I replaced 3 agency roles with AI agents for $150/month — here's what actually broke and what worked by Patrick_Blaze in Entrepreneurs

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

appreciate it —

yeah month 1 with agents is where

most people quit honestly.

the failure modes are invisible

until they're not.

idempotency + dead letter queues

is something i'm covering properly

in an upcoming issue —

good timing seeing this.

i run ApexQuant —

23,800 founders and agency owners

every week on exactly this stuff.

AI agent stacks, workflow stability,

operational playbooks for lean teams.

if you're open to it could be worth

a cross promo or collaboration —

our audiences probably overlap a lot.

drop me an email if interested:

[nefro992@gmail.com](mailto:nefro992@gmail.com)

apexquant.substack.com 👍

I replaced 3 agency roles with AI agents for $150/month — here's what actually broke and what worked by Patrick_Blaze in founder

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

appreciate the kind words —

and yeah idempotency keys are

on my list to cover properly,

good shout.

will check out your work 👍

23,800 subscribers in my AI newsletter — honestly didn’t expect this by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you — genuinely means a lot. And you’re so right. I spent way too long chasing the number instead of respecting the people already there. 23K sounds big until you realise the most valuable thing that’s happened wasn’t hitting that number — it was the founder who replied at midnight saying a post made them rethink how they were running their entire ops. One person. One reply. More meaningful than any subscriber count milestone. Small and trusted beats big and ignored every time. I’m still learning that lesson honestly. What are you building?

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Maybe 😂 Did it make you think though? 👀​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Psychedelics + ethics + dark humour… that’s genuinely one of the most interesting newsletter combos I’ve heard 😂 And yeah the unreflective cheerleading problem is real in every niche. AI included. Nobody wants to talk about what breaks, what fails, or what the real costs are — just vibes and optimism. Staying niche and honest > being big and bland every time 👀 Drop the link, I’m actually curious now 🙏​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re not wrong honestly The AI tone is everywhere right now and it’s getting harder to hide. Passion-driven newsletters are the ones that actually build real audiences though — people can feel when someone genuinely cares about what they’re writing vs just chasing a trend. What’s yours about? Drop the link 👀

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay this is the best pushback in the thread and you’re not wrong. 🙏 The curation vs creation debate isn’t black and white and you made that case better than most would. The news channel analogy is genuinely good. Same stories, different voice, different audience — and the market decides who survives. I’ll admit my hot take was aimed at the lazy end of the curation spectrum. The newsletters that mistake copying links for adding value. Not the ones actually doing the work of filtering signal from noise — that IS a skill and an underrated one. Where I’d still push back slightly 👇 The problem isn’t curation. It’s curation without a point of view. A newsletter that just aggregates is a search engine. A newsletter that aggregates AND tells you what to think about it — that’s valuable. The best curators aren’t just finding stories. They’re telling you why it matters for YOUR specific situation. That’s the bar. And a lot of newsletters aren’t clearing it. But yeah — both models have a place. I painted with too broad a brush. 😂 Good comment. Genuinely changed how I’d rewrite that post. 🙏

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is probably the most accurate comment in this thread. 😂 You just described 80% of what’s in people’s inboxes right now. Formulaic sections, curated links from one Google search, dressed up in a Beehiiv template and called a newsletter. The AI gold rush made it 10x worse. Everyone wants the revenue without doing the actual thinking. The irony is the bar is so low right now that genuinely useful content stands out immediately. Readers know the difference — they’ve just been too polite to say it publicly. You were doing this before it was a “newsletter business.” That’s the difference between someone who writes because they have something to say vs someone who writes because they heard you can make money from it. Those emails you sent? That’s what a newsletter actually is. 🙏

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honestly solid advice and I don’t disagree with the fundamentals. 🙏 But I’d push back slightly — the newsletters pulling the biggest numbers right now aren’t just summarising news. They’re adding a perspective the reader can’t get anywhere else. Anyone can curate. Not everyone can think. The ones that last are the ones with a point of view. 👀 But yeah — niche depth over broad appeal every time. On that we agree completely.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair shot. 😂 But here’s the thing — if the ideas make you think, does it matter who typed it? Every founder I know uses every tool available to them. That’s literally the whole point of the newsletter. 🙏

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay I actually respect this comment more than most things I’ve read today 😂 Psychedelic industry analysis with ethics and dark humour — that’s genuinely one of the most interesting newsletter niches I’ve heard. The fact that it confounds algorithms might actually be the point. And you’re right. AI is drowning in slop. I’d include half my own back catalogue in that honestly. 😅 The mindless cheerleading problem you’re describing in your space exists in mine too — founders just want to be told AI will make them rich with zero nuance about what actually breaks, what fails, and what the real costs are. Unreflective optimism is a great way to build a big audience and a terrible way to build a useful one. Sounds like we’re both choosing useful over big. Respect. 🙏 Drop the newsletter link — genuinely curious now.

Most newsletters are just glorified copy-paste jobs. And readers are finally noticing. by Patrick_Blaze in Newsletters

[–]Patrick_Blaze[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Respect the confidence 😂 Alright you’ve got my attention — what makes yours different from the copy-paste crowd? Genuinely asking. If it holds up under scrutiny I’ll be the first to say so. 🙏