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A lot of startups eventually discover they’re spending more time managing software subscriptions, integrations, dashboards, and workflow fragmentation than actually improving their core product.
There’s a point where strategic custom infrastructure becomes cheaper, faster, and easier to evolve than stitching together another layer of SaaS dependencies.
And with AI .md documention as the new norm , its easier than ever to onboard new developers to your custom stack..
The challenge is knowing which parts of a platform should remain flexible, owned, and deeply integrated — and which parts are fine to outsource.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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One of the biggest mistakes to be made right now is competing on execution.
Terrible bad idea. (Permit me, please.)
AI already made execution abundant.
What clients are actually paying for now is
• Taste
• Judgment
• Strategy
• Perspective
• Problem solving
Anyone can generate content now.
But not everyone can build messaging that makes people feel understood.
Anyone can create a landing page.
But not everyone can structure a buyer journey that converts.
This is why I keep saying:
“Sell the OUTCOME, not the service.”
People don’t want a funnel.
They want more qualified leads.
They don’t want automation.
They want more freedom and consistency.
They don’t want content.
They want authority, trust, and sales.
The AI era won’t kill experts.
It will expose task sellers.
Michael Burry just compared the AI market to the final months of the dot-com bubble.
He might be wrong on timing.
He's not wrong on what comes next.
S&P 500 at 7,398. Nvidia at $5T. OpenAI committed $1.4T in spending against $13B in revenue.
When the 2000 bubble burst, two types of companies survived:
Those with real products solving real problems. (Amazon. Google.)
Those with brands their customers wouldn't abandon.
Everything else died.
In 2026, founders are pouring capital into the AI layer of their product. Wrappers. APIs. "AI-first" rebrands. Glossy demos.
Almost nobody is investing in the things that actually survived the last crash:
Product depth. Brand equity. UX. Customer trust.
When this corrects — and history says it will — the companies still standing won't be the ones with the slickest AI demo.
They'll be the ones whose users still open the app on day 60.
The ones whose brand earned a benefit of the doubt.
The ones whose experience felt like a tool, not a trick.
If your roadmap is 80% AI features and 20% product fundamentals, you're not building for the future.
You're building for the next bubble.
Founders — what's your ratio?
Rant 👇
A lot of 3D artists are upset about AI stealing their jobs.
The reality is 3D artists and plenty of other professions had a monopoly over execution for the longest time. They never learned how to actually deliver outcomes for brands
In business, clients need more leads, more sales. They don't care what tool got their products infront of more customers.
Those who can't adapt get left behind.
Here's some content I whipped up for one of my clients in Australia. They care about quality content at speed. I make it my job to stay current with AI so I can deliver the best service possible.
There's still a place for CGI - 3D animation will always be my preferred choice for campaigns where top quality is the priority.
But I'd be doing my clients a disservice if I didn't deliver what they need, as fast as they need it.
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