#411 – Alex David: The question AI made everyone forget

A story about thinking harder while everyone builds faster. This episode is for founders wondering why shipping faster with AI hasn't made their product any better.Building has never been easier. That's exactly the problem.Alex David spent a decade in pricing — Simon-Kucher, then Segment — before founding unSurvey, an AI company G2 acquired last year. Today, he leads AI Solutions there.His worry is simple: the tools got cheap, but good judgment didn't. While everyone rushed to build, he kept asking the question most people skip ”Is this even worth building?”This inspired me, hence I invited Alex to my podcast. We explore why the founders who win aren't the ones building fastest — they're the ones who know what's worth building. Alex shares why he walked away from a company that was working to start another and what a decade in pricing taught him about worth. You'll discover why the price was never yours to set — and what that changes about everything you build.We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:Master the art of curiosity (trait 4)Create momentum (trait 8)Alex's journey is an excellent example of the mindset that goes behind how remarkable software companies build something people just keep talking about.Here's Alex's approach to deciding what to build and what not:"The price is what the price is to the customer; that's what it's worth to them. You have two options: You build a product that is profitable within that constraint, or you have to spend a lot of marketing dollars to educate the customer on why they're wrong, and why it should be worth more."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why asking why matters more now that building costs almost nothingWhat real momentum is made of — and why founders manufacture itWhy hope is what stops founders from pivoting in timeWhy acquisitions live or die on people, not termsFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Alex David, Founder and CEO of unSurvey. Today, GM of AI Solutions at G2 Website: g2.com (and g2.ai)