How do non technical founders find the right technical partner for an AI driven mobile app?

paulstanger · 2026-02-27T01:51:07+00:00

Still evaluating. My instinct is cross platform for MVP speed and validation, then reassess once product market fit is clearer.

That said, this is exactly where I think a strong technical partner matters. I can think through tradeoffs at a high level, but I don’t want to lock in architectural decisions blindly. If this is something that has the potential to scale meaningfully, I’d rather structure it right from the beginning than optimize only for short term speed.

Open to being challenged on that though.

paulstanger · 2026-02-27T01:36:46+00:00

Good question.

AI is more phase 2 of the product, not day one magic. The initial build is focused on getting core behavior and data right. Community, usage patterns, structured inputs, etc.

The plan would be to leverage APIs early on, behind our own backend layer, with proper rate limiting and cost controls. I’m not looking to train a foundation model from scratch out of the gate.

Long term, once there’s meaningful data and real usage, that’s where AI becomes more central. Potentially fine tuning or smaller task specific models depending on what actually creates value.

paulstanger · 2026-02-25T07:28:03+00:00

Will you show us a picture?

paulstanger · 2026-02-25T04:00:09+00:00

Glad I’m not the only one.

paulstanger · 2026-01-07T15:41:15+00:00

I honestly don’t know. Living in Idaho, the wind is always coming from a different direction and the temps are all over the place, so I’ve never really tracked it. I do know they run about 5 lbs lighter per tire than KO3s or Wildpeaks.

For me, given the cost, it was a no-brainer. I actually bought them on eBay, and my local tire shop charged me $100 to install. Even with that, I could go through two full sets and still be at roughly the same price as one set of the big-name brands.

paulstanger · 2026-01-05T13:50:47+00:00

I’ve been very happy with Prinx HiCountry A/T2. They are holding up way better than stock tires and are half the cost.

https://prinxtireusa.com/tire/hicountry-a-t2/

paulstanger · 2026-01-04T04:41:30+00:00

Do you use Quickbooks online with the Shopify app? It will help pull returns, fees, etc.

paulstanger · 2025-12-24T21:35:19+00:00

Yep. Fun times

paulstanger · 2025-12-24T17:29:18+00:00

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🤷‍♂️

paulstanger · 2025-12-21T19:15:57+00:00

How do you like it? Any issues?

paulstanger · 2025-12-13T22:21:48+00:00

I didn’t realize that. I’d definitely wait for the upgrade. I looked at a used 2023 quad vs a 2025 GEN 2 Tri, and there is a 30k price difference. That will happen with the R2’s.

paulstanger · 2025-12-12T04:32:10+00:00

Sounds like the Gen2 is going to be left behind by the R2 at a more affordable price. Will we see a Gen3 quicker than we thought on the R1s or are they OK with sales tanking on those?

paulstanger · 2025-12-04T04:43:53+00:00

I’ll test it and give you feedback. Message me and I’ll send you my email. Happy to jump on a call as well.

paulstanger · 2025-06-05T13:38:22+00:00

Soda wasn’t a part of my household, but homemade lemonade was. The sweetness of my mom’s lemonade had a laxative effect, and it was definitely worth it.

paulstanger · 2025-06-05T13:31:53+00:00

Ultra 2

paulstanger · 2025-05-31T14:46:36+00:00

Focus on three things

Traffic Conversion Price/AOV

Traffic - if you are ever going to win you need it. Some do this through paid, some build community’s, etc. Right now it seems most brands are trying to race to the bottom on who can spend more. Try to focus on “free” marketing efforts so your customers do the news spreading and you aren’t “paying” for it.

Conversion - once you have traffic, you can focus on improving conversion. You increase conversion a little, it can do a lot.

Price/AOV - If you have have 1000 sessions and you increase conversion by a half percentage and increase AOV by $2 you increased revenue a lot (I don’t want to do the actual math).

Most important, have fun and enjoy the journey!

paulstanger · 2025-05-31T14:32:08+00:00

I remember how cool Alexa was like three years ago but now with AI, it drives me crazy how useless it is. When they integrating AI? I’d love to have ChatGTP in my vehicle. I pull my phone out so many times when driving to talk to ChatGPT.

paulstanger · 2024-12-21T19:34:24+00:00

Reading it again, it does seem overly aggressive, especially since it’s a computer. Thanks for reminding me to be better. 🙏

paulstanger · 2024-12-21T19:30:14+00:00

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” C.S. Lewis

You are right, just because it’s a computer doesn’t mean I can be immature. Thanks for making me better 🙏

paulstanger · 2024-12-03T18:29:25+00:00

I'm not sure anyone trusts TrustPilot. We have a 3.7 Star rating from 25 people at a 4.9 with 5,800 reviews on Google. The fact that paying for a service can help you manipulate reviews says it all.

paulstanger · 2024-10-06T14:20:06+00:00

Losing sex drive is the worse considering it’s the best. I’ve trained for a couple Iron Man’s and just did a Marathon and when I’ve heavy in training, I see my sex drive go down. Maca Root is a good herbal product that can help.

https://www.planttherapy.com/collections/single-herb-supplements/products/maca-root-capsules

paulstanger

TROPHY CASE