OP #241: The AI App Stores Are Coming

A fresh Operating Partner letter in your inbox including a freshly updated jobs section.

Author

Darren Herman
January 09, 2024

Happy Tuesday morning,

I’m writing the opening of this OP on Sunday (1/7), which in the northeast, is filled with beautiful snow. Today brings me back to the weekends we’d be up in Manchester, VT, skiing at Bromley, eating at Up for Breakfast, and working the afternoons in the Spiral Press Cafe just above Northshire Bookstore. I’d write some of my best blogs and letters from the cafe. There was something magical about the snow covered village, the smell of warm coffee, and good vibes.

There is a lot in this OP letter. It’s the New Year energy 💥. Make sure to read the piece on AI App Stores, Curated Jobs, and of course, the Weekly Reading Links.

My friend, longtime NBCUniversal Exec turned NYU Stern Adjunct Associate Professor, Scott Schiller talks about lifelong learning. Separately, on the topic of learning, my pal and fellow Silicon Alley Sports advisor, Ben Kartzman, founder of Spongecell and COO Of MediaOcean talks about selling for half a billion on the forward obsessed podcast. And my friends at Hunt Club had me join them in Chicago and we discussed a variety of things including how businesses can implement AI today.

The AI video that made me watch 3x was where Professor Mollick (Wharton) trained AI for 30 seconds and now he has an avatar that he can make say anything. Watch the video. Crazy 😮. Speaking of AI, here is a reflection article that you should read:  289 days ago, 3 of us created a no-code custom chatbot building platform in 4 days and launched it on ProductHunt. Here’s what we learned.

I have a 19 13 year-old daughter and her excitement and fascination with skincare is off the charts. A friend sent me this article from Glossy and it resonates 100% with me. If you work in skincare or have a child who is into skincare, do you see the same?

Way back when, we started to talk about the death of the cookie. I was at Mozilla/Firefox for some of this and we were the first browser with Tracking Protection. The day is finally here when Google has begun turning off cookies in 1% of browsers. Hat tip to OP reader Chris Cloney for sending this LinkedIn video/post by Tim Peterson, Senior Media Editor at Digiday. To be honest, I’m surprised this has not gotten more coverage… as that 1% approaches 20%, I expect this to be a major headline.

Here are some good quotes from articles I pulled:

Blockchain will speed up how you pay, borrow, and lend. Web3 will shape how you shop and engage with brands. The metaverse will transform how you spend time with others. AI will upgrade how you live and work intelligently.

In 2017, when chatting with Louis Rossetto, one of the co-founders of Wired, along with Jane Metcalfe, I told him, “Discovering Wired was like stumbling upon my Rolling Stone. It gave me my cultural context more than anything else. I didn’t even think of myself as a nerd back then. I wasn’t. I was just genuinely interested in the future.”

The Knicks had a very strong (and unexpected) win over the Philadelphia 76ers. I saw some OP readers in the audience down in Philly as you had some great game pics posted to the ‘gram.  I’ve been thinking about all the rising stars in the NBA… a change of guard is occurring. This Yahoo! Sports article by Vincent Goodwill nails it.

Random question: has anyone had a positive (or negative) experience with Nomos Glashutte watches? I have been going back to analog watches outside of the tennis court and gym and have been slowly building up my collection.

OK, lets begin with some good reads:

I hope you are having a terrific week. As always, please reach out with any questions or comments.

Darren

P.S.
Here’s a brand I’m watching:  Popup Bagels. I used to work in a bagel store as a child and still love a good bagel. My pal Darren Rovell turned me onto Popup Bagels about a year ago. I’ve watched their ascent and now they are available once per week locally in my town, Wellesley.  I’ve been impressed to see a luxury brand be built around a bagel.

P.P.S
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The Forthcoming AI App Stores: A Gateway to Tangible Innovation

For those who want to watch an AI generated video interpretation of this story, click here. I used Augie, by AugX Labs, to take the below and turn into a video. It took me less than15 minutes. Note, I am a personal investor in AugX Labs.

Visionaries who can foresee and shape innovation are rare. Celebrated innovators like Walt Disney, Grace Hopper, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs exemplify this unique ability to imagine the possible, see it, and make it happen.

For the majority, embracing innovation requires a tangible experience - seeing, touching, and feeling its magic. I am absolutely in this bucket. This is where GenAI has an edge. Its advantage lies in its user-friendly approach, allowing quick hands-on experience and interaction using common language. This has been evident with tools like GenAI, where users engage through prompts, experiencing the “magic” firsthand.

However, the skill of prompt writing in AI is not inherently intuitive. It’s a learned skill, akin to how we once familiarized ourselves with HTML. For those who put in the time and effort, the basics become accessible.

But we stand on the brink of a transformative moment. 

The introduction of AI app stores could revolutionize the field, much like the Apple App Store did for the iPhone. Recall how the iPhone, launched in June 2007, gained a new dimension with the App Store's introduction in July 2008, starting with 500 apps.

So, why is this significant?

Like many, including myself, we may not share the visionary foresight of figures like Walt, Grace, Elon, or Steve. We grasp things when they are in front of us, finding ways to make them work effectively. The world of AI, previously nebulous to many, is set to become tangibly real with the introduction of AI apps. These apps, easy to install and operate within their ecosystems, could mirror the success seen in prior platforms like Salesforce and Shopify.

An App Store for custom chatbots might just be the starting point. As solving use cases with apps becomes simpler, we can anticipate a rapid expansion of the AI ecosystem, ushering in an era of accessible, practical AI applications.

We will shift from visionary to execution - and that’s where we have the chances of hitting escape velocity.  I am excited.

Curated Jobs For You

Here are some career opportunities that I came across this week that sounded really interesting. Note, I am not compensated to post these jobs nor do the companies know that I am doing so. If you are interested in learning more about the role or applying, please click the link. In some cases, the jobs may already be filled and for that, I apologize. Enjoy.

Director of Communications, QuantumBlack, AI (McKinsey).  You will be a member of the McKinsey Digital practice, working with leaders across QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey globally. As the AI arm of McKinsey, QuantumBlack blends powerful AI solutions with deep strategic thinking to help organizations innovate and develop new opportunities. In the context of creating effective communications, you will shape a robust external relations strategy leveraging marketing strategies to deliver exceptional impact, while positively and accurately positioning the firm’s client service offerings and ensuring coordination and integration of the reputation building programs of individual cells. You will drive dissemination of the firm’s insights and perspectives on issues of relevance to key internal stakeholders within cells (i.e., offices, industries, functions).

Account Director, ChatGPT Enterprise (OpenAI). You’ll be a key driver of opportunities through the entire sales cycle, from pipeline generation to closure. You’ll represent OpenAI as a thought leader in AI, and partner with researchers, engineers, and solution strategists to help customers evolve their AI journeys. ChatGPT Enterprise (launched Aug’23) is being rapidly adopted by companies around the world, and we’re looking for tenured Account Directors to join our team and continue to bring both new customers onto the product, and expand existing ones. This role is based in San Francisco. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

Digital and Social Content Design (NBA). This position is part of the NBA Social & Digital Content team which focuses on identifying, creating, distributing and publishing content to the NBA's social and digital platforms and its many domestic and international partners throughout the world. As the demand for content on the NBA's social platforms continues to grow, this is your opportunity to grow with us in a fast-paced, innovative and collaborative environment, reaching over 100M fans around the world. The ideal candidate is well versed in Adobe Creative Suite, has an understanding of design rules, pays attention to kerning, and can tell a story through visuals. .They are an expert creator who regularly creates unique graphics for themselves and others. Lastly, this candidate has their finger on the pulse of the NBA and is knowledgeable about players, their histories, and the season’s current storylines. 

Lifecycle Operations Specialist (Collectors). We are seeking a Lifecycle Operations Specialist to join our Growth Marketing team. We’re looking for a seasoned performance marketer with deep experience working with marketing CRM and promotion automation platforms. As our Lifecycle Operations Specialist, you will play a crucial role in delivering incredibly personalized promotions at scale that enhance the effectiveness of campaigns throughout the customer lifecycle: acquisition, retention, reactivation, cross-sell and more. You will leverage two key marketing technology platforms to bring these campaigns to life; Salesforce Marketing Cloud for audience orchestration and personalized communications, and Talon.One, an industry leading, all-in-one solution to manage marketing promotions at scale. The ideal candidate will be able to manage multiple projects, prioritize tasks effectively and adapt to a fast-paced environment.

I read a bunch this week and hope you enjoy the below links. If you have an article that you think I should include in future OP letters, please send my way. I reserve all rights for what goes in to each OP letter.

Our 2024 Outlook (Decasonic)

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Thank you.