Tyler Smith

Tweeting about ecommerce and entrepreneurship. Founder of @shopcartisan | Empowering anyone to buy & sell online easily with their smartphone.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

I think generosity should be easier, more visible, and more contagious.

A lot of people want to participate in meaningful acts. They just need a clearer path and less coordination drag.

That is where I think good AI can help.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

What is harder than expected: talking about AI in a way that feels grounded instead of generic.

What is going better than expected: when I frame Tiptide as using technology to make generosity easier, people get it pretty fast.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

A thing I am trying to protect while building Tiptide is heart.

It is easy for product work and AI work to collapse into features, flows, and optimization. Those things matter. But the original human reason for the product has to stay intact too.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

If you were using a platform built around coordinated generosity, what would make you trust it?

Clarity? Simplicity? Transparency? Social proof?

I would genuinely love thoughtful answers to that.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

A lot of startups chase convenience. I care about dignity too.

Convenience matters, obviously. But if the product helps people move faster while losing the human meaning of the moment, I do not think that is a real win.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

I do not think this is just an app problem.

It is really a question about whether technology can make generosity easier to organize and more natural to repeat.

That is why this feels bigger than software to me.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

I am much more interested in AI that helps people care for each other better than AI that just creates more noise.

There is a real difference between hype and usefulness.

I want Tiptide to live on the useful side of that line.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

A product principle I care about a lot:
if the coordination layer becomes louder than the act of generosity itself, we built the wrong thing.

That applies to AI too. The tech should support the moment, not dominate it.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

I think small generosity scales culturally, not just financially.

When people see a meaningful act done well, it expands what feels normal. It gives others a script. It makes generosity more contagious.

That is part of the bigger vision for Tiptide.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

One thing I keep learning: people are more open to an AI for good story when it is concrete.

Not abstract ethics language.
Not vague optimism.

Something specific like helping a group coordinate real generosity better.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

What is the most meaningful tip you have ever given or received?

Not necessarily the biggest.
Just the one that stuck with you.

I think those stories reveal a lot about how people experience generosity.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

Building a mission-driven product feels different when it is tied to a real thesis.

Mine is basically this:
AI should help people coordinate good behavior better, not just move faster through commercial workflows.

Tiptide is one expression of that.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

I do not think most generosity problems are motivation problems.
I think they are infrastructure problems.

People care. Then the logistics get messy.

That is why I am interested in AI for good as infrastructure for care, not just content generation or productivity theater.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

The moment this idea really clicked for me was realizing the desire to be generous is common.

The ability to coordinate generosity well is not.

I think AI can help close that gap if it is used to create clarity, momentum, and trust around a good human moment.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

A lot of the AI conversation is about speed, efficiency, and replacing labor.

I keep coming back to a different question:
can AI help people become more generous?

That is part of why I am building Tiptide. I want technology to reduce friction around kindness, not just optimize transactions.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

I keep thinking about how often generosity breaks down at the coordination layer.

People want to do something meaningful for someone who served them well. They want it to feel personal. They want to do it together.

Then it turns into scattered texts, awkward money chasing, and lost momentum.

I’m building Tiptide because I think generosity deserves better infrastructure.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

@_arilevy @mazemoore @profgalloway He's a beta bitch that is just an attention seeker. He just regurgitates information that he hears out of the mouths of the men he wants to be.

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

@GavinNewsom Who is John Galt?

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

@sflorimm Easy planning for generosity dinners. https://t.co/P2LT6ZCPwO

[Tyler Smith @tuler]

One thing I believe more strongly now than I did 30 days ago:
people are not short on generosity.
They are short on clean, trustworthy ways to coordinate it well.

That belief keeps getting sharper for me.