Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co

AI operator. I build revenue systems for consumer brands, agencies, and VC funds. Co-founded a supplement brand that hit $9M ARR before this. Merge & Co.

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Most teams "test" messaging by spending $200 on ads and seeing what sticks.
Cold emails? Guesswork.
Website copy? Untouched.
ROI? 🤷
What if you could run a focus group before launch, for the same cost? That’s what we’re working on. #startups #marketing https://t.co/SocWuDdveq

[Naomi Bashkansky @NaomiBashkansky]

Two weeks ago, I resigned from OpenAI to join Conduit as a founding researcher, where we're training models to non-invasively read the human mind.

I've written some thoughts about what telepathy could look like by 2035 and how to get there:

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

@businessbarista Feels timely coming off the World Cup and going into US Open season

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Like him or not, Trump won because he had one message and never let go of it. Kamala had six. Six messages is no message. The best brand strategy is deciding what to leave out. What's your #MAGA?

https://t.co/plFi8LvgdV

#BrandStrategy #Messaging #MarketingStrategy

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

moda

[Anvisha @anvisha]

We raised $7.5M to kill AI slop.

Introducing Moda: the world's first design agent with taste.

RT+ comment “Moda” and we’ll design your brand for FREE.

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Launching on Product Hunt used to feel like jumping off a cliff. So I built a parachute.

Delfi Sim: Product Hunt → rehearse your launch with AI feedback before it’s real.

Coming Oct 27.

#buildinpublic #producthunt #startups

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Most teams hate talking to customers, or think it’s not worth the time.

But that’s exactly why their messaging falls flat.

For 10+ years I watched smart marketers ship and hope. And lose.

So I built Delfi.

Beta’s live. 5 new slots this week: https://t.co/KPxdLT83pf

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

@businessbarista Ai

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

@najibango Love that. Super smart and time efficient

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Copy testing is backwards. We launch a test, spend, and by the time we learn what works, we’ve already paid for it. How do others bring feedback into the creative process without wasting time and $?
#marketing #copywriting #growth #startups #abtesting #messaging #creativeops

[Nicole DeTommaso 🪄 @nic_detommaso]

Want to stand out in a VC interview?

Don’t just say you’re interested in climate, fintech, or AI.

Tell me:
– 3 startups you’d back
– What others are missing
– Why now

Generic interest isn’t enough. Conviction is.

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

@codyplof Feel this. ABO gives control but starves the algo. We run CBO w/ broad + use Delfi to simulate persona feedback pre-launch. Cuts time-to-learn + avoids burning budget. Early wins get pushed to BAU. Curious how others graduate creative?

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

@tomkornblit @Steffan Focusing on keeping it personal and adding value

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Your ICP didn’t change, you just ran out of people to annoy.

“Pivoting personas” is code for “we burned our first audience with terrible ads.”

#marketing #startuplife #growthmarketing #founderproblems #DTC #ecommerce #truthbomb

[Ritchie Torres @RitchieTorres]

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, providing substantial support to proxies like Hamas—the perpetrators of the October 7th massacre. Most alarming of all, Iran is a threshold nuclear power with the stated goal of wiping Israel off the map.

Make no mistake: Israel is not the aggressor. It is defending itself against an existential threat that long predates the present preemptive strike. The true aggressor is the Islamic Republic and its empire of terror—an empire stained with the blood of innocent Israelis.

[Allen Lattimer @allen_lattimer]

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

Follow me @allen_lattimer for more.

Like/Repost the quote below if you can:

[GREG ISENBERG @gregisenberg]

sam altman just dropped a blog post on why we're entering the era of the "idea guy"

so, i wrote down 19 ways to come up with startup ideas in the AI age:

1. ask chatgpt: "give me 10 tedious workflows a [job title] does that ai could automate." rinse and niche down.

2. scroll your own chatgpt history. if you're repeating the same prompt weekly, that's a product hiding in plain sight.

3. search: site:reddit. com "is there a tool that" + your niche. you'll find users begging for tools that don't exist.

4. audit where you copy/paste between tools. that friction is a startup idea.

5. read ai tool youtube comments. people write what they wish the tool did, that's your roadmap.

6. join industry discords/slack groups. look for "does anyone have a tool for..." complaints. (can set up an automation for that on n8n)

7. use https://t.co/a5ARFnvky2 to find validated startup ideas from fb groups, subreddits, and google trends. use the ai agents to validate your own ideas (launch pricing rn @ideabrowser )

8. study your calendar for recurring meetings with repetitive prep work. if you're copying templates each time, that's software.

9. browse fiverr for "i'll use chatgpt to..." services. those manual workflows are apps waiting to be built.

10. talk to local business owners about their daily excel updates. that's an ai agent waiting to be built.

11. browse g2 for top-rated legacy tools without ai. build the ai layer.

12. ask agency owners what clients beg for repeatedly. if it's annoying and repetitive, it's worth turning into software.

13. read comments on popular (70k+ views) youtube tutorial videos. look for friction points and niche applications for software ideas.

14. find multi-step tutorials using 8+ tools. build the one-click version.

15. scan linkedin job titles in growing industries. ask: "what would make this person 10x faster with ai?"

17. look for exploding job titles on linkedin. ask what workflows they're stuck doing manually.

17. find 2-star shopify/wordpress plugins with high usage. low stars + high usage = people care but experience sucks. or clone them with AI, focus on diff geographies and undercut on pricing.

18. join niche facebook groups and look for workflow hacking in comments. build the tool they're manually creating.

19. browse upwork for repeated ai + grunt work gigs. if multiple clients want it manual, it's ripe for productization.

sam altman gets it. your biggest bottle neck is the right ideas (startup ideas/growth ideas).

happy building. im rooting for you.

we're all idea guys/gals now.

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

What’s the rationale for a ceasefire in Israel without guaranteeing the return of all hostages?

I’m not asking to argue, I genuinely want to understand the moral or strategic logic behind that position.

#Israel #Gaza #Hostages #Ceasefire #MiddleEast #ForeignPolicy #AskTwitter

[Hasan Toor @hasantoxr]

🚨BREAKING: Now you can generate high-quality 4K videos just by using a text description!

SkyReels V2 lets you create cinematic content completely free and open source, with no time limits on videos over 30 seconds.

Here’s why this will blow your mind:

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Sometimes you hang up a call and just think:
“Yeah, no shot.”
“Wow, that was brutal.”
“Guess I’m a fucking idiot.”

That voice isn’t always right, but it’s not always wrong either.

Write down what you’d do 5% better next time, then move on.

#careergrowth #anxiety #selfawareness

[Steffan | AI Operator, Founder Merge & Co @SDBankier]

Is anyone else’s @ChatGPTapp not working today?

[Tim Denning @Tim_Denning]

Naval Ravikant and Tim Ferriss changed my life.

I watched 100s of their videos over the last 5 years.

Here are the 12 best philosophies I learned that will change your life: