From the field · Essays

Essays

Candid accounts of building, closing and rebuilding companies. Decisions, mistakes and changing beliefs, alongside essays on ownership and technological change.

George Pu
George Pu
Founder of SimpleDirect, an independent Canadian AI lab.
Why Learning How to Learn Is Your Only Competitive Advantage Left (And My 5-Step Framework)

Why Learning How to Learn Is Your Only Competitive Advantage Left (And My 5-Step Framework)

Real talk from a technical founder building AI-powered businesses Published November 05, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 39 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube I sat in that accelerator orientation, listening to them brag about mentors who'd been teaching entrepreneurship for 15+ years. Everyone clapped. I was terrified. These were people with employee mindsets teaching entrepreneurs how to build

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My Worst Hires Almost Destroyed Us (Here's What I Learned About Building Teams in 2025)

My Worst Hires Almost Destroyed Us (Here's What I Learned About Building Teams in 2025)

Real founder insights about surviving the AI commoditization era Published October 29, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 36 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube I've never shared my actual hiring criteria before. After scaling SimpleDirect from 15 people down to 4, then back to 5, I figured it was time to be honest about what I learned the hard way. Today I'm telling you about the engineer who disapp

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The Deload Week: Why Your Business Needs Rest (And So Do You)

The Deload Week: Why Your Business Needs Rest (And So Do You)

I couldn't lift the weights. Three days straight at the gym. Same exercises I'd crushed the week before. But my body just quit on me. I thought it was sleep. Maybe the weather. Just an off week. Wrong. What My Body Knew (That I Didn't) The term: deload week (here's an article that talked about it more). If you've been lifting consistently, your muscles need systematic recovery every 3-6 weeks. Not when you feel like it. Not

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Why I Changed My Mind About Multiple Products (And You Should Too)

Why I Changed My Mind About Multiple Products (And You Should Too)

Real founder insights about surviving the AI commoditization era Published October 31, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 37 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube For years, I preached the gospel of single product focus. "Build one thing really well," I'd tell founders. "Don't spread yourself thin." If you'd asked me two years ago, I would have told you to stay laser-focused on one product. That was my

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The AI Exercise That Almost Destroyed Me (In the Best Way Possible)

The AI Exercise That Almost Destroyed Me (In the Best Way Possible)

Real founder insights about surviving the AI commoditization era Published October 29, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 36 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube Last night, I did something uncomfortable. I asked Claude to tell me something I don't know about myself - good or bad, brutally honest. What came back almost destroyed me. In the best way possible. As founders, we have blind spots we can't

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Why I Just Wrote 350 Pages Telling Founders to Ignore 99% of Startup Advice

Why I Just Wrote 350 Pages Telling Founders to Ignore 99% of Startup Advice

Published October 21, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 32 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube I just finished writing my first free e-book, and I'm pissed off enough about the state of startup advice to give it away completely free. The book is called "The Anti-Unicorn: The Consulting Model" and it's based on a tweet I posted two weeks ago that said "Your first $100,000 should come from consulting,

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How to Know When to Pivot vs. Shut Down Your Startup (The 8am Text That Saved My Company)

How to Know When to Pivot vs. Shut Down Your Startup (The 8am Text That Saved My Company)

Published October 15th, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 30 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube Last week, I almost killed SimpleDirect Financing. Not because it was failing. Not because customers weren't using it. But because I was completely burned out. I had already drafted the sunset announcement. Published it to the blog. Scheduled the email to customers for 12pm Eastern. The decision was made

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3 Thoughts That Changed How I Run My Companies

3 Thoughts That Changed How I Run My Companies

The goal isn't to feel busy. Published October 17, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 31 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube This week, three ideas clicked in a way that fundamentally changed how I think and run SimpleDirect and ANC. They might not seem connected at first, but they share the same core truth about building sustainable businesses. Let me walk you through each one. Thought #1: Why Lin

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Three Expensive Lessons About Money That Changed How I Think About Wealth

Three Expensive Lessons About Money That Changed How I Think About Wealth

Real founder insights about surviving the AI commoditization era Published October 24, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 34 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube I just finished Morgan Housel's "The Art of Spending Money" and it hit me like a brick. Five years ago, when I was broke and running SimpleDirect out of my Toronto apartment, I read his first book "The Psychology of Money." It changed everyth

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How to Price Consulting Services (Without Underselling Yourself)

How to Price Consulting Services (Without Underselling Yourself)

Here's the most common mistake I see new consultants make: They charge $500 for work that's worth $5,000. Not because they don't understand the value. Because they're terrified the client will say no. So they underprice. They rationalize: "I'm just starting out." "I need to build my portfolio." "I'll raise my rates later." Then they get trapped. They have clients who expect cheap work. They're working 60-hour weeks for povert

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The AI Performance Gap Is About to Become Permanent. Here's Which Side You're On.

The AI Performance Gap Is About to Become Permanent. Here's Which Side You're On.

In 12-18 months, it'll be too late.

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Why My Friends Making $500K at Google Regret Their Careers (And What I Learned About Freedom)

Why My Friends Making $500K at Google Regret Their Careers (And What I Learned About Freedom)

Don't be them in 10 years Freedom compounds. Start now. Published October 1, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 25 Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube I have a friend named Sha who's worked at Google for 15 years. He finally made it to Managing Director - $500K+ salary, impressive title, all the perks Silicon Valley promises. When we talked two years ago in the Valley, he told me something that's stu

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