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It's a not so cheery post title, but I hope it got your attention, and perhaps you'll humour me by reading it.

This Twitter post from Micah about a month ago caused a stir:

He also did an interview with 20VC recently. I suggest you take a look. It’s a great watch (if not a somewhat scary reality check).

Micha Kaufman is the Founder and CEO of Fiverr, the leading online marketplace for freelance services. Fiverr has had an insane ride in the public markets, in 2019 the company went public with a $650M market cap, at their peak that hit over $8BN. Today, facing a wave of AI, the company has a market cap of $1.121BN on an estimated $430M EOY revenues. Prior to co-founding Fiverr, Micha successfully founded and led several startups over the last 30 years.
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In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:00 Intro
01:00 AI Is Coming for Your Job
03:03 Confronting the AI Threat to Fiverr
09:40 Do People Really Want to Work Anymore?
18:00 Why Your Startup Can Be Copied in 10 Days
23:08 How Do You Invest When There’s 20 Startups in Every Category?
28:53 Is an AI Bubble Burst Coming?
37:53 We’re Creating for AI, Not People
42:10 Do Public CEOs Need an AI Take Now?
49:48 Tech’s Wealth Gap: Are We Creating a Monopoly of Everything?
53:10 The HubSpot Problem: When Feature Overload Kills Execution
57:48 Which Department Took the AI Hit at Fiverr?
01:02:07 Leadership Adaptation in an AI World
01:06:18 Quick-Fire Round
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Subscribe on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465

Follow Harry Stebbings on X:
https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings

Follow Micha Kaufman on X:
https://twitter.com/michakaufman

Follow 20VC on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/20vchq

Follow 20VC on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok

Visit our Website:
https://www.20vc.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter:
https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact
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#20vc #harrystebbings #michakaufman #ceo #fiverr #founder #ai #startup #onlyfans #freelance

Fiverr CEO & Founder, Micha Kaufman: "If You’re Not Adapting to AI, F* You. You’re Done!"

If you can’t be bothered to watch the 1hr 15mins I’ll give you the short version:

AI is here, it’s getting better and (someone using) it will replace you. It’s just a matter of time. 

I personally don’t disagree. Dare I say it, it almost seems obvious. Maybe the way he said it could have been nicer, but it’s still true.

“If You’re Not Adapting to AI, F* You. You’re Done!”

“You're not done at Fiverr. You're done. Period. Because there's not going to be demand for people that cannot upgrade themselves”

"It's not my responsibility to make you better."

Yes it is, and it's easy to get angry and defensive when hearing it.

That feeling, that defensiveness? It's actually part of a well-known psychological map for change: the Kübler-Ross Change Curve. It outlines the stages we all go through when faced with massive disruption: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally, Acceptance.

If you're in the early stages, I get it, I was too. It’s easy to be mad at Fiverr, to feel like they're the ones pushing this on us. But you might as well be angry with the world for turning. 

This isn't a Fiverr thing; this is an everything, everywhere, all-at-once thing

. It’s happening on every freelancer platform. It's happening in tech companies, in law firms, in supermarkets, and everywhere in between.

You can’t escape it. So, the sooner you move on to a later stage the better you will be. 

I understand though that hearing the news in this format can be tough, kinda like a drill sergeant shouting at you. You think the CEO is ungrateful for all the work you’ve done, all those great gigs, he’s chewed you up, and now he’s spitting you out. 

I actually think he’s trying to help you to survive.

Over the years I've learned to reframe information so it's somewhat more palatable. So let's reframe the message and hear it in a different voice.

Imagine it’s a loving parent instead, and you're 5 years old (please don’t think this is me patronizing you!).

You’ve perfected the art of building with a set of wooden blocks. You’re awesome at it. 

One day, your mum brings in a giant LEGO set with gears and wheels. She says: 

Your first reaction is fear. A drill sergeant yells, 

"The blocks are obsolete! Learn or fail!"

"I know, sweetie. I know you love your blocks, and you're so good with them. But look… this new set doesn't replace your skill, it means you can add it. That gear can make your creations move. Learning this means you can become an incredible builder. You can build bigger and quicker! Also, let's be honest, if you're still only playing with wooden blocks in a few years, you're going to look silly. The kids in the playground will be building things you can't even imagine, some won’t even play with you, and they might be mean to you about it. I don't want that for you."

I think AI is only a monster coming to take your toys if you let it, if you embrace it instead then it's a key to a bigger playroom

This is the point a lot of people seem to miss, AI won’t replace you (at least just yet), but someone using AI probably will.

Micha is not saying AI will replace you, he actually makes the point that people are important:

“My view is that humans, you and I, are the center of the universe. Everything revolves around us”

“Look at the people that are running the company... You make decisions based on people”

This is what early stage investors look at (people). Why? Markets change, products change, everything changes, but do the people at the helm have the ability to navigate it.

Instead he’s saying use it to be more efficient, to free you up, to save you time to focus on the more important.

Another quote (with a more positive end!):

“My expectation of you is that each and every one of you, and it doesn't matter what you do, is going to replace 100% of what you do with automation."

Oh no, “I’ll lose my job” I hear you shout. No. That’s not exactly true, to quote again:

"Because if you can automate 100% of what you do, that means that now you have 100% of your time free to figure out what are the things that you can do that cannot be automated. You can spend more time, you know, having nonlinear thinking. You can work with me on strategy."

So, as a freelancer, as yourself the question:

Are you a copywriter, or are you the CEO of a copywriting business, did you become a freelancer to do jobs for multiple people, or to build a business?

A "copywriter" is a pair of hands. They use the Lego when told. They worry about a machine doing it faster.

The "CEO of a copywriting business", even a business of one, is a brain. They are the architect of the entire playroom. They use the Lego (AI) to handle the boring stuff so they can focus on the grand vision, and deliver an outcome.

This CEO mindset changes everything, right down to the reason we're on platforms like Fiverr. Which leads to the next hard question:

Are you on Fiverr to have Fiverr be your new boss like in a corporate job, just with less security, or to build a business that Fiverr feeds with clients?

The employee mindset waits for the platform to give them work. The CEO mindset uses the platform as a powerful marketing channel to fuel their own business. One is reactive, the other is proactive. The best thing about Fiverr IMO is it feeds you clients.

Don’t hate the player (Micha, (actually you can if you want, I don't think he cares)), you can hate the game (AI) if you want to, but it’s probably better for your bank account to accept the tough love as a wakeup call. Then get over it.

The real work is to see this not as a threat, but as a promotion. A promotion from builder to architect. From employee to CEO. (Again this is cheesy I know).

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