life of an AI startup founder/CEO

[Music] I'm Emily Chang in San Francisco and this is Bloomberg Technology coming up in the next hour. It is a date. Blinders next big product unveiling is set for September 7th according to Bloomberg sources. Details on a new blinder 3.0. We will see. We will get to all of that in a moment, but first let's talk about Blinder's last launch four years ago in 2021 with Blinder 2.0. It was the first window blind to have machine learning technology built in. They disrupted the whole industry of window covers with their excellent engineering and beautiful design, which is comparable to Apple. The Blinder 2.0 know was instantly sold out and quickly caught the eyes of venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and Untreason raising an incredible $20 million for their series A at a $100 million valuation. Now, we can't talk about Blinder without talking about the man behind the company. Fortunately, today joining us of course is the Forbes 30 under 30 CEO and founder of Blinder, the one and only Eric W. walk like this. This this pretty girls walk like this. This this this. All the pretty girls walk. Thank you, Eric, for coming on to the show today and big day coming up. So, what do we know? Well, Emily, all I know is that I love being on this show talking to you. Well, Eric Wang, as always, appreciate you stopping by. and I appreciate you. Um, yeah. So, Blinder 3, it will revolutionize how people block sunlight. We're making the world a better place by preventing more cases of skin cancer than anything in the market except for sunscreen. We've recently conducted a blind test and the results Well, you and I could go on and on about this for hours, but I'll we can do that offline. Eric, um, I I do I I do want to get your take on GEI. We're seeing new startups launching, established companies finding ways to use it in their products. We hear about it almost every day. How is this impacting your strategy? Well, it's not. We don't just get distracted by trends. We don't chase VC money. That's for founders with no vision. Look, it's an amazing technology. Don't get me wrong, but our blinders do not need AI. You need to add AI to your window blinds. If you don't, you're not going to get your serious B. No, excuse me. We can't do that. We're focused on a launch. We can't afford to be distracted right now. It's not a distraction. It's your lifeline. Look, I appreciate a relationship truly, but in the end, this is my company, and that's the decision I'm making. I'm not going to add AI to our product. Blinder open. She said, "Stop being a little bitch." I'm I'm not a little [ __ ] You can't just make us pivot at the last minute. That's just not how it works. No offense, but maybe if you actually built a few companies, you'd understand. No offense, but maybe if you've actually financed a few unicorns, you'd understand that Blinder is [ __ ] You know, I still have the majority, right? I don't need this right now. Then why are we here if you don't need me? Huh? Aren't we here because you need more money from me? Look, I know what your burn rate is, and it doesn't look good. Look, I'll give you the money, but you need to become an AI company. I'm telling you, you need me, Wang. Everyone keeps telling me how to run my own company. Nah, I'mma do my own thing. Nah, I'm going to do my own thing 20% reduction. Before I begin, I want you to know that this won't be your usual all hands meeting. We're not going to go over highlights or upcoming launches because today we have an important message to share. At the current rate, we do not have enough runway to launch Blinder 3. We will run out of money in three months. And because of the current macroeconomics, we are unsuccessful in securing additional funding. You can imagine that this puts us in a very difficult situation, one that no company ever wants to be in. Difficult situations require difficult decisions. That's why I'm announcing that I've made the hard decision. It's not going to work. The launch blinder coin. This coin is our moonshot, our all or nothing. So every ounce of effort, every resource we have, it all goes into this because if this coin doesn't succeed, nothing else will. Blinder three, our future, our vision, it all disappears. So we go allin. Engineering, product, marketing, data science, together as one team. We need to succeed. The only people we can depend on are each other because investors sure as hell don't believe in us right now. The VCs, the ones who've never built anything, they somehow get to play God. They get to decide who wins and who loses. And they say that we're not a unicorn. Well, [ __ ] the VCs. Can I scream? Damn. We're backion. Come on. Woo. Thank you so much for all you supporters of Blinder. We prove something today. We prove that we don't need institutions. We prove that together we have a voice and that we can win. Not only is our blinder coin a share of the company, but it's a vote against a system. A system that is outdated. And today we are free. PVT starts late August, targeting shipping red units by early September. One thing at risk, though. Thermal load testing is behind due to delayed sensors. We're also still debugging OTAA reliability under low power edge cases. That said, assembly line tooling is on track. Compliance testing is done and our manufacturing partners have been responsive. If the firmware and model teams hit their milestones by August 15th, we're still green for launch. So, the bottom line is we're still good to launch Blinder 3 in September. All thanks to Eric and his leadership. No, no, no, no, no. Stop, stop, stop. Thank you. Thank you all of you, seriously, for your hard work and um late nights. Like, I know it wasn't easy, but uh we did. And sorry, can I wait? I think you need to see this. Shad Laqua. Shader is the future. Blinder is dead. Blinder is dead. Blinder killer. Useless. Inferior. We need to add AI to our window blinds. Now, sir, do you need anything else? No. Eric, we can't do that. We don't have enough time. How do we not have enough time? We don't launch till September. We also don't have expertise. We need someone who deeply knows most. Get expertise. That's your job. What was the point in hiring all these engineers? Then these engineers supported all the features you pushed for last half. They're good people. They might not be the best, but they can execute. Look, I don't pay you guys to implement. I pay you to innovate. I need people to solve novel problems. What you're asking has never been done before and that's just not going to happen with our current engineering talent. If you're limited by what's been done before, what's the point in hiring? I could just use Chatic BT for that. Hiring hasn't been easy. Then do better. Just find me someone who can get the job done fast. Well, with all due respect, why would someone like that work for us? I pulled us out of the gutter of Klein Quinn. Now I still have to do your job for you. For [ __ ] sakes, do something for yourselves. Get out. Get out. All of you. I need to go. You sure this is the guy? Yes, he's the best. I just sent you his resume. We interviewed him. He's legit. We like him, but he's very, very expensive. Look, I don't care. If he's good, we should make him an offer. I don't think you understood. We can't afford him. Just tell me the number, okay? We're not some random ass [ __ ] YC company. Just trust me. I have a lot of blinder coins I can sell. He says he wants 5 million. Um, yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Just uh just make sure you close him. It's done. Good. What the [ __ ] What the [ __ ] is this? [ __ ] house. How is this impossible? [ __ ] [ __ ] Please. Please [ __ ] Please. Please stop. To be honest, I don't care if the blinder coin is down. It doesn't mean anything. It's just a random number. It didn't even cross my mind. But what we do have is the capital to build something extraordinary. Blinder coin was a means to an end. As long as we put our heads down and build good products, the price will eventually reflect that. So, I'm not worried about it. Look, we're on our final stretch for Blinder 3. We just need a little bit of restructuring. Bring in some new talent and Titan alignment. I believe we can do it. Lastly, if you're in this meeting, unfortunately, you're part of the unlucky group and you're all dismissed. So, your contracts will be terminated immediately and you'll get one week severance per year served. Your access to servers is now cut off and you have one week to return all of your equipments or you will not get your severance. Thank you for being part of the journey and the Blinder family. Your contributions were highly valued. Seriously, what the [ __ ] I thought we were good. What happened? This is so wrong. I'm going to sue you. I'm going to crash out. What happens the team with family? They cut they pay. They go 1% they'll grind and stay. If they burn out, got ruins to fry. Just sell the dream and watch it try. Micromanage till they snap. Pack the calendar and no time to nap. Promised equity, change the vest. Burn through talent, called it a test. It's not toxic, it's found a mode. Not reckless, I disrupt the code. Don't plan, no sleep, no moral load. Just grind to gut it. Found a mo. It's not burn out, it's found. No boundaries when you're in the zone. Move fast, break trust. Yeah, that's the O. No one's wrong here, it's found. Laid off half the crew on Zoom. Market shifted, cleared the road, pivoted hard, now it's I play was crypto last month as yesterday. Sold in dreams then moved the goal. Change the world while I take control for work but fed them hope. They bled for shares. I'll never float. It's not shady, it's found. Gas like the crew then I'm blow. Every flaw is just future gold. It's not wrong, it's found. It's not cheating, it's found. Don't ask, don't tell, just shift the load. Cut the corners, claim the road. You know the drill. Found a load. Who needs rules when you've got vision? Who needs sleep when you're on a mission? Culture's just a slide. I show now back to burning cash for grow. It's not broken, it's time to roll. Crash and pivot story sold. If they quit, they just weren't bold. I'm still here and bound to a new era of Blinder. This is Blinder 3, the world's first AI native window blind. We've introduced AI into every part of the manufacturing process to ensure the highest quality build. Materials carefully selected to create the most beautifully designed window blinds you have ever seen. All while fighting climate change by adding solar panels onto our window slats. The Blinder 3 is powered by the most advanced chip we have ever built. The B1 chip optimized for AI workflows. So powerful that your window blinds can now trade cryptos while you sleep. Hey, do you see this? Someone's spreading rumors I'm stepping down. Can you do something about this? Hey, Eric. Uh, yeah. Um, about that. About what? The board decided it's best for the company if you took an indefinite break from day-to-day operations. Board? What? What board? What are you talking about? We made a majority decision to have you step in. Wait, what majority decision? Are you [ __ ] with me right now? Eric, we fired you. No, you didn't. And you can't. Wait, what the [ __ ] is going on? What did you do? Look, buddy. I don't know how else to tell you, but you no longer work here, man. These things have to be announced publicly. This is my company, and you have no rights to do that. Actually, you know what? I'm glad that you did this, cuz now I can finally tell you that you are done. I don't need your money. I don't need your prestige. I am going to sue the [ __ ] out of you for defamation. You [ __ ] up. You know I have the majority. You don't have the majority. You sold your shares of your company. You tanked the whole market. Who do you think brought it back up? No. Okay. It went back up because of the launch. Maybe because of the launch. You're so naive. I bought your shares. I own you now. You are nothing. You're not a CEO. You're not a founder. You're just a [ __ ] kid with a god complex. You think you're changing the world, but you're not. You think you have ambition, but all you've built is a Twitter persona. Grow the [ __ ] up. You [ __ ] [ __ ] I should have known. All you VCs are the same. Just because you got lucky once you think you can play God. I don't need to play God. I am God. [Applause] Hello everyone. Heat. I guess I I don't really know how to start because I I don't I don't usually do this. Um I don't really talk much to anyone. Um maybe I just don't have anyone to talk to, right? But I guess I guess I'm more of a doer. I'm less of a talker and I I think that you know you can't really solve anything from just talking about it. But um I guess here I am. Um so I guess a little bit of context. I'm a startup founder. Well was I just I just got fired from my company and I guess that's why I'm here. You know, I I I guess I feel pretty embarrassed. I feel humiliated. And uh I feel betrayed. You know, not not just other people betraying me, but I feel like I betrayed myself. You know, I was always supposed to succeed or at least that's how I envisioned myself to be like. And um and clearly I did not. And now I just don't know what to do after. You know, I've been working on this for like seven years and now I have nothing to show for and I I kind of just asked myself, what was the point? You know, I could have easily just worked a normal job, you know, be like everyone else. But no, I I think ever since I was a kid, I I I wanted to be different. I wanted to do beyond what's normal, beyond what's good. Um, sir, this is a Wendy's. Do you have an order? Cuz if you don't have one, I'm I'm going to have to ask you to hang up. Look, I don't know what to say, man. We're all depressed. We just don't want to admit it because that would make it real. You know what happened to me last week? I got rejected for a promotion to L5 cashier again. It's the third time now. But this time it was different. I wasn't upset because I think I finally realized that it was never my dream to begin with. So I stopped chasing and started pursuing my real passion, accounting. But my mom isn't letting me, so I'll have to wait until I turn 18. But I already feel better knowing that I'll be free once I hit 18. I think you just have to have hope, man. Even when it feels like a lie. Because the moment you let go, you let those voices in your head become reality. [Laughter] Now back to broken, it's toxic and heroic. All right, thank you so much for watching. I appreciate it. I know it's a long video, so thank you so much. I have this app called Mosaic Styles. Uh, I kind of vibe coded it, but there's one style called selfie with Joma. And I think it would be pretty cool if you you guys take like a selfie of yourself, but then leave space for me, right? Like this. And then when you use the style, a AI version of me will appear, but then it would be funny if you like tag me online or like on Instagram or Twitter and say like, "Oh my god, it was nice meeting you, J." Or like, "Oh my god, JMA's back." I I I think that would be funny. And then I'll respond. I'll be like, "Oh, yeah. It was nice meeting you, too." Blah, blah, blah. So then people will be so confused like, "Wait a minute. How come suddenly he's like everywhere?" Um, yeah. I think it'll be kind of like a funny stunt. So, if you can please do that. Uh, I think it'll be really appreciated. But, uh, yeah, that's pretty much it. Thanks y'all. Bye-bye. I'm still here in time to move.