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HS Kimleft a comment
We built ours around a simple principle. Input is free, output is paid. Took a while to figure out where exactly to draw that line.
How to give enough value without giving away the product
Imed RadhouaniJoin the discussion
HS Kimleft a comment
For me it went the other direction. AI didn't threaten my work. It created work I couldn't have done otherwise. I'm building a product as a non-native English speaker with no formal dev background. The writing, the code, the research. None of it would exist at this pace without AI. So maybe it comes down to this: were you already inside a system AI could replace, or outside one it could help...
Since the rise of AI, do you feel that your job is at risk? And what about certain professions?
HS Kimleft a comment
Exactly. I think I'm the target here. I've been building with AI for three months. I'm still not sure if I'm using it or it's using me.
Will we work for AI or will AI work for us?
HS Kimleft a comment
No mentor. Just AI. The feedback loops are faster but there's no one to tell you when you're optimizing the wrong thing.
Does having a mentor actually matter in business and startups?
Aleksandar BlazhevJoin the discussion
HS Kimstarted a discussion
I read 16 IRS publications from Korea to build a tax app. Here's what broke my brain.
I read 16 IRS publications from Korea. Then I found several government audit reports from the GAO. Here's the number that stopped me cold. I am not American. I've never filed a Schedule C. I've never spoken to the IRS. But I was already building a product for 31 million U.S. self-employed people. So I needed to understand their tax reality. 16 IRS publications. Multiple audit reports. Hundreds...
HS Kimleft a comment
Not a podcast person, honestly. But I have been getting a lot from build-in-public YouTube channels lately. Watching founders document the actual process, mistakes included, teaches differently than a polished interview. Hidden gem: founders documenting their journey on YouTube before they have an audience. The early episodes are usually the most honest.
What are your favorite business and startup podcasts?
Aleksandar BlazhevJoin the discussion
HS Kimleft a comment
25% on Fridays makes sense. That is when the week mentally ends for most people, even if the calendar does not. We are building around a similar problem, not streaks, but the habit of recording expenses at the moment they happen. The twist: everything runs on-device, so we actually cannot see our own users drop-off patterns. Privacy by design, blind spot by design. That 24M data set must tell a...
Guess what day most people lose their streak!
Charlie Hopkins-BrinicombeJoin the discussion
HS Kimleft a comment
Both, at the same time, but kept separate. I started a build-in-public YouTube channel under my own name, and a separate brand account for the product. Same story, different stages. The personal account is where I share the journey. The product account is where the product lives. If I ever hand off or sell, the keys are separable. Still pre-launch, so I do not know yet which one actually drives...
Build your brand before your product, or launch first and reveal yourself later?
HS Kimleft a comment
The opposite is happening with us. We are building for the smallest possible customer, US self-employed, 31 million of them, no procurement cycles, no compliance reviews, no IT gatekeepers. Just one person with a shoebox of receipts. The temptation to go upmarket is real. But your line stuck with me: no enterprise features until someone from enterprise pays first. Not asks. Pays. Reading this,...
We spent 6 months building for enterprise. Nobody bought it.
Imed RadhouaniJoin the discussion
HS Kimleft a comment
For us it came down to where the habit lives vs where the value gets realized. Privacy matters to us, so everything runs on-device by design. Basic recording is free forever because that's the behavior we need. Output, reports, Schedule C prep, that's where the outcome happens, so that's where we charge. Still pre-launch so the market hasn't weighed in yet, but that was the logic. Hope this helps.
How do you decide what features should be free and what should be paid?
HS Kimleft a comment
Thanks for the upvote! Curious, which of these friction points hits closest to home for you?
What's the most painful part of tracking expenses for taxes?
HS KimJoin the discussion
HS Kimstarted a discussion
What's the most painful part of tracking expenses for taxes?
Hey — HS here, building B-ZEC. Curious what actually frustrates you about tracking expenses for Schedule C. Is it: Forgetting to log something right after you swipe? Not knowing which category it belongs to? Losing receipts before reconciliation? Something else entirely? I'm trying to understand the 10-second window between "you paid" and "you logged it" — because that's where most tax...