Early Adoptr

Last week, Disney announced a billion-dollar deal with OpenAI to license 200+ characters into Sora. Everyone's treating this as Hollywood drama, but what Disney actually did is show every IP-based company, whether you're a global studio or a solo creator, the exact playbook for navigating AI. This week, we brought in our friend Rich Welsh to break it down from every angle at once. He's a Hollywood veteran, a startup founder, and now a VC investor. That combination means he's seen this industry from the creative side, the founder side, and the investment side, exactly the perspective you need to understand what's really happening here.We also break down McDonald's Netherlands pulling an AI Christmas ad after three days of backlash. Seven weeks of work. Ten people. Still looked terrible. That story matters more than you think.If you have any IP, whether that's characters, a brand, a body of work, or just ideas you care about protecting, this episode for you.We cover: * Why Disney licensed characters but carved out actor likenesses and voices* The structure that makes this deal work (scope, exclusivity, equity, distribution)* Why other studios and IP holders can't ignore this* User-generated content as engagement strategy * The guardrails problem: why they don't work, and what actually does* Rights management becoming a real commercial product00:00 Introduction and What We've Been Up To05:48 The Disney-Sora Announcement That Changes Everything08:08 Welcome Rich Welsh11:23 The Disney-Sora Deal Breakdown16:03 Why Disney Wants User-Generated Content19:09 First-Mover Advantage26:58 The Guardrails Problem33:16 Why Licensing Deals Are Winning Over Lawsuits43:04 Checking In on the Creative Community48:13 Practical Advice for Founders51:06 AI Gone Wrong

Last week, we broke down what vibe coding is. This week, we break down the only question anyone actually cares about: “Okay… so what tool do I use?”The vibe coding ecosystem has gone crazy in the last 12 months, and the amount of choice is overwhelming.But here’s the real ones know: The tool matters way less than your structure....And that’s what this episode is really about. In this episode, we take you through a practical roadmap for building real software with AI, without sinking your project.We walk through the full stack of vibe coding tools, when to use IDE-based systems vs no-code platforms, why Claude Code is becoming the power-user favorite, and how product managers, designers, and marketers are shipping functioning apps in days.Plus: OpenAI hits a “code red,” Google catches up at an alarming pace, and Amazon face-plants with one of the worst AI dubs we’ve ever heard.The Tools We Mention:IDE Tools:CursorWindsurfClaude CodeReplitNo Code Tools:LovableBoltSupabase – backend hosting + authVercel – frontend deploymentFigma – UI design tool feeding into vibe coding workflowsMCP (Model Context Protocol) – IntegrationsThe 5 Vibe Coding PitfallsVague objectives → Fix: a clear Project Overview markdownSchema drift → Fix: lock your Data Model markdown)No shared architecture → Fix: define an Architecture Guide markdown)Inconsistent UI patterns → Fix: a UI Style Guide markdown)Switching tools mid-build → Fix: one tool per build phaseCHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction and What We've Been Up to This Week04:46 Recapping Vibe Coding07:15 So… Which Vibe Coding Tool Do I Actually Use?09:28 IDE-Based Tools vs. No-Code Platforms12:14 IDE Tools - Cursor vs. Windsurf14:16 IDE Tools - Claude Code20:05 No-Code Platforms: Bridging the Gap for Non-Developers27:34 Choosing the Right Tool for You31:51 Vibe Coding Best Practices38:42 Identifying Pitfalls in Vibe Coding39:00 Quick Primer: What’s a Markdown File?39:39 Pitfall 1: Be Clear About What You Want40:54 Pitfall 2: Schema Drift43:05 Pitfall 3: Shared Architecture45:38 Pitfall 4: Inconsistent UI Patterns 47:56 Pitfall 5: Pick One Tool & Stick With It50:14 AI News of the Week: OpenAI's Code Red54:49 AI Gone Wrong: Amazon's Dubbed AnimeEmail: hello@earlyadoptr.aiInstagram:https://instagram.com/early_adoptrTikTok:https://tiktok.com/@early_adoptrLinkedIn:https://linkedin.com/company/early-adoptrResources:https://linktr.ee/early_adoptr

Everyone keeps saying AI is transforming software development, but the real story is how vibe coding is quietly rewriting who gets to build in the first place. Over the past year, AI coding tools have gone from cute party tricks to fully agentic systems that can read your entire codebase, plan out multi-step tasks, and scaffold an entire app from a single prompt.But here’s the part that isn’t getting enough attention: vibe coding isn’t just about replacing developers. It’s changing what development is. And that shift is opening the door for founders, product managers, and designers to build software in ways that simply weren’t possible even 12 months ago.In this episode, Jess and Kyle break down what vibe coding actually looks like behind the scenes...the moments where it works, the moments where everything breaks spectacularly, and the very real need for human oversight in a world where AI can hallucinate your backend just as confidently as it writes it.This isn’t a hype episode about “AI building apps for you.” It’s a grounded look at how the workflow is evolving, what becomes defensible when everyone can build at the speed of thought, and how this shift is reshaping everything from MVP timelines to VC expectations.If you’ve been watching vibe coding from the sidelines, this is your sign to try it yourself. Not because it replaces expertise, but because it expands who gets to use it.In this episode:What vibe coding actually is — beyond “ChatGPT writes my code”Why larger context windows and agentic planning changed everythingThe human oversight problem: speed goes up, responsibility goes up tooWhy MVPs now take days, not months — and what that means for startupsWhat’s actually defensible when UI becomes trivial to cloneThe looming challenge for junior developers (and how to navigate it)Plus:OpenAI’s newest copyright troubleDeloitte’s second AI citation disasterGoogle’s Thanksgiving recipe chaosTIMESTAMPS:00:00 Thanksgiving Chaos04:55 Kicking Off: What Is Vibe Coding Really?08:43 Why “Vibes” Matter: The Core Idea Behind Vibe Coding13:03 Inside a Vibe Coding Session: How It Actually Works16:44 From Idea to App: Building Real Features With AI18:20 The Human-in-the-Loop: Why Oversight Still Matters21:10 Early Adventures in Vibe Coding: What Works and What Doesn't22:44 How AI Coding Tools Leveled Up25:24 Vibe Coding as a Paradigm Shift in Software Development28:02 Can You Trust AI Code? 30:05 What This Means for Startups: Speed, Costs & MVPs34:49 Innovation for Everyone: How AI Lowers the Barrier to Building38:42 The New Startup Landscape: Easier to Build, Harder to Defend41:44 Will Vibe Coding Replace Traditional Devs?45:03 Big Takeaways: The Future of Building With AI46:25 AI News of the Week: Big Trouble for OpenAI51:15 AI Gone Wrong: Deloitte’s Fake Citations & Google’s Burnt Turkey Recipes

In part two of our deep dive into agentic commerce, Jess brings back her colleague Nathalie Lethbridge to answer the question every SMB is asking: How do I prepare for a world where AI agents are the middlemen between customers and products?Last week, we explored the power struggle between Amazon's walled garden and OpenAI/Perplexity's open-web vision. This week, we get tactical. Nathalie walks through the practical framework for making your e-commerce site "agent-legible" - helping your products become visible and accessible to AI agents that will soon be shopping on behalf of customers.We cover structured data requirements, markdown optimization, compliance considerations, and why smaller businesses actually have an advantage over giants in this transition. Plus, this week's AI news includes TikTok's new controls for AI-generated content and a fascinating Silicon Valley moment where 300+ AI insiders publicly named the startups they'd short.00:39 - Intro: Cold Snaps, Desk Chairs & Thanksgiving Prep04:02 - Guest Welcome: Nathalie Lethbridge on Conversational Commerce07:15 - The Power Struggle for Discovery: Walled Gardens vs. Open Web12:40 - The Two-Tier Internet Explained: Why AI Agents Need a Different Web18:05 - From Scrolling to Structured Data: How Agents Actually Shop24:30 - Making Your E-Commerce Site "Agent-Legible": The Practical Playbook31:15 - Compliance, Legal & Liability in the Agentic Era37:45 - The SMB Advantage: Why You Can Move Faster Than Amazon43:20 - Quick Wins: Immediate Actions for Your Business Now48:41 - AI in the News: TikTok's Push Back Against AI Slop54:19 - AI Gone Wrong: Silicon Valley Eats Its Own58:43 - Next Week: Vibe Coding (Teaser & Closing)

The agentic shopping wars are here. And nobody's paying attention yet.Amazon just sued Perplexity. Google just launched agentic shopping. OpenAI is rewriting how commerce works...all of it is aimed at the holiday season, and all of it means something fundamental about e-commerce is about to shift.But here's what's getting lost in the headlines: this isn't just about the tech. It's a legal story about who owns your customer relationship, amd a business model story about who controls the data. It's a fork in the road for SMBs between two very different futures - one where they're dependent on platforms, and one where they might finally level the playing field.The narrative says conversational commerce is the future of shopping. But what the platforms are really fighting about is whether you'll shop within their walls or whether you'll shop with an agent that can see everywhere. The winners won't be decided by technology. They'll be decided by who wins the lawsuit and who controls the infrastructure.In this episode:What conversational commerce actually is (and why "shopping at the point of inspiration" changes everything)The Amazon vs. Perplexity lawsuitWhy Amazon's walled garden strategy is essentially them behaving like a legacy media companyGoogle's brilliant hedge: how they're playing both open and closed systems simultaneouslyAttribution, data ownership, and why SMBs have been losing money to platforms for 20 yearsWhy merit-based product discovery could finally be possible againThe legal and regulatory implications of this battle (feat. Nathalie's lawyer brain)What SMBs actually need to do to stay relevant across both walled gardens and open systemsPlus: Yann LeCun leaving Meta, OpenAI finally fixing the em dash problem, and why AI performance reviews are creating a trust crisisTimestamps:00:00 What We've Been Up to This Week07:53 Welcoming Nathalie to the podcast09:36 Shopping at the Point of Inspiration: What Conversational Commerce Actually Means13:52 When AI Becomes Your Personal Shopping Assistant14:11 Why Now? The Timing of Conversational Commerce15:34 The Death of Shopping Friction18:00 Follow the Money: Who Profits When AI Owns the Customer Relationship19:31 Amazon vs. Perplexity: The Lawsuit That Could Reshape Retail24:56 Walled Gardens vs. Open Rails: The Fork in the Road for Commerce31:27 How Products Get Discovered Without Paid Ads37:23 Google's Hybrid Approach to Shopping40:53 Understanding the Two-Tier Internet45:04 Navigating the New Landscape for SMEs48:26 AI News: Yann LeCun's Departure from Meta51:47 AI News: OpenAI Finally Fixes the Em Dash55:52 AI Gone Wrong: When JPMorgan Let AI Judge Your Performance📲 FOLLOW EARLY ADOPTREmail: hello@earlyadoptr.aiInstagram: https://instagram.com/early_adoptrTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@early_adoptrLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/early-adoptrResources: https://linktr.ee/early_adoptr

Your entire e-commerce experience is about to change. OpenAI's "Buy with ChatGPT," introduced at the end of September, isn't just a shopping feature. It's the beginning of a complete overhaul of how digital commerce works.For the past 20 years, discovery, curation, and transaction have been fragmented across platforms, but now all of that is collapsing into one place.In this episode, Jess and Kyle break down what the two-tier internet actually is, why it won't replace human browsing (yes, you'll still shop for furniture), and why the old rules - "who can pay more" - are being replaced by new ones: "who's structured better." They also unpack why Walmart's participation signals a genuine tipping point for mainstream adoption, and what you need to do right now to prepare for a world where agents handle transactions instead of humans.In this episode:- What conversational commerce actually means (and why it's different now than before)- The two-tier internet explained: Human browsing layer vs. agent transaction layer- How "Buy with ChatGPT" works technically and where the friction actually is- Why Walmart joining changes everything - The agentic commerce protocol (ACP) and what "simple integration" really means- Discoverability on ChatGPT: The algorithm nobody understands- The privacy issues around Buy with ChatGPT Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to the Victory Lap (Yes, the Dodgers Won)04:23 Happy 25th Episode to Us! 06:30 Conversational Commerce: What It Actually Means (And Why It's Not New)06:53 Buy with ChatGPT is Here (And Walmart Knows What's Up)11:22 Introducing the Two-Tier Internet: Your New Reality15:41 The Agent Internet (What's About to Happen)16:06 Browsing vs. Buying: Two Different Worlds20:54 When Agents Take Over Your Shopping Cart24:01 Under the Hood: How Buy With ChatGPT Actually Works33:29 The Privacy Trap: Your Entire Life, One Conversation39:06 What Do You Need to Do (Starting Today)40:26 The Attribution Problem Nobody's Talking About (But Should Be)41:52 The Brand Story Problem: Humans Want Drama, Algorithms Want Data42:22 AI News of the Week: Wharton's New Report & a Pregnant AI?! 47:20 The Real Bottleneck: It's Not the AI, It's Your Team49:43 AI Gone Wrong: Grok Goes Wrong (Again)📲 FOLLOW EARLY ADOPTREmail: hello@earlyadoptr.aiInstagram: https://instagram.com/early_adoptrTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@early_adoptrLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/early-adoptrResources: https://linktr.ee/early_adoptr

AI browsers are here, and they could completely reshape how we use the internet.OpenAI’s Atlas just launched, instantly putting Google on defense and kicking off Browser Wars 2.0. But this time, it’s not about speed or design—it’s about who controls your digital gateway and the data that powers it.In this episode, Jess and Kyle break down how Atlas works, what it means for privacy, the rise of agent-based browsing, and why your business can’t afford to ignore the shift toward AI-native interfaces.What makes an AI browser different from Chrome or SafariHow “browser memories” change the privacy conversationAgent Mode 101 — what it can actually do (and what it can’t yet)Why Atlas threatens Google’s entire ad modelPractical steps for business owners to prepareAI news: Reddit vs Perplexity, LLM Brain Rot & South Korea’s $1.4 B textbook disasterTIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro and Apologies to Mariners Fans03:50 The Gatekeeper Problem: Why Your Browser Matter More Than You Think08:09 Understanding Atlas: OpenAI's New Browser11:40 Market Dynamics: OpenAI vs Perplexity17:37 Future of Browsing: Context and Memory18:15 Browser Memories and User Behavior20:42 Agent Mode: The Next Step in AI Browsing23:25 Exploring Agent Mode and Autonomous Actions26:20 The Impact of AI on Business Efficiency27:23 Privacy and Data Security Concerns30:17 The Broader Tech Landscape and Google's Threat35:22 Behavioral Shifts in Internet Usage38:28 Practical Advice for Business Owners41:03 AI News of the Week45:32 The Value of Human-Created Content46:35 Understanding LLM Brain Rot49:45 AI Gone Wrong: The South Korean Textbook Disaster54:14 The Pressure to Adopt AI Quickly54:20 Quick wins and wrapping up for the week📲 FOLLOW EARLY ADOPTR Instagram: https://instagram.com/early_adoptr TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@early_adoptr LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/early-adoptr Resources: https://linktr.ee/early_adoptr

From LinkedIn posts about abandoned pilots to earnings calls where CEOs walking back their AI promises on earnings calls, are we witnessing the crash after the hype? Welcome to the Trough of Disillusionment – and it might be the best thing that's happened to AI.This isn't the death of artificial intelligence. It's the birth of something sustainable. While media headlines turn negative and executives panic, the real builders are taking advantage of the chaos. History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes: today's AI trough is creating the similar opportunity for businesses willing to play the long game as the Dot Com boom.This episode unpacks why the AI trough is an opportunity: it's a chance to build with intention rather than FOMO. We discuss the five tactical strategies that will position you to dominate when AI reaches its next growth phase, and why the current trust crisis requires a fundamental reset in how we communicate AI's capabilities.We also cover the shocking Pew Research poll showing Americans deeply distrust tech companies to develop AI responsibly, Claude's new "Skills" infrastructure that enables specialized tool use, and the hilariously practical AI that solves our collective avocado ripeness problem. Plus, we break down the $290,000 Deloitte Australia scandal where AI hallucinations in a government report led to fabricated court cases and non-existent academic papers - an important reminder of why the human oversight layer still matters.What You'll Learn:The strategies that separate AI winners from losers during the troughHow the same pattern that made Amazon dominant after the dot-com crash is happening nowThe growing employee revolt against force-fed AI tools and how to overcome itWhy trust has become the critical competitive advantage in AI implementationHow Pinterest and Spotify are fighting back against the flood of AI-generated content00:00 What We've Been Up to This Week04:27 The Backlash Against AI Slop Begins06:59 Welcome to the Trough of Disillusionment07:31 The Trough of Disillusionment: There's the Opportunity10:05 The Gartner Hype Cycle: A Lord of the Rings Journey Through Technology17:33 Dot-Com Déjà Vu: The Tech Crash Pattern Playing Out in AI22:53 Skepticism in AI: When Promises Meet Reality27:58 User Adoption vs. Hype: The Reality of AI Usage30:06 The Trough of Disillusionment: Opportunities for Growth31:57 Understanding AI's Real Capabilities and Limitations33:53 The Importance of Those Little Wins in AI Implementation37:15 The AI Trust Crisis: Consumer Skepticism and Expectations44:05 Trust Repair: Building Credibility in AI Solutions44:58 How to benefit from the Trough45:08 Tactical Strategies: Navigating the Trough of Disillusionment49:36 AI News of the Week: Pew Research, Avocado AI and Claude Skills55:02 AI Gone Wrong: Deloitte's Very Bad Week58:40 That's a Wrap: Where to Find Us Follow Early Adoptr:Instagram: https://instagram.com/early_adoptrTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@early_adoptrYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@early_adoptrLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/early-adoptrResources: https://linktr.ee/early_adoptr