I’ve had a few conversations lately with founders building “AI-powered marketplaces.” And here’s what I am seeing; brilliant vision. Big ambition. Too much too soon. Let me share some top level advice for anyone building in this space 👇 1️⃣ Pick ONE Core Problem Not everything all at once. A marketplace dies when it tries to solve everything. Instead ask: What is the ONE urgent pain we solve in version one? Clarity wins. 2️⃣ Define ICP1 (Primary Customer) — Not “Everyone” Marketplaces fail when they serve “all women,” “all freelancers,” or “all industries.” Choose: - One demographic - One income pressure profile - One skill level - One use case If you don’t define ICP1, your product will feel generic. Generic = forgettable. Forgettable = no traction. 3️⃣ Solve the Chicken-and-Egg Problem Early Every two-sided platform faces this: You need supply and demand. But you actually need demand first. No demand = dead platform. Before building tech, validate: - Who is paying? - For what? - At what price? - How fast do they need it? Manual matching > automated matching in the beginning. Proof before platform. 4️⃣ MVP ≠ App Your MVP is not: - A full marketplace - Swipe functionality - Automated screening - AI matching engine Your MVP is: - Clear profiles - Defined micro-offers - Real transactions - Feedback loops If real money changes hands, you have validation. If not, you have a concept. 5️⃣ Your Real Moat Isn’t Technology Fiverr has tech. Upwork has scale. LinkedIn has reach. Your moat is: - Identity synthesis - Speed of monetization - Trust layer - Niche focus - Cultural positioning - Community Technology is an enabler. Clarity is the differentiator. 6️⃣ Build Fast — But Validate Faster Before hiring developers: - Write the one-sentence pitch. - Build the competitive matrix. - Identify white space. - Create a simple landing page. - Collect 100 emails. - Run pre-sales or beta trials. If no one signs up? You just saved yourself 6 months of build time.

I want to make something for you all that's AI-assisted, trust-first, and designed for women-led brands; This is not a “spray and pray” funnel. This is about warm relevance, clarity, and consistency. With AI doing the heavy lifting without killing your voice. PHASE 1: CLARITY (This is where most systems fail) Step 1: Define ONE Outreach Lane Before tools, get clear on: - Who: role / founder type / seniority - Where: LinkedIn, Reddit, Meta, email, communities - Why: one specific problem you solve right now Example: You are looking for 'Women founders running agencies who are overwhelmed by AI + systems but don’t want to lose their human voice.' 💡 Rule: One lane per 30 days. No hopping. PHASE 2: SIGNAL-BASED LEAD DISCOVERY (Not cold scraping) Choose ONE primary source, not all of them. Options (pick what matches your energy): Low-tech / High-intent - LinkedIn manual search + saved searches - Skool / Slack / community members - Reddit threads (manual) - Comments on relevant posts AI-assisted - Apollo or Clay (filter by role + company size) - Leads AI - Okara (Reddit signal scraping) - Instantly or Gojiberry (for warm inbound + outbound overlap) You are not collecting “leads”. You are collecting people with signals. PHASE 3: THE PROSPECT CONTEXT BRIEF (This is the secret sauce) For each person, capture ONLY: - Current role + company - One recent post, comment, or visible signal - One pattern you notice (growth, hiring, overwhelm, pivot, curiosity) Paste this prompt into your AI and ask: “Create a short context brief for outreach that feels human, not salesy. Identify: 1. What this person likely cares about right now 2. One relevant challenge tied to their role 3. One respectful personalization angle” This replaces intuition fatigue with structured empathy. PHASE 4: MESSAGE MATCHING (Not scripts) Use AI to generate options, not final messages. You want: - 1 short connection opener - 1 value-add follow-up (not a pitch)

Most outreach systems fail women-led businesses. Here’s why and what actually works. Most “outreach systems” are built for volume, speed, and detachment. That’s fine if you’re selling cheap digital products or t-shirts? Disaster if you’re running a women-led, reputation-based business. What doesn’t work: • Mass sending • Aggressive automation • Fake personalization • “Book a call” energy on message #1 • Systems that ignore your voice What does work: • Relevance over volume • Signals over scraping • Warm curiosity over pressure • AI as support not replacement • A repeatable rhythm you can sustain Outreach should feel like: “I saw this. It’s relevant. I thought of you.” Not: “Hi {{first name}} just circling back…” This week, I’m breaking outreach into some helpful insights, as I also work through this, I will share what I learn with you all! 1. How to think about it 2. How to run it step-by-step 3. A master prompt you can literally copy and use. Next posts = exact workflows. 👉 Drop a “me” below if outreach has felt awkward or draining for you; you’re not alone.

Here is a low-rez version of the video I made for the Claire Silver AI Art contest. This is for contest 9 of 10. I think I've created art for about three other of her contests; it's been on my radar since 2022. This one took a little over two weeks of evenings and weekends from concept to completion. Here is the text I used for the Linked In post (allows more text than X). The piece is called "Brittle." It's a spoken word performance about what happens when your mind narrows under pressure, and what changes when you start problem-solving with AI instead of around it. I used to avoid things I couldn't immediately master. A 3-D model sat untouched for a year because I didn't know Blender well enough. Last month, I asked an AI to help. It took forty minutes. The video itself is AI-collaborative: ElevenLabs for voice, Sora for video clips, Pika and Krea for animation, Midjourney for stills, Premiere Pro and Topaz for editing and enhancement. Claude Code and Blender MCP for avatar optimization and script ideas. But the point isn't the tools. It's the shift. For those of us in technical communication, AI isn't replacing our work — it's removing the blocks that kept us from attempting it. Something symbiont. Something we.

This is Amanda. I currently have 95 tabs open. But I just closed a whole lot once I counted them and Lexi made me realise I might need an intervention lol! I drink 3–4 coffees a day ☕And yes… my brain is always on. I’m deeply obsessed with one thing right now: ✨ Combining personality profiles, Human Design, beauty types, energy, and intuition into a clear zone of genius and then using AI to amplify that, not replace it. I love helping women navigate AI in a way that feels empowering, not overwhelming. I love hiking, walking, the beach, reading… and playing with my daughter which, honestly, is where I learn the most about presence and creativity. I’m a Generator, and I think BIG. Likeworld-shifting, systems-changing, future-building big. And lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what actually makes a community magnetic. Not just popular and busy. But alive. A place where people show up, open up, and feel safe to just be. Here’s what I’ve realized: It’s not about being perfectly “on brand.” It’s not about sticking rigidly to the work. It's not even about always “adding value.” It’s about permission. Permission to be human, to be real, or a little weird (or very weird! 😄). We don’t come into spaces like this just for tools or strategy (even though yes, we LOVE that here too).We come to feel seen, to connect, to get support, to join like minded people, to say: “This is hard” or “I’m proud” or “I made this and I don’t know if it’s good but I’m sharing it anyway.” So let’s try something. 🧡 I’d love to know: What’s something totally random about you? A quirk. A phase you’re in. A weird obsession. Something you never post online. You don’t have to add value or be polished. Just drop into the comments and be a human. What’s been on your mind lately even if it’s off-topic? What’s something we wouldn’t know about you from your Instagram bio? You can be soft here. Or silly. Or scared. Or wild. We’re here for it. I deeply appreciate every thoughtful email and comment. They remind me that we’re not building a platform… We’re building a place. Where women get to show up fully, imperfectly, and powerfully.