This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
As we begin a new year, I wanna revisit one of our popular segments we've been doing for about two years now. It's called Failure Friday. Failure Friday, we look at things that don't go so well. And I started this segment because people said, "Hey, I love the success stories, "but sometimes I feel like some of them aren't relatable, "and I tried to start a side hustle and it didn't work out, "or I had a business failure, "or it's not always a total failure, "it's just sometimes I'm struggling with something, "so I wanna hear some stories of difficulty." So, just like our Throwback Thursday segment, which you heard yesterday, you get to hear directly from a side hustler, someone who had a challenge, could be a mistake they made, a misstep, or something that just happened to them. And you get to hear like what their idea was, what happened when the idea met reality, and of course what they learned, how they are made better through the challenge of the adversity.
And so in the first segment of the year, we're gonna look at the ambitious venture of someone who develops an AI personal assistant app. And you might think, "Well, everybody's doing that these days, "there's so many large language models, "and chat whatever tools, "and doesn't Microsoft have one, LinkedIn has one, "I don't know who else is out there, "I can't think of another startup at the moment." But you know what I mean, AI is everywhere. But here's the thing, this story comes to us from back in the early days, like several years ago, before AI was powering everything. And this guy had what was pretty much a great idea, he was just a little bit too early, basically. So sometimes timing is everything.
Let's hear the story from Cameron, I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. [Music]
The dream was crystal clear in my mind, to create an AI personal assistant app that would revolutionize the way people manage their daily lives. As a would-be tech entrepreneur, I was captivated by the potential of AI. This was a few years back, at a time when AI was still a budding field, but not yet the powerhouse it is today. My app, Smart Pal, was designed to be an intuitive, intelligent assistant, a kind of digital butler for the modern age.
I'm Cameron Hayes and my journey with Smart Pal, started with a burst of optimism. I envisioned an app that could learn from its users, adapt to their preferences and manage everything from calendar appointments to online shopping. At that time, AI was just starting to make waves and I was convinced I was on the brink of something groundbreaking. Development was a tough task, but fueled by my passion and the promise of innovation, I dove headfirst into it. After countless coding sessions, testing phases, and iterations, Smart Pal was born.
Well, at least an early version. And my excitement was short-lived. The first sign of trouble was the maintenance costs. Keeping Smart Pal up to date, ensuring it learned effectively, and resolving the myriad of bugs that kept cropping up was draining my resources at an alarming rate. AI I learned the hard way was not a set it and forget it affair.
It required continuous costly refinement. Then came the fact that my tool was good, but not great. I wasn't sophisticated and I simply didn't have the budget to make it bigger and better. Smart Pal needed Elon Musk money and that guy didn't return my tweets. But perhaps the most significant challenge was timing.
I was too early in the AI game. The market wasn't ready for Smart Pal. People were still adapting to the idea of AI in their daily lives. My user base was growing, but not at the pace needed to sustain the operational cost. The downfall of Smart Pal was a bitter pill to swallow.
I had invested not just financially, but emotionally in this venture. The vision of making people's lives easier with AI was noble, but the path to realizing it was fraught with unanticipated challenges. In retrospect, if I had waited a few years, aligning Smart Pal's launch with the maturity of AI technology and market readiness, perhaps the story would have been different. Maybe in another world, Smart Pal could have been what chat GPT is today. Today, I've stepped back from developing my own tech ventures.
Instead, choosing to work on something totally different. The lessons taught me a lot about doing what I was most suited to do as a solopreneur instead of a tech founder. Finally, the demise of Smart Pal taught me that being ahead of your time can be as challenging as being behind. It's not just about having a groundbreaking idea, but also understanding the landscape in which your idea must flourish. While this one didn't succeed, it paved the way for my growth and next steps.
And in the end, I'm happy. [Music]
Big thanks to Cameron for sharing the story. And the theme, the sub-theme of Failure Friday, as it were, is never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. So something doesn't work, you gotta move on to something else. I think the real mistake is just staying with something that's not working, okay?
You actually win when you abandon a project or you just decide to move on from something that hasn't worked, or in this case, a brilliant idea, just a little bit too soon. So good job, Cameron, for his foresight. Excited to hear what else he makes as he goes along. Listeners, I am so excited to hear what you're gonna do this year. It's gonna be a fun year.
We've got a lot going on. I am working on a new project myself, A Year of Mental Health, where on Substack, a newsletter platform, I'm sharing three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It's just getting started right now. And it's all completely free. There is an option to pay as well, a small amount.
I think it's like $7 a month if you want to support the project, but you can also read most of the content for free, yearofmentalhealth.com. Of course, Side Hustle School rolls out every single day, sidehustleschool.com/questions. If you want to contribute something, today's episode is 2,561, and we've got notes pages for every episode as well. I just can't wait to share this year with you. I hope you'll continue to join me.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
