5 Startups I’d Build If I Were in My 20s

I share 5 startup ideas that could be launched for under $500, particularly aimed at entrepreneurs in their twenties. Each idea requires minimal technical expertise to start and can be launched using existing platforms like Notion, Circle, Discord, or simple AI tools. These ideas can generate meaningful revenue while providing valuable learning experiences that might lead to bigger opportunities. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:20 - Startup Idea 1: First Job Rejection Tracker 02:31 - Startup Idea 2: Take your headphones off 04:14 - Startup Idea 3: Creator-in-Residence Agency 06:08 - Startup Idea 4: $2K Vibe Coding Agency 07:57 - Startup Idea 5: Hook Line Studio 09:02 - Bonus idea: Polymarket for college campuses Key Points: • First Job Rejection Tracker - A platform for college graduates to log job applications, track responses, and connect with others who were rejected from the same companies • Take your headphones off - A paid community for people addicted to tech and screens, offering digital detox challenges and IRL meetups • Creator-in-Residence Agency - Connecting brands with micro-creators who need steady pay, taking 20% of contracts • 2K Vibe Coding Agency - Offering two-week sprints to build micro-SaaS products using AI tools for $2,000 per project • Hook Line Studio - A tool that generates catchy TikTok hook lines based on video ideas, with potential for a subscription model The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/ The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

On this episode, I test Grok 4's capabilities across multiple use cases to determine if it outperforms competitors like OpenAI and Perplexity. I evaluate 9 different agent types by running specific prompts and analyzing the results. Grok 4 demonstrates particular strength in tasks leveraging X data, with standout performance in market research, customer feedback analysis, and negotiation assistance, while showing limitations in areas like visual design. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Market research Agent 04:05 - Coding Agent 05:57 - Productivity Agent 10:10 - Fundraising Agent 14:48 - Content MarketerAgent 23:23 - Customer Feedback Agent 27:04 - Negotiator Agent 29:50 - Product Innovator Agent 32:47 - Design Agent 35:17 - Grok Companions Feature 37:19 - Voice mode Demo 38:26 - Final review and conclusions Key Points: • I test Grok 4 across 9 different use cases including market research, coding, productivity optimization, and design • Grok 4's integration with X (Twitter) data provides unique advantages for certain tasks • Performance varied across different agent types, with market research and customer feedback analysis being particularly strong The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/ The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

Join me as I chat with Ras Mic to discuss the current landscape of AI development tools, evaluating each as overrated or underrated based on their potential impact for both technical and non-technical users. We particularly highlight Claude Code as "extremely underrated" and discuss how tools like Devin and CodeRabbit are changing development workflows. The conversation also addresses my controversial viral tweet about building profitable SaaS businesses with AI tools. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:32 - n8n 06:35 - LindyAI 07:31 - Claude Code 12:09 - Devin/Code Rabbit 19:56 - Bolt/Lovable/Tempo 23:12 - Figma Make/Hostinger/Airtable 27:25 - ManusAI 30:10 - VAPI 31:08 - MCP 35:46 - Vibe Coding Profitable SaaS 51:11 - GitHub Key Points: • Ras Mic and I evaluate various AI tools as "overrated" or "underrated," including n8n, String, Claude Code, Devon, and CodeRabbit • They discuss the potential of MCP (Multi-Context Protocol) and its impact on non-technical users • They analyze Greg's viral tweet about building a $50K/month SaaS business using AI tools • Ras Mic provides a simple GitHub crash course explaining branching and workflow best practices Get Your Complete Financial OS at https://www.brex.com/sip LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/ The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND MIC ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://x.com/rasmickyy Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rasmic

On this episode, I breakdown my comprehensive guide to "vibe marketing" - using AI tools and workflows to automate and enhance marketing efforts. I go over several practical workflows including creating viral AI videos, building AI personas for customer nurturing, generating audio content from text, and creating AI-powered business dashboards. The presentation emphasizes that understanding these tools provides marketers with a significant competitive advantage in the current landscape. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:27 - Overview of Vibe Marketing 03:30 - MCPs and Workflow Explained 06:45 - Creating faceless video content workflow 09:57 - One-click CRM with Gumloop 13:50 - Voice AI agents with VAPI 16:56 - Creating AI personas with Tavus 21:04 - Generating AI Podcast with String 24:13 - Building Business Health Dashboards with Sting 25:20 - Creating high-converting ads with Arc Ads 27:38 - Growing followers and email lists with short-form video Key Points: • Vibe marketing combines AI tools and workflows to create an unfair advantage in today's marketing landscape • The presenter shares multiple AI workflows including faceless video content creation, one-click CRM, voice AI sales agents, and AI personas • Tools like Claude, Gumloop, VAPI, Tavus, String, and Arc Ads are demonstrated with specific use cases • Short-form video content combined with comment-based email collection can rapidly grow followers and email lists Create winning ads with ‍AI Actors: https://www.arcads.ai/?via=community The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/ The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

Join me as I chat with Amir to discuss how Cursor can function as a comprehensive interface for business operations beyond traditional coding. Through demonstrations of Model Context Protocols (MCPs), Amir illustrates how to automate financial reporting, conduct UX analysis, create marketing content, and perform QA testing—all within Cursor. The conversation highlights how this approach can dramatically improve productivity by eliminating the need to switch between different applications. Timestamps: • 00:00 - Intro • 01:03 - Overview of using Cursor beyond coding • 02:40 - Finance automation with Xero MCP • 07:58 - UX analysis using Playwright MCP • 14:37 - Sales/Marketing automation with Perplexity and Firecrawl MCPs • 23:51 - QA testing automation • 26:50 - Advice for non-technical users getting started with Cursor Key Points: • How Cursor AI can be used beyond coding to manage finance, analytics, design, and marketing tasks • Model Context Protocols (MCPs) allow seamless integration with third-party services like Xero, Playwright, and Perplexity • Automated workflows can handle accounting tasks, UX analysis, content creation, and QA testing • Different AI models serve different purposes: "thinking models" for planning and "agentic models" for execution LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: https://www.boringmarketing.com/ The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn:https://www.thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND AMIR ON SOCIAL Humblytics: https://humblytics.com/?via=community X/Twitter: https://x.com/amirmxt Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmxt Build, Ship, Market: https://buildshipmarket.com

Join me as I chat with Tod Sacerdoti about String, a platform that allows users to build AI agents through natural language prompts rather than complex visual workflows. Tod showcases several practical examples of automations, from monitoring Hacker News for specific terms to generating LinkedIn posts from blog content. The platform aims to make automation accessible to non-technical users while providing the power to solve complex business problems. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - String Overview 01:49 - Agent 1: Monitoring Hacker News for MCP mentions 08:15 - Agent 2: Creating LinkedIn posts from RSS feeds 17:14 - Agent 3: Automating Google Analytics Summary 23:53 - Startup Idea: Building businesses on top of String 27:10 - Agent 4: Daily Automation Idea Generator 38:32 - Advice for getting started with String Checkout String: https://string.com Key Points: • String is an AI agent platform that builds AI agents using natural language instead of complex node charts • The platform allows users to create automations that monitor websites, generate content, and integrate with tools like Slack and Google Docs • String uses dynamic code generation to go beyond pre-built integrations, enabling more complex use cases • The platform follows a credit-based pricing model similar to other AI coding platforms The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND TOD ON SOCIAL String: https://string.com X/Twitter: https://x.com/tod?lang=en

Join me as I chat with The Boring Marketer to demonstrate how non-technical marketers can use AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code to build programmatic SEO strategies without coding knowledge. He walks through a complete workflow from keyword research to deploying a live comparison page for AI tools, showing how this approach can potentially generate thousands of targeted pages to capture search traffic. The demonstration highlights how AI is blurring the line between marketers and developers. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:35 - Cursor Overview 03:50 - Claude Code Overview 09:47 - Using FireCrawl MCP scrape website data 13:13 - Programmatic SEO Explained 15:25 - Benefits of Claude 4 Opus Max 17:48 - Using Perplexity MCP to find AI tool comparison keywords 22:44 - Creating a PRD for the project 24:58 - Using Claude Code for Programmatic SEO 29:21 - Why learn to use tools like Cursor 30:58 - Cursor + Claude Code vs n8n 40:06 - Cost of Claude Code 42:51 - Deploying the page to Vercel 45:28 - Reviewing Deployed Page Get Your Complete Financial OS at https://www.brex.com/sip Key Points: • James (The Boring Marketer) demonstrates how to use Cursor and Claude Code to build programmatic SEO pages without coding knowledge • The workflow combines MCPs (Model Control Protocols) like FireCrawl and Perplexity for research with Claude Code for implementation • James shows how to create a comparison page template for AI tools that can be replicated for thousands of keywords • The entire process from research to deployment happens within the Cursor environment using natural language prompts The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ BoringMarketing — Vibe Marketing for Sale: https://www.thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND THE BORING MARKETER ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://x.com/boringmarketer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadickerson/

On this episode, I provide an unsponsored review of GenSpark, testing its capabilities across multiple business applications. I evaluate the platform's ability to create investor decks, product demos, customer personas, and marketing strategies. While I was impressed with GenSpark's research capabilities and business-oriented content, the product had significant limitations in design quality and occasional content confusion. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Genspark Super AI Agent Overview 03:28 - Building Fundraising Deck 07:33 - Building Product Demo 10:46 - Generating Social Media Strategy 16:26 - Building Fundraising Deck Pt2 17:17 - Building Data Room 18:59 - Researching Ideal Customer Persona 21:52 - Mapping/Researching Distribution Channels 24:05 - Final Thoughts on Genspark 25:43 - Genspark does not have Self Service Subscription Cancellation Key Points: • GenSpark is a new AI agent platform that reached $36 million ARR in 45 days, adding almost $1 million daily • Greg tests multiple use cases including creating investor presentations, product demos, customer research, and distribution strategies • The platform shows strengths in research and content creation but weaknesses in design and image generation • At $25/month, GenSpark offers value for specific use cases but isn't a complete replacement for other AI tools The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ BoringMarketing — Vibe Marketing for Sale: http://boringmarketing.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

The exact MCP system to make Claude 10x more powerful : https://www.gregisenberg.com/claude-mcp Join me as I chat with Riley Brown about how to enhance Claude's capabilities with MCPs. He demonstrates practical applications including accessing Notion databases for content creation and using Glyph for automated thumbnail generation. While acknowledging the current setup process is somewhat technical, Riley emphasizes the significant productivity benefits and predicts these integrations will become more streamlined in the near future. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:08 - MCP Explained 04:36 -Why MCP’s matter? 08:42 - Docker's MCP Toolkit 10:34 - Notion - Claude MCP Integration 22:56 - Demo of Glyph Workflow for Thumbnail Creation 28:17 - How to be an AI Agent Orchestrator Key Points: • Riley explains how to use MCP (Model Context Protocol) to give AI agents like Claude access to external tools • Demonstrates integration with Notion databases and Glyph workflows through Docker • Shows how to create automated workflows for content creation and thumbnail generation • Discusses the importance of providing good examples and context to AI agents The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ BoringMarketing — Vibe Marketing for Sale: http://boringmarketing.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND RILEY ON SOCIAL Vibe Code App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vibecode/id6742912146 X/Twitter: https://x.com/rileybrown_ai Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rileybrownai

Join me as I chat with Jonathan Courtney to discuss the mechanics of a successful sales funnel. He explains how funnels work to transform cold prospects into customers by warming them up through a strategic sequence of offers. The conversation covers both self-liquidating funnels (where initial purchases cover ad costs) and webinar funnels, with practical advice on implementation for different business models. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:01 - Why Funnels matter 02:26 - Demo of Facebook Ad Library to find competitors' funnels 04:00 - Walkthrough of the actual funnel pages and sales process 20:35 - Discussion of webinar funnels for software products Key Points: • Jonathan shares details of a self-liquidating funnel that generated $180,000 upfront and approximately $300,000 on the backend in just two weeks • The funnel structure includes a low-cost entry product ($6.99 book) with strategic upsells that qualify potential customers for sales calls • Jonathan explains how to reverse-engineer funnels by identifying customer transformation goals and creating irresistible offers • Live webinar funnels are presented as an effective strategy for selling software products without requiring heavy discounting The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ BoringMarketing — Vibe Marketing for Sale: http://boringmarketing.com/ Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND JONATHAN ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jicecream LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-courtney-4510644b/ AJ&Smart: https://ajsmart.com