency.
- Greg founded Rover.com and taught entrepreneurship for 25 years, showing deep operator experience.
Studios Lose Edge As AI Lowers Build Costs
- AI can weaken a startup studio's advantage because it speeds product development that studios used to provide.
- Studios must rethink value propositions as AI lowers the cost of building and accelerates competition.
What 'AI Native' Really Means
- 'AI native' means flipping from humans augmented by AI to AI doing the work with humans supervising.
- Most companies today are still humans with AI sprinkled in, not true AI native organizations.