Mike Birtwistle

I study how businesses get attention, win customers, and make money. Exploring AI, emerging opportunities, and ideas worth testing.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

It has always been about distribution.
There's graveyards full of great ideas that never got traction because the owners failed at the one thing that actually matters. (of course you still need a good product or ser vice too)
Can you attract attention and capture demand.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

https://t.co/FZfEo8ZPjv

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

The more possibilities you can imagine, the more reasons you can invent not to act.

Someone who sees only one path might simply take it.

Someone who sees twenty possible paths can spend years trying to determine which is best.

Neither approach guarantees success, but only one produces evidence.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

I Once Tried to Steal a Plane.

Yet I still hesitate to put out content that carries almost no risk.

Why are we sometimes willing to take enormous physical risks but terrified of relatively small social risks?

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

A question to ask yourself…

How much does the fear of doing something you’re almost certain is what you need to do (to achieve some outcome you desire), hold you back?

It’s crazy how much our minds can be our own worst enemy.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

The answers aren't necessarily what make someone successful.

It's how they interpret information, act on it, observe the consequences, and adapt.

The questions may be the same.

But the answers are always changing.

The only way to know is to trust yourself to take action.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@RobbyFrank @levelsio 100% agree...

And as different protocols unfold that allow more granular purchasing of services based on actual usage the margins for those that have positioned themselves for arbitrage will continue to thrive.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

What happens to people who are terrible at their jobs?

Do they recognize their incompetence?

Or do they simply move into another profession and continue confidently giving advice?

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@dannypostma Interesting use case...

How do you codify the knowledge without bloating them with context?

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

Ever notice how thought leaders are just very consistent at having someone else’s thoughts...

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

Here's an uncomfortable question...

What if your brand equity is actually just friction equity?

Your customer loves you.

Or do they love you?

Or do they just... not hate you enough to search for an alternative?

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

Find a commercially valuable position.

Gain access to it through a small, focused offer.

Use AI to operate it efficiently.

Reinvest the resulting cash flow into assets that compound its advantage.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

Great insight... AI replaces effort, not responsibility.

When intelligence becomes a free commodity, value migrates to where a decision actually locks in.

You’ve already hit 3 of the 5 durable moats.

Your audience acts as a "Demand Gatekeeper" because you control the intake of attention before anyone buys.

The Nomads API is a "System of Record" holding unique ground-truth data.

And your meetups... they nail "Physical Execution" since AI can't show up IRL.

But I'd add there are 2 moats left, and you could capture them just by tweaking Hotelist.

The fourth is the "Commitment Orchestrator" the entity that actually executes the transaction.

Right now Hotelist is discovery.

If it eventually processes the payment and becomes the merchant of record, you control that binding, irreversible moment.

The fifth is the "Liability Bearer" the one willing to hold the bag when things fail.

And as you said you hate regulation, but liability can just be financial risk.

If Hotelist offered a "Longevity Guarantee" and refunded users out of pocket if a hotel gym sucked, you become a trusted backer.

AI can filter hotel reviews all day long. But it can't assume financial risk, and it can't process a real-world booking.

AI swallows products that just advise. The ultimate moat is owning the consequence.

Always love your content...

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

https://t.co/kTtqeUaR78

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@thesamparr I moved off of wordpress because originally it wasn't great for coding agents.

Rebuilt everything on Cloudflare pages.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@tibo_maker Your newsletter opt-in... it looks like it still uses feather.

From what I see you guys removed all newsletter features?

I tested a few submits (wanted to subscribe) but didn't get anything.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@tibo_maker Your opt in is dead and doesn't go anywhere.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@tibo_maker You should do a rocket mass-style heater that makes the full bench heated.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@trikcode Of course they are because they know that when agents can search across thousands of options businesses all start to look the same.

[Mike Birtwistle @ItsBirty]

@danmartell So true... when i was swimming across the pacific ocean i didn't see a person the whole time.