Will AI fix your startup? Only if your real problem is a lack of buzzwords.
In this episode, JDM and Cameron take on the all-too-common delusion that slapping AI on your pitch deck is a business model.
Spoiler: it’s not.
Join the guys as they roast three very 2025 startup ideas — each wielding AI like a glowstick in a boardroom — and assign each one a “Delusion Score” on a scale from “surprisingly solid” to “should be illegal in several markets.”
Plus:
* When AI actually creates customer value — and when it’s just cover for product confusion
* The difference between an innovation and a vibe-powered hallucination
* Why “emotionally intelligent” AI usually means “massively scalable bias”
* The tyranny of sentiment analysis, and why your Slack emojis aren’t a performance metric
* And the eternal truth: If no one pays for it, it’s not a business — it’s a hobby with a website
Startup Pitches Reviewed
1. AI Hiring Assistant
* Parses resumes, predicts cultural fit (yikes), generates interview questions
* Delusion Score: 8
“You’re not removing bias — you’re just giving it a LinkedIn scan and a lightsaber.”
2. Manager Mood Oracle
* Analyzes Slack to predict employee vibes, nudges managers to act nice
* Delusion Score: 5 (Cam) to 9 (JDM), settled on an 8
“Just because the AI tells you to compliment Anna doesn’t mean you’re a good manager.”
3. Fridge Whisperer for Home Cooks
* Scans your fridge, suggests recipes, coaches you while you cook
* Delusion Score: 4
“Seen it a thousand times. Still no business model. But hey, at least dinner’s covered.”
Frivolous Thoughts
* Cam: Reassembling life (and closets) after 18 weeks away from home = grown-up Legos
* JDM: New Whoop band is cool, except for the part where it tells you you’re aging faster because you stayed up one night watching bad TV
* Bonus Tip: Zero to Traction may not actually extend your life, but it will absolutely lower your startup’s mortality rate
