Why I Started This Substack
I want to show you AI, not just list a bunch of companies and links.
I don’t like shopping. I should work out but don’t. Also, I have not one athletic bone in my body. So, I spend my time exploring AI tools and have too much fun doing so. Like, stay-up-way-too-late kind of fun. Every single day, there are dozens of new AI tools launching — but let’s be real: most of them kind of suck.
Every time I search for new tools, it feels like scrolling through the Cheesecake Factory menu. An overwhelming directory of options, but no clue where to start, what’s actually good, or what’s worth my time.
Inside my company Bumo (www.bumo.com), we even had a Slack channel dedicated to AI tools in order to engage our team and get everyone to use AI. People were posting non-stop. But most of us weren’t really using these tools we listed. Or if we did use them, it was not in a way that actually changed how we worked. And honestly, it’s overwhelming and you’re trying to develop a muscle that feels unnatural. Even for the most powerful tools like ChatGPT or Claude — 99% of people are barely scratching the surface.
Here’s what I’ve realized: when you actually use AI — like really lean in — it can be transformative. I had ChatGPT walk me through running a Python script in a few minutes in place of creating custom coupon codes on Stripe manually (would have taken me an hour). But more than saving time, I felt empowered. Like, "I can build anything" empowered.
So that’s why I’m here.
On this Substack, I’ll share:
The tools I actually use.
Exactly how I use them.
Whether they're worth your time (or not).
The good, the bad, and the totally overhyped.
Some tools automate my scheduling — they literally book my meetings, follow up if someone ghosts me, and even schedule my son’s playdates. Others just sneakily make my life 10x easier behind the scenes.
It’s not just about AI-native tools either. So many of the apps we already use have quietly started layering in AI — some brilliantly, some embarrassingly bad. I’ll break those down too.
I invite you in. If you’re a founder, an operator, a creative, a parent, let’s empower ourselves together.