10.12 - Eric Levine - Eric Grows Companies

Scaling three companies as a solo founder sounds impossible until you see what Eric Levine has built with AI. Eric is the founder of Strategy Engine AI, ScubaZen, and Venice Threads Company. Before entrepreneurship, he worked at Meta, leading global strategy across Facebook and Instagram while helping improve operational efficiency. After four years, he left corporate life without a clear next step, right as generative AI was beginning to reshape how businesses could be built. With no technical background and no coding experience, Eric taught himself how to use tools like Claude Code and custom AI agents to create the infrastructure behind his companies. Today, he runs all three ventures as a one-person team from a co-working space in Venice Beach and shares what he is learning through Eric Grows Companies, where he helps founders build practical AI systems of their own. In this episode, Kevin sits down with Eric to talk about using AI as a strategic thought partner, taking ownership of web infrastructure for AI search and AEO, building with autonomous agents, and creating systems that allow a solo founder to scale without sacrificing personal peace. Key Takeaways Own Your Digital Foundation. More control over your website can improve how AI finds and cites your content. Use AI to Challenge You. The best tools question assumptions instead of simply agreeing. Prioritize Better Content. Human-refined, high-quality content is more likely to stay visible in AI search. Protect Your Peace. Build in a way that supports your well-being, not just growth. Create Daily Anchors. Fixed routines add structure to an otherwise flexible schedule. Build Systems That Keep Running. Automation reduces the amount of work that depends on you. Listen to the Episode YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@risingtidestartups Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rising-tide-startups/id1330525474 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eq7unl70TRPsBhjLEsNZR Website: https://risingtidestartups.com/ Connect with Eric Website: https://ericgrows.com/ Website: https://getcobaltbloom.com/ - done-for-you AI visibility website service Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EricGrowsCompanies Closing Thought “Your inner self is going to know what the right answer is. It just takes the guts to follow it. Your happiness is in your control. It’s not anyone else’s responsibility. If you don’t take the leap, you may keep feeling that way forever.” — Eric Levine Sponsor Shoutouts Naviqus Virtual Services - Hassle-free administrative support services that are efficient, affordable, and tailored to your needs. Check out https://naviqus.com now to jumpstart your business for 2026! Podbrand Media - Have you ever considered starting your own podcast for your company or brand? Podbrandmedia.com can help. Affordable and effective in content creation and lead generation!