EPISODE · Oct 25, 2025 · 36 MIN
Sloponomics: Surviving the AI Content Flood with Rudeness | Mostly Growth
from Run the Numbers · host CJ Gustafson
Check out Mostly Growth and get episodes early. Available on all platforms.* YouTube* Spotify* AppleIn this episode, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman dive into the concept of “sloponomics”—a tongue-in-cheek look at the overwhelming flood of mediocre AI-generated content and what it means for creators, startups, and investors. They discuss how unique voices and genuine creativity will stand out in an AI-saturated landscape, the economic parallels between modern content creation and startup growth, and the tricky dynamics of building sustainable momentum in a world of noise. The trio also unpack the “$10K MRR” meme, pricing psychology, and the difference between chasing vanity metrics and building lasting value. With humor and real-world insight, they explore how AI, distribution, and early-stage investment are reshaping what success looks like in tech and media.Timestamps:00:00 Preview and Intro00:35 Being Mean to AI and Early Banter02:05 When You’re Rude to AI: The Penn State Study04:57 Sponsor – Metronome06:02 The Rise of AI-Generated “Slop” Content07:15 The Creator “Haves and Have-Nots”09:00 Losing Credit to AI Models11:20 Feeding the Beast: 400 Posts Later13:13 “Slop Talk” and Human-Made Slop14:27 The $10K MRR Meme and Startup Momentum15:49 Pricing Psychology and Product Traction17:42 Hunting Mice, Buffalo, and Elephants20:19 Venture Funds, Bubbles, and Ecosystem Investing23:39 When Startups Invest in Startups26:25 Slack, Lattice, and the Platform Play30:39 Wrapping Up and Late-Night Insights33:12 The Hemingway Story and CJ’s No-Instagram Lifestyle36:10 Electric Boats, Group Discounts, and Sign-OffEpisodes Referenced:Slop Talk (coming soon)https://www.youtube.com/slackerstuffWhy Only 2% of Startups Make ItWhen startups burn cash faster than they learn | Ivan Makarov:996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS ChaosLinks:https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/study-proves-being-rude-to-ai-chatbots-gets-better-results-than-being-nice-3269895/https://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit07/internet07_02.phtmlhttps://futurism.com/altman-please-thanks-chatgpthttps://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/over-50-percent-internet-ai-slophttps://www.axios.com/2025/10/14/ai-generated-writing-humanshttps://www.economist.com/business/2025/10/16/sloponomics-who-wins-and-loses-in-the-ai-content-floodhttps://x.com/madhuraaa_/status/1978390720881819884https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/eat-what-you-killhttps://christophjanz.blogspot.com/2014/10/five-ways-to-build-100-million-business.htmlhttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-build-your-early-gtm-strategyhttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/startups-investing-in-startups-peak-bubble-behaviorhttps://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/10/10/are-barefoot-shoes-good-for-runnershttps://x.com/ivanomaksf/status/1978852000298320068?s=46https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/uber-offers-drivers-extra-pay-to-perform-tasks-that-train-ai-7116401/https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/is-ltv-to-cac-the-nickelback-of-metricshttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/final-2024-25-network-tv-ratings-tracker-high-potential-1236312223/https://christophjanz.blogspot.com/2014/10/five-ways-to-build-100-million-business.htmlhttps://www.theinformation.com/articles/ben-horowitz-hires-jensen-vercel-starts-venture-fundhttps://www.instagram.com/chasemytail/Today’s podcast is brought to you by MetronomeYou just launched your new AI product. The new pricing page looks great. But behind it? Last-minute glue code, messy spreadsheets, and running ad-hoc queries to figure out what to bill. Customers get invoices they can’t understand. Engineers are chasing billing bugs. Finance can’t close the books.With Metronome, you hand it all off to the real-time billing infrastructure that just works—reliable, flexible, and built to grow with you. We turn raw usage events into accurate invoices, give customers bills they actually understand, and keep every team in sync in real time.Whether you’re launching usage-based pricing, managing enterprise contracts, or rolling out new AI services, Metronome does the heavy lifting so you can focus on your product, not your billing.That’s why some of the fastest-growing companies in the world, like OpenAI and Anthropic, run their billing on Metronome.Visit metronome.com to learn more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com
What this episode covers
Check out Mostly Growth and get episodes early. Available on all platforms.* YouTube* Spotify* AppleIn this episode, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman dive into the concept of “sloponomics”—a tongue-in-cheek look at the overwhelming flood of mediocre AI-generated content and what it means for creators, startups, and investors. They discuss how unique voices and genuine creativity will stand out in an AI-saturated landscape, the economic parallels between modern content creation and startup growth, and the tricky dynamics of building sustainable momentum in a world of noise. The trio also unpack the “$10K MRR” meme, pricing psychology, and the difference between chasing vanity metrics and building lasting value. With humor and real-world insight, they explore how AI, distribution, and early-stage investment are reshaping what success looks like in tech and media.Timestamps:00:00 Preview and Intro00:35 Being Mean to AI and Early Banter02:05 When You’re Rude to AI: The Penn State Study04:57 Sponsor – Metronome06:02 The Rise of AI-Generated “Slop” Content07:15 The Creator “Haves and Have-Nots”09:00 Losing Credit to AI Models11:20 Feeding the Beast: 400 Posts Later13:13 “Slop Talk” and Human-Made Slop14:27 The $10K MRR Meme and Startup Momentum15:49 Pricing Psychology and Product Traction17:42 Hunting Mice, Buffalo, and Elephants20:19 Venture Funds, Bubbles, and Ecosystem Investing23:39 When Startups Invest in Startups26:25 Slack, Lattice, and the Platform Play30:39 Wrapping Up and Late-Night Insights33:12 The Hemingway Story and CJ’s No-Instagram Lifestyle36:10 Electric Boats, Group Discounts, and Sign-OffEpisodes Referenced:Slop Talk (coming soon)https://www.youtube.com/slackerstuffWhy Only 2% of Startups Make ItWhen startups burn cash faster than they learn | Ivan Makarov:996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS ChaosLinks:https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/study-proves-being-rude-to-ai-chatbots-gets-better-results-than-being-nice-3269895/https://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit07/internet07_02.phtmlhttps://futurism.com/altman-please-thanks-chatgpthttps://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/over-50-percent-internet-ai-slophttps://www.axios.com/2025/10/14/ai-generated-writing-humanshttps://www.economist.com/business/2025/10/16/sloponomics-who-wins-and-loses-in-the-ai-content-floodhttps://x.com/madhuraaa_/status/1978390720881819884https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/eat-what-you-killhttps://christophjanz.blogspot.com/2014/10/five-ways-to-build-100-million-business.htmlhttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-build-your-early-gtm-strategyhttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/startups-investing-in-startups-peak-bubble-behaviorhttps://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/10/10/are-barefoot-shoes-good-for-runnershttps://x.com/ivanomaksf/status/1978852000298320068?s=46https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/uber-offers-drivers-extra-pay-to-perform-tasks-that-train-ai-7116401/https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/is-ltv-to-cac-the-nickelback-of-metricshttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/final-2024-25-network-tv-ratings-tracker-high-potential-1236312223/https://christophjanz.blogspot.com/2014/10/five-ways-to-build-100-million-business.htmlhttps://www.theinformation.com/articles/ben-horowitz-hires-jensen-vercel-starts-venture-fundhttps://www.instagram.com/chasemytail/Today’s podcast is brought to you by MetronomeYou just launched your new AI product. The new pricing page looks great. But behind it? Last-minute glue code, messy spreadsheets, and running ad-hoc queries to figure out what to bill. Customers get invoices they can’t understand. Engineers are chasing billing bugs. Finance can’t close the books.With Metronome, you hand it all off to the real-time billing infrastructure that just works—reliable, flexible, and built to grow with you. We turn raw usage events into accurate invoices, give customers bills they actually understand, and keep every team in sync in real time.Whether you’re launching usage-based pricing, managing enterprise contracts, or rolling out new AI services, Metronome does the heavy lifting so you can focus on your product, not your billing.That’s why some of the fastest-growing companies in the world, like OpenAI and Anthropic, run their billing on Metronome.Visit metronome.com to learn more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com
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Sloponomics: Surviving the AI Content Flood with Rudeness | Mostly Growth
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