Even with all the ways technology has changed how we work and connect, there’s still something powerful about being in the same room with people. In-person events — whether it’s a roundtable, a workshop, a conference, a product roadshow or a community gathering — create opportunities for connection, trust and collaboration that digital tools can’t quite replace.

For entrepreneurs, that face-to-face time matters more than ever in 2025. Showing up fully, adding real value to the conversation and taking the time to follow up can turn a simple interaction into a lasting business advantage.

Related: Why This Sports Festival Might Be the Most Ambitious Live Event in America

Benefits of live events

We are wired to connect. Even in a world that embraces remote work, most of us still crave face-to-face interaction. That’s why live events matter. They’re not just gatherings, they’re growth engines. They offer the chance to meet up with colleagues old and new, prospects, industry partners and other contacts.

They’re your chance to understand customer pain points, build trust and lay the groundwork for future sales. At their core, events are about relationships, and relationships are how businesses grow.

In-person events play a key role in shaping executive visibility and thought leadership, too. Keynotes, speaking sessions, breakouts and panels remain key ways to get your company and spokespeople in front of targeted audiences. And now that events are gaining halo ecosystems of their own, there are even more opportunities for podcasts, fireside chats and “birds of a feather” sessions at offsite partner dinners, breakfast seminars and customer happy hours after the expo hall closes.

What to look for in potential events

Post-pandemic, audience expectations for in-person engagement have shifted. Today’s attendees want more from events, including more networking, more meaningful customer meetings, partner meetings and clearer return-on-investment. Events become a way to capitalize on your industry’s collective physical presence in a way that hybrid/remote work and interactions aren’t able to deliver as consistently.

But not all events are equal. How can you decide which will be best for you? 

• Conduct online research for events in your industry. When you find promising events, look at those event websites for more information.  
• If the event has booths or exhibits, contact event managers to get prior event stats like the number of attendees, lists of previous years’ exhibitors and demographics.
• Do some digging to discover which events your competitors show up for.
• Ask your network which events have done well for them and why.

Related: How to Turn Your Event Into a Must-Attend Experience With PR

What meaningful participation looks like

Showing up doesn’t guarantee you’ll get noticed. One practical, effective strategy is for all event team members to wear a consistent branded look (e.g., logo shirt and black pants). Research shows that such “uniforms” boost brand recognition, making your team more visible, approachable and memorable in a crowded event space. 

A second strategy is to think about alternative (even “guerrilla”) marketing activities. You may want to upset the apple cart and get free publicity. What’s a pain point you can capitalize on, for instance? How is your offering different? You can learn a lot and get inspired by the famous WePay stunt.

Snacks are a perennial hit, venue permitting. Stock up on bite-sized items to help fuel attendees and conversations. People expect video, too, so create a short, high-quality video that draws the eye and informs.

If the event has booths, you want yours to be the talk of the show. It should be eye-catching and maybe even fun. I’ve seen recent booths that featured a miniature race track, puppies and even baby goats. While attention-grabbing gimmicks can draw a crowd, the real win is creating a space that facilitates conversation and is easy to navigate. And don’t forget the importance of comfortable chairs!

Don’t neglect training for your booth team, either. Visitors need to feel welcome and comfortable. The team should comprise smart, energetic people who don’t pounce on visitors and immediately start selling. Walk them through a variety of possible scenarios ahead of time so they’re knowledgeable and prepared. A re-usable event training handbook is a good idea.

If your main objective at an event is to gather leads, dust off your interaction skills and connect with prospects at every opportunity. Attend receptions, dinners and other networking functions. Be personable and authentic, and listen — these are the ingredients that build trust. You also want to be intentional about meeting up with key contacts and prospects.

Related: How to Bridge The Gap Between In-Person and Remote Meetings

Events as part of the bigger PR picture

PR and marketing teams must integrate events into a broader comms strategy. Events shouldn’t be one-offs; they should amplify and align with ongoing campaigns. Start by defining clear goals: media coverage, thought leadership, lead generation or brand visibility.

Before the event, build anticipation with press outreach, email campaigns and social posts. Secure speaking slots and pre-schedule media or analyst briefings.

During the event, share real-time content, engage on social, and collect assets, such as photos, quotes and customer insights, for future use. Afterward, repurpose key takeaways into blog posts or thought leadership pieces. Follow up with leads, media contacts, and analysts. Use event insights to inform future messaging and campaign direction.

When integrated well, events become high-impact moments that feed your content pipeline and strengthen market positioning.

Make a lasting impact

In-person events are a great way to connect with customers and contacts while meeting experts and prospects. With so much “noise” at these gatherings, you need strategies for rising above the crowd in meaningful ways. Whether you’re at an industry mixer or a huge event with exhibitors, preparation, creativity, and authenticity will win the day.

Refer to the recommendations mentioned above to make sure the time and expense of live events are maximized to meet your business goals.

Anyone running their own business—or managing finances for one—you know how quickly bookkeeping can become a full-time job. Between tracking expenses, managing invoices, running payroll, and prepping for tax season, it adds up fast. That’s why many business owners turn to Intuit QuickBooks for accounting assistance, and right now, there’s a rare chance to get it without the usual subscription commitment.

For a limited time, you can grab Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024 for one Windows device with a lifetime license for $199.97 (regularly $699).

Why this version stands out

QuickBooks has long been a go-to for small to mid-size businesses, but in recent years, Intuit has leaned heavily into subscription pricing—making it harder to find versions that you can just pay for once and own. This lifetime license bucks that trend.

It’s a great option for entrepreneurs who want full functionality—invoicing, bill tracking, expense management, customizable reports, and advanced tools like job costing and sales tax tracking—without recurring fees eating into their margins.

QuickBooks Desktop also appeals to those who prefer a local installation over cloud-based software. You’re not tied to an internet connection, and your data stays under your control. That’s particularly valuable if you handle sensitive financial records or work in industries with strict compliance needs.

Good fit for small-business owners and freelancers

Whether you’re managing a freelance design studio, a local coffee shop, or a growing consulting firm, this one-time purchase is a smart long-term investment. The software supports up to 100 different company files, which makes it versatile enough for those with multiple business ventures.

There’s no shortage of subscription services asking for your credit card every month, and fortunately, this isn’t one of them. If you’re ready to simplify your finances without adding to your overhead, this deal on QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024 might be one of the more practical decisions you make this year.

Don’t wait any longer to act on this limited-time offer. Grab a lifetime of Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus for your Windows device for $199.97 (regularly $699).

Intuit® QuickBooks® Desktop Pro Plus 2024 (1 User) for Windows: Lifetime License

See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

This September marks 1,000 days since ChatGPT entered public consciousness. In that short time, the world has undergone a seismic shift. AI, once a buzzword, has become a foundational force — reshaping workflows, boardroom agendas and entire industries. No organization or country, large or small, was immune. Generative AI, alongside Claude, Gemini and open-source models, hasn’t merely added features. It has reset the pace of innovation, widened performance gaps and exposed how few institutions were equipped to turn experiments into execution.

Across verticals — from education and enterprise to pharma and public sector — one insight has proven consistent: The organizations that thrive with AI don’t start with tools. They start with people.

Since the release of ChatGPT, I’ve worked with hundreds of organizations worldwide as an AI keynote speaker, transformation advisor and strategic consultant. My work has included delivering keynotes, facilitating AI innovation workshops and guiding C-suite leaders across industries through the turbulence of AI adoption. From global corporations and top universities to national governments and biotech pioneers, the same patterns — and the same roadblocks — have emerged.

This article opens the “1,000 Days of AI” series: a practical, cross-vertical exploration of what AI has already changed, what lies ahead and what leaders must do now to build alignment, trust and momentum in the age of intelligent systems.

Related: The World Is Splitting Between Those Who Use ChatGPT to Get Better, Smarter, Richer — and Everyone Else

This isn’t an IT project

Many organizations began their AI journey by outsourcing it to IT. Generative tools like ChatGPT were handed to CIOs. Roadmaps were requested. Pilots were announced. Platforms were compared. Meanwhile, momentum stalled.

In contrast, the most adaptive organizations began by engaging employees. They looked at workflows, not tech stacks. They asked: Where does friction live, and who understands it best? Then they launched internal sprints to solve meaningful problems. Not everything scaled, but what did revealed where the real opportunity lies.

AI is not a dashboard or chatbot. It is a system-level catalyst. It touches every department — legal, HR, finance, operations, marketing. It raises questions about ethics, accountability and the future of work. It requires organizations to stop thinking in silos and start working across them.

The most effective transformation doesn’t come from strategy decks; it comes from people trusted to rethink their daily work. When organizations create space for this kind of thinking, momentum follows.

The intrapreneur era has arrived

Some of the most impactful applications of AI in the last 1,000 days didn’t come from senior leadership or external consultants. They came from within. Employees who noticed inefficiencies, tested generative tools and found a better way forward. These internal changemakers — intrapreneurs — are rebuilding their organizations from the inside out.

During the strategy sessions I’ve led, it’s often the customer support agent who builds an AI-powered knowledge base, the compliance analyst who uses large language models to automate documentation or the professor who reinvents grading. These aren’t isolated moments; they’re the new standard of innovation.

The most agile organizations surface these efforts early, reward the behavior and scale what works. They don’t wait for formal initiatives. They build cultures where permission is replaced by participation. And they move quickly — not recklessly, but with confidence.

Related: How Corporate ‘Intrapreneurs’ Can Harness the Power of AI to Transform Their Businesses and Supercharge Their Careers

AI is a multiplier of culture

AI doesn’t transform culture — it reflects it. An organization grounded in rigidity and control will experience more of the same. One built on curiosity, collaboration and transparency will scale faster, learn faster and lead the market.

The highest-performing organizations start with a clear principle: alignment precedes acceleration. They ask employees what slows them down and then act on the answers. They replace static org charts with cross-functional teams. They move from policies to prototypes.

Governance isn’t an afterthought — it’s embedded in the process. Legal, HR and compliance are not blockers. They’re design partners. Together, they build systems that are ethical, inclusive and scalable from day one.

AI is not just a toolset. It’s a leadership challenge. The organizations that rise to meet it build trust and transformation in parallel.

What’s working now

After delivering hundreds of AI keynotes and partnering with organizations across the globe, a new set of success principles has emerged:

• Start with employees. Those closest to the work understand the friction and how to fix it.

• Distribute capability. Don’t limit training to tech teams. The best ideas often come from HR, legal and finance.

• Run AI sprints like business design. These aren’t software pilots. They’re rapid experiments in new ways of working.

• Make governance collaborative. Build ethical and compliance guardrails with — not after — the business.

• Scale internal wins. Share success stories. Build intrapreneur networks. Turn momentum into muscle.

These practices aren’t aspirational. They’re already creating measurable outcomes for organizations willing to lead the change.

Related: 2025 AI Innovation Insights — Lessons Learned From Over 127 Global Speaking Sessions

The next 1,000 days demand boldness

The experimentation phase is over. The next 1,000 days require depth, speed and alignment. Pilots must become platforms. Strategy must move beyond decks and into daily action.

The real divide is no longer between AI adopters and skeptics. It’s between those who integrate AI into culture and decision-making — and those who simply deploy tools without changing the system around them.

What defines leadership in this next wave isn’t technology. It’s the ability to build trust in AI, connect siloed teams and redesign work at scale. The future of work is already arriving. The organizations that act now will shape it.

Those who move with courage and clarity will thrive. Others will find themselves part of someone else’s success story.

Coming next in the “1,000 Days of AI” series: How AI is transforming education — and what schools, faculty and students must do now to stay ahead.

AI is not transforming businesses. Content is. AI simply accelerates the impact — for better or worse.

That’s why content strategy can no longer be delegated down or siloed away. It belongs in the C-suite, where it can be aligned with vision, risk and value creation. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

1. Content is the engine, AI is the accelerator

Executives often think of AI as the change agent. But AI is only as good as the content it runs on. Whether powering a chatbot, a decision engine or a customer experience, AI magnifies the strengths — and flaws — of your content ecosystem.

In one audit with a global enterprise, we tested a generative AI support assistant. Instead of delivering answers from the official knowledge base, it confidently cited outdated PDFs buried in an unmanaged folder. AI didn’t invent the problem — it amplified it.

Leaders must understand: the real transformation happens when AI accelerates well-governed, accurate and consistent content. Without that foundation, AI only scales chaos.

2. Every department runs on content

Content is not just copy, images or video. Content is the substance of marketing, sales, product, support, and customer experience. And content is policy in HR, compliance in legal, onboarding in operations, disclosures in finance, and much more.

Take Pfizer’s experience during the pandemic. Their challenge wasn’t simply producing more vaccine to support going to market — it was ensuring every department, from medical to regulatory to communications, worked from a unified content system. That cross-functional alignment enabled them to deliver accurate, trusted information on a global scale.

That’s the level of integration AI now demands. And it requires leadership from the very top.

Related: Adapt Your C-Suite for the Digital Era In 3 Steps

3. Maturity determines whether AI helps or hurts

Our research across 200,000+ content effectiveness assessments and our study of content operations with nearly 1000 professionals and leaders show a clear pattern: organizations with mature content operations adopt AI faster, with fewer failures.

But 58% of organizations still operate with low content maturity. Poorly defined workflows. Little governance. Few metrics. In an AI-accelerated world, that’s not just inefficient — it’s a strategic risk.

Just as cybersecurity and data privacy moved onto the C-suite agenda, so must content maturity. Without it, AI investments will stall — or backfire.

4. Content is an intangible asset

Boards increasingly view intangibles — brand equity, trust, intellectual capital — as drivers of corporate value. Content is the connective tissue for all three.

Annual reports, investor communications and brand valuations already reflect this shift. In fact, the quality and consistency of content often serve as a proxy for organizational discipline and credibility.

Executives can’t afford to see content as overhead. It is an asset that requires investment, governance, and reporting at the highest level.

Related: How to Develop a ‘C-Suite Mindset’ for Success, From 5 Leaders Who Have Done It

5. AI risks are content risks

When AI generates content, it doesn’t just “produce words.” It makes decisions: what to say, how to say it, which source to trust. That means governance challenges move from “content management” to content risk management.

Consider the regulatory implications: a chatbot that cites outdated policy, or a sales assistant that generates a misleading claim. These aren’t technical glitches — they’re governance failures.

AI forces the C-suite to answer hard questions:

• Who owns the accuracy of AI output?
• How do we enforce compliance at scale?
• What’s our escalation path when AI gets it wrong?

These are executive questions, not operational ones.

6. From AI experiments to content-driven transformation

Too many organizations frame AI adoption as an innovation. But the real transformation happens when AI accelerates a disciplined, cross-functional content system.

That system connects three pillars:

• Content intelligence → using analytics, audits, and user feedback
• Content operations → workflows, governance, and standards
• AI enablement → tools that amplify the first two

AI without those foundations is a shiny demo. AI with them is a force multiplier.

The takeway

AI is not the transformation. Content is. AI only accelerates its impact.

For executives, that’s both risk and opportunity. The companies that win will not be those who rush to deploy AI pilots, but those who recognize content as infrastructure — governed, measured, and led at the top.

As I argue in The Content Advantage, content isn’t a side project. It’s a potential strategic advantage. In the age of AI, it’s also a C-level responsibility.

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company with a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion at the time of writing, beat revenue expectations for its fiscal second quarter, reporting sales of $46.74 billion on Wednesday after market close.

Nvidia posted that data center revenue was up 56% from a year prior, reaching $41.1 billion.

The company’s longtime CEO, Jensen Huang, told Fox Business Network’s The Claman Countdown on Thursday that AI, which Nvidia is advancing, would cause “some jobs” to disappear but result in new jobs becoming “invented.”

Related: Nvidia Pulls Ahead of Apple and Microsoft to Become the World’s First $4 Trillion Public Company

“One thing for sure, every job will be changed as a result of AI,” Huang said.

^{Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Wan Quan/VCG via Getty Images}

Huang also told Fox Business that he expects the economy to be doing “very well” in the future due to AI and automation, and stated that the quality of life for humanity would improve.

Huang’s remarks add to what he said last month on an episode of The All-In Podcast. On the podcast, Huang stated that the “one thing we know for certain” is that people who use AI will replace those who don’t. He predicted that AI use will lead to more millionaires in the next five years than the Internet produced in two decades.

Related: How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Transformed a Graphics Card Company Into an AI Giant: ‘One of the Most Remarkable Business Pivots in History’

Huang also called AI the “greatest technology equalizer of all time” because it allows anyone to program by simply using plain English prompts (a practice known as “vibe coding,” which even Google CEO Sundar Pichai has dabbled in).

“AI in my case is creating jobs,” Huang said on the podcast, adding that the technology enables people to “create things that other people would like to buy.”

AI allows creative people to act on their ideas by providing technical services. In turn, it enables technical people to use it for creative endeavors, Huang pointed out.

Nvidia held 92% of the market share for AI chips in the first quarter of the year. Its chips power ChatGPT, an AI chatbot with more than 700 million weekly users as of this month, up from 500 million users in March.

Related: Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang Says He’s ‘Created More Billionaires’ Than Anyone Else — Adding Two More This Week

Nvidia’s stock was up over 30% year-to-date at the time of writing.

In the early days of any business, most founders wear too many hats. You’re the product lead, marketer, customer service rep and ops manager — sometimes all in the same afternoon.

I’ve been there. When I was launching my first AI startup, I was writing code, answering support tickets, hacking on SEO and trying to figure out Google Ads at night. Every time I jumped from one thing to another, I paid a tax: ramp-up time, mental fatigue, missed details.

Eventually, I drew a line: if a function had a steep learning curve, wasn’t core to the product or customer experience, and could burn cash fast if I got it wrong, it had to go.

Here are the first three things I outsourced — what worked, what didn’t and how I make the decision now.

Related: How to Turn Big Business Moments Into Lasting Brand Momentum

1. Google Ads had to go first

I took a real swing at it. I set up campaigns, followed Google’s recommendations and even tried Performance Max. One day it would “work,” the next day I’d spend $90 to make a $24 sale.

Whether you’re running a SaaS tool, an ecommerce store, or a local service business, paid ads can become a black hole. The learning curve is steep, the platform is opaque by design and Google is always nudging you to spend more so the algorithm can “learn.”

I hired a specialist. Instantly, I stopped burning time trying to reverse engineer bidding strategies and keyword intent. I could focus on the roadmap, customers and the parts of marketing I actually understood. Worth every dollar.

My advice: Try it briefly so you understand the vocabulary and the levers. Then get out. Your money will disappear faster than your learning compounds.

2. Social media was next — and it blew up (in a bad way)

I outsourced content and channel management to someone who promised to “crush it.” I gave full access to my accounts. It devolved into drama, threats and low-quality work. I shut it down.

The lesson? Never give full control of a distribution channel to someone you don’t know, and never confuse enthusiasm with competence. Social media can be valuable for any business building in public — but only if it’s handled by someone you trust and can hold accountable.

Next time: I’ll only outsource to someone vetted by people I trust, with scoped access, clear deliverables and a kill switch.

3. PR was the third — and it worked

I’d watched competitors outrank me and land strong stories. I tried the DIY route (like HARO), but the ROI wasn’t there. So I brought in someone who could own the process — strategy, pitching, follow-through — and translate my product into narratives reporters actually want.

That freed me to focus on what I do best while the media engine ran in parallel. For businesses in crowded markets or emerging categories, this kind of PR support can be game-changing.

How I decide what to outsource now

I use a simple filter:

• Is this core to the product or user experience? If yes, I keep it.
• Is the learning curve steep enough that I’ll waste weeks for marginal improvement? If yes, I outsource.
• Could a mistake here be disproportionately expensive? (Ads and legal are great examples.) Outsource.
• Do I understand it well enough to evaluate the work? If not, I’ll do a quick self-guided crash course, then bring someone in.
• Can I structure a small, low-risk test? If yes, I do that before any retainer.

Handling the handoff while staying lean

I started with literal paper notes, then the Mac Notes app. Today, I still keep it simple: Trello boards when needed, email for most communication, and regular short check-ins. The point is clarity, not tooling.

One clear metric, one owner, one cadence.

Access-wise: role-based logins, password manager and instant revocation baked into the plan. That social media experience burned this into my process.

Related: How to Actually Get Returns in Your Marketing Efforts

About that “it’s faster if I do it myself” line…

It isn’t. It just feels faster because you don’t have to explain anything. In reality, you’re trading days of deep work for weeks of shallow thrash.

Do enough to understand it. Then move it off your plate — so you can focus on what only you can do.

You can’t do it all — not for long and not well. Start by outsourcing the work that burns cash when done poorly, has a steep learning curve, or pulls you furthest from the product or customer. Keep control of your infrastructure, build small, reversible contracts and measure everything.

The cost of trying to be superhuman is higher than the cost of a good specialist.

Most entrepreneurs are getting YouTube completely wrong. They’re copying entertainment creators, chasing viral moments and treating their channel like a content graveyard instead of the powerful authority-building platform it actually is.

Here’s what they’re missing: YouTube now captures over 12% of total television viewing time, which is more than Netflix, Disney or any major network. When you upload a video, you’re not competing against other YouTubers. You’re competing against prime-time television.

This changes everything about how you should approach the platform.

Related: Turn YouTube Into a Business Growth Engine With These Easy Tactics

Why traditional YouTube advice doesn’t work for entrepreneurs

Most creators obsess over “beating the algorithm,” but here’s the truth: The algorithm isn’t your audience — it’s a mirror of your audience. YouTube’s AI simply predicts human behavior based on how real people interact with your content. When viewers click your videos, watch them completely and immediately watch another one, the algorithm notices. It’s pattern recognition, not magic.

Stop trying to hack the system. Start understanding your audience so deeply that the algorithm has no choice but to promote your content.

When growth stagnates, most entrepreneurs default to posting more frequently. This is backwards thinking. I’ve seen channels grow faster by reducing from daily uploads to once per week because they stopped treating YouTube like a hamster wheel and started treating it like a strategic media platform.

The real issue isn’t posting frequency; it’s resource allocation. When you’re rushing to meet arbitrary deadlines, you can’t invest the time needed for strategic thinking and quality execution.

How YouTube actually works in 2025

YouTube operates on a simple two-step psychology: someone sees your content, decides to click, then chooses whether to keep watching. But there’s now a third element to consider, where autoplay previews let viewers “sample” your content before committing to the full click.

This mirrors how our brains make decisions. We constantly evaluate whether something is worth our attention, and YouTube has evolved to support this natural decision-making process.

The platform also tracks “valued watch time,” not just how long someone watches, but how satisfied they felt with the experience. YouTube runs daily surveys asking millions of users whether videos were worth their time, and this data directly influences which content gets broader distribution.

Related: Ready to Get Off the Social Media Hamster Wheel? Discover the Platform That Actually Boosts Your Discoverability

The 3 strategies that actually build authority

1. Master the ideation process

Most creators spend 90% of their time editing and 10% on ideas. Successful entrepreneurs flip this ratio entirely. The idea sets the bar for every video’s potential. Even a perfect execution of a weak concept will always underperform a strong idea with average execution.

Use what I call the Creative Faucet Method: When you first turn on a faucet, dirty water comes out. But if you let it run, clear water eventually flows. Your brain works the same way.

Set aside time each week to generate 30-50 raw video ideas using this breakdown:

• 40% market research (analyze what’s working in your space)

• 40% audience mining (scan comments and customer feedback for pain points)

• 20% innovation (experiment with unexpected angles)

From those concepts, 3-5 genuinely compelling ideas will emerge.

2. Perfect your packaging

Your title and thumbnail aren’t just about getting clicks; they’re your first credibility test. Every element should signal authority and expertise while creating enough curiosity to stop the scroll.

Effective title frameworks for entrepreneurs:

• The Contradiction: “Why I Don’t Use Email Marketing (Despite $10M in Revenue)”

• The Insider Secret: “The Sales Tactic 99% of Entrepreneurs Get Wrong”

• The Time Constraint: “Building a $1M Business in 18 Months: What I Learned”

Limit yourself to three elements maximum: your face showing confidence or expertise, clear text that reinforces the title and one visual element that represents the outcome or result.

With autoplay previews now showing 1-2 seconds of your video without sound, your opening moments have become part of your packaging strategy. Start with movement, compelling facial expressions or visual elements that immediately validate why someone clicked.

3. Focus on metrics that predict success

Ignore vanity metrics like subscriber count. Focus on three numbers that actually matter:

• First 24-hour click-through rate: This predicts long-term performance better than any other metric. YouTube gives new videos an algorithmic boost during their first day, primarily showing them to your core audience. Strong early performance signals broader distribution potential.

• Retention stability: Look for where your audience retention graph stabilizes after the initial drop-off. This shows you’re delivering on your promise and maintaining interest.

• Catalog performance: 40-60% of your views should come from videos older than six months. This indicates you’re creating evergreen content with lasting value, not just riding temporary trends.

Your starting point

Don’t try to implement everything at once. Pick one area and master it:

Week 1-2: Fix your ideas. Spend one hour every Sunday generating video concepts. Use customer emails, competitor analysis, and industry forums to find recurring questions and pain points.

Week 3-4: Improve your packaging. Apply the “mobile glance test.” Shrink your thumbnail to 150 pixels wide (roughly mobile size) and see if you can understand it in one second. If not, simplify it.

Week 5-6: Track what matters. Check your first 24-hour click-through rate in YouTube Studio. Anything above 8% is strong; above 12% is exceptional. Use this data to understand what resonates with your audience.

Related: How Brands and Individuals Can Leverage YouTube to Scale Their Business

Platform algorithms change constantly, but human psychology remains stable. When you build your YouTube strategy around how people actually discover, evaluate and consume content, you’re designing for constants rather than variables.

The entrepreneurs who build lasting authority on YouTube don’t chase viral moments; they create systematic value that compounds over time. They understand that every video is both a standalone piece of content and a building block in their larger authority platform.

Master these fundamentals, and you’ll have a YouTube presence that grows your business regardless of what changes the platform makes next.

Lucy Guo, 30, saw her net worth reach $1.3 billion in April. But the entrepreneur, who is now the world’s youngest female billionaire, is committed to finding the best deals — even if she can afford to pay full price.

Guo told CNBC on Wednesday that she remains “frugal,” admitting that she has done things like reserve flights at the airport and cancel them later so she could have a meal for free in the Amex lounge. She also rides UberX, the budget-friendly, low-cost version of Uber, and compares prices for food before buying something to eat. Her closet consists mainly of $10 pieces from stores like Shein.

“I’m frugal at some things, and I spend more on other things,” Guo told CNBC.

^{Lucy Guo. Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Passes}

Guo’s fortune was built via Scale AI, the AI data labeling startup she co-founded with Alexandr Wang in 2016. Meta made a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI in June, acquiring 49% of the startup and allowing the company to achieve a $29 billion valuation.

Related: These Are the AI Skills You Should Learn Right Now, According to the World’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

Though Guo left Scale AI in 2018, she has held onto a nearly 5% stake in the company, which has grown to be worth $1.25 billion. Despite her billionaire status, Guo says that her life has remained the same.

“My life pre-money and post-money, it hasn’t really changed that much,” Guo told CNBC Make It earlier this month.

While Guo may be frugal when it comes to her closet, her food, and her rides to work, she still has the means to spend lavishly in key areas without thinking about the cost.

For example, when it comes to homes, Guo bought a newly constructed mansion in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills for $29.5 million earlier this year. She got it at a discount: The 5-bedroom, 13,500-square-foot mansion was first listed for $43 million in January 2024.

Related: Sam Altman’s Mansion Was Once the Most Expensive Home Listing in San Francisco. A New Lawsuit Says It’s a ‘Lemon.’

Guo is also the owner of a $6.7 million condo in Florida, which she purchased in 2021, as well as another L.A. home, which she bought for $4.2 million last year.

Guo additionally owns a Ferrari in a vintage rose color, which she admits was a “splurge.” A Ferrari can cost upwards of $230,950. When it comes to transportation, she also sometimes flies via private jet to skip the lines at the airport.

Guo is a college dropout who studied computer science and human-computer interactions for two years at Carnegie Mellon University, per her LinkedIn. She left to pursue a Thiel Fellowship, which rewards young entrepreneurs for following non-traditional paths and choosing to build a business over going to college. Thiel Fellows receive a $200,000 grant and access to a network of founders to grow their companies.

Related: ‘We Don’t Believe in Work-Life Balance’: A Newly Acquired Startup Just Offered Its 200-Person Team a Choice — Work Weekends or Take a Buyout

Guo still puts in long hours at her startup, the creator commerce and monetization platform Passes, which she founded in 2022. Passes has raised a total of $66 million across three funding rounds. She says that the normal working day for her stretches twelve hours, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“9 a.m. to 9 p.m., to me, that’s still work-life balance,” Guo told CNBC.

I’m not going to lie, the latest generation of AI, especially large language models and agentic AI, is nothing short of impressive. At Human Cloud, we used tools like Claude and Windsurf to accomplish in 5 minutes what had previously taken us 5 years.

On the surface, it’s a story of overnight magic. But dig deeper and you’ll find that the real magic wasn’t the AI itself; it was the five years of groundwork that came before. We spent that time using spreadsheets, Canva graphics, CRM automations and hacky off-the-shelf tools to create the right sales and delivery motion, and validate our customers’ needs.

Only then did the AI become a true accelerator, as we used Claude, Windsurf and AWS to create the Human Cloud Platform in less than 5 minutes.

This brings up a crucial point. AI can easily be a distraction, prioritizing hype and buzz over real revenue and profitability. Why? Because the fundamental principle of business remains unchanged: every breakthrough starts with a deep understanding of what your customers need.

Before you invest another dollar in AI, ask yourself one question: Is this technology making us closer to our customers, or pulling us further away?

Here are five steps to ensure AI helps you get closer.

1. Manually implement before automating

“Do things that don’t scale” is a famous startup moniker brought up by Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, in his essay in 2013. As a 4x founder myself, this ethos has always run true.

In the case of AI, in every scenario, ask yourself if there is a manual alternative. If there is, try that first, then automate based on customer demand.

Related: LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman: To Scale, Do Things That Don’t Scale

2: Capture enough manual feedback

Step 1 is only half the story. The other half is ensuring you have enough of the right type of feedback to automate what really works. My strongest recommendation is to capture feedback that’s closest to customers actually paying, engaging and sharing.

I learned this the hard way in a former startup. We spent 3 months listening and iterating on prototypes based on feedback. We were maniacal in the level of detail we captured, from the user experience to the design. Then we launched, and less than 5% of these users actually paid. Instead, we shouldn’t have listened to what they said, but instead prioritized what they did.

If you want a book to help you capture the right type of feedback, check out The Mom Test.

Related: How the ‘Mom Test’ Can Help You Cut Through B.S. and Find Important Answers

3: Make AI accessible for everyone, not just AI experts

Rather than investing in an AI team or hiring AI experts, give everyone an opportunity to apply AI across their team and their work.

Preston Mossman, Senior Director of AI Consulting for Galaxy Square, told me, “learning to use AI is a muscle you have to build. A lot of people self-select out because they can’t use AI today to help them, but the first step is to accelerate their comfort and understanding in a way that feels valuable to them.”

When asking Preston about ways companies have helped their leaders get comfortable with it, he brought up investing in AI-related tools for interested individuals.

In his words, “if your mechanic told you about a $50 wrench that could get your job done just as well for half the cost, you would buy it for them or find a new mechanic (with the $50 wrench).”

Leaders not using AI in 5 years will be like leaders not using a computer today.

Related: Why Your AI Strategy Will Fail Without the Right Talent in Place

4: Hire independent experts first

Telling someone to use AI with no support is like telling someone to jump out of a plane without a parachute.

Obviously, hiring AI experts as full-time employees would be expensive and out of reach for most of us. Likewise, AI trainings take time, might be expensive, and rarely has direct applicability from training to application.

But a shortcut is hiring individuals who already use AI, as 65% of independent experts were already using AI as far back as 2024, and 95% of independent experts stated that AI makes them more competitive.

This brings up step 4: to hire flexible talent first, with flexible talent defined as independent, freelance, and fractional experts.

The data is clear that flexible talent upskills faster than full-time employees and is ahead of the curve in AI adoption and effectiveness. It’s not just AI, Deloitte research shows that the independent workforce upskills faster than their full-time peers.

There are also four massive benefits of flexible talent compared to full-time. You can control cost. You have a quicker time to effectiveness. You learn by seeing their expertise. And the most important benefit is that this is the future workforce.

To get started, look for a flexible talent platform that is specialized in your region, industry, and the application you need AI for. There are over 800 of these specialized solutions.

Related: Solopreneurship and Freelancing Is Here to Stay — Are You Ready?

5: Scale like the cloud

We take for granted how transformational cloud computing has been for us entrepreneurs. Without getting too geeky, what it really did was enable us to scale in line with customer demand rather than taking big bets because of large fixed costs.

Apply this same mindset to AI.

Do you think your AI idea is the next big breakthrough that will transform your company, your industry, and the world? That’s great. Now go through steps 1-4 before you bet the farm.

Jersey Mike’s is bringing a new face to the table — and he’s no stranger to sports fans. The sub sandwich chain, ranked #2 on the 2025 Franchise 500, has tapped Eli Manning, the two-time Super Bowl MVP and longtime New York Giants quarterback, to star in its first-ever NFL campaign. The move, delivered with a wink, playfully benches actor Danny DeVito, who has served as the brand’s celebrity frontman for the past three years.

The campaign signals a new era for Jersey Mike’s, which has been steadily growing from a regional favorite into a national powerhouse. With a recent majority investment from private equity firm Blackstone and a new partnership as the “Official Sub Sandwich Sponsor of the NFL,” the company is seizing the moment to expand its reach. Manning’s arrival as the brand’s latest spokesperson underscores its strategy: Use humor and star power to build deeper ties with sports fans while continuing to scale on a global stage.

Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.

Manning vs. DeVito

The new ad introduces Manning as Jersey Mike’s newest spokesperson — only to have DeVito crash through the roof like a superhero and accuse him of stealing the spotlight. The spot highlights the contrast between the 6’5″ quarterback and the 4’10” actor, leaning into their banter as they go nose-to-nose.

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The video, titled, New Spokesperson, is a lighthearted way of ushering Manning in as the new face of Jersey Mike’s while keeping DeVito in the mix, bridging the brand’s past and future.

Related: I Walked Away From a Corporate Career to Start My Own Small Business — Here’s Why You Should Do the Same

Hometown spokesman

DeVito’s role with Jersey Mike’s began in 2022, when he became the brand’s first-ever celebrity endorser. A native of Asbury Park, New Jersey, his campaigns often played on nostalgia and Jersey pride — a perfect fit for a company founded as a single sub shop in Point Pleasant in 1956. DeVito helped personify Jersey Mike’s as more than a sandwich chain, anchoring it in the state’s identity while connecting with audiences nationwide.

The 80-year-old DeVito recently wrapped Season 17 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which capped off another run of irreverent comedy with a surprisingly sentimental finale. In the closing episode, his character, Frank, took part in a parody of The Golden Bachelor that ended with a rain-soaked proposal opposite guest star Carol Kane, reuniting the duo decades after their time together on Taxi.

Related: How to Turn Big Business Moments Into Lasting Brand Momentum

A new chapter

With Blackstone’s $8 billion investment earlier this year, the departure of founder Peter Cancro and the NFL sponsorship, Jersey Mike’s is a force in the franchise industry. The company, which opened its 3,000th location earlier this year, is positioning itself as a global quick-service giant, expanding its marketing footprint across television, streaming, digital platforms and international sports audiences. Manning’s presence — coupled with his business portfolio, which includes private equity and sports ventures like NJ/NY Gotham FC — gives the brand both credibility and reach in the sports world.

As Jersey Mike’s shifts from a family-owned heritage brand to a private equity-backed global contender, its partnership with the NFL represents more than just advertising. It’s a sign that the sub shop once synonymous with easygoing New Jersey summers is now playing among the heavyweights.

Related: What My First Failed Startup Taught Me — and How I Finally Got It Right 20 Years Later