
Show Notes
๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ, ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐. ๐ณ That is AI theatre: output that exists to prove the tool is running. Posts nobody asked for. Summaries nobody reads. A weekly report on hours saved. It looks like progress, and it quietly costs you real hours to make and review. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง, Kree and Varun open part two of the theme: ๐๐ก๐ $๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐. Here is the uncomfortable evidence. In a 69 page study of its own customers, OpenAI found no meaningful link between how intensively a company used AI and its revenue per employee. Usage is not a result. Tokens are not revenue. And a six person team is far more exposed to a wasted year than a four hundred person one. Inside the episode: ๐ด US Cryotherapy: revenue up, headcount up from 8 to 12, owner uses AI mostly to think
๐ด Gusto on 100,000 small firms: ๐๐ points more AI exposure, about ๐.๐% more revenue
๐ด The two numbers that count: net revenue per person, and what the freed time became Point AI where judgment is expensive and slow. That costs the same twenty dollars as the theatre. ๐๏ธ Stream on : โถ๏ธ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SMBAIHUB โถ๏ธ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03455lXXM29joyuucQkkyq โถ๏ธ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/b93fd52f-bc53-4ee9-98d7-3b9e10ea0e6f/ai-breakdown โถ๏ธ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/ai-breakdown/id6799578599 โถ๏ธ iHeart Radio : https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-ai-breakdown-340815159/ โถ๏ธ Web: smbaimagazine.com โถ๏ธ Web: smbaipodcast.com Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as direct financial or business advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. This is an Independent commentary. Third-party excerpts are credited on screen or in the show notes. Some voices in this program are AI-generated.
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๐๐% ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ. ๐ This week Kree and Varun sit down in studio with Mehnaz Tabassum, social entrepreneur and one of the founders of CogniCo AI Consulting, which exists to help nonprofits, lean teams and changemakers adopt AI on tight budgets. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง: ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ. Named Atlantic Canada's most inspiring immigrant, she has built four purpose driven ventures from the ground up, and was once one of the youngest senior IT project managers in the Government of Canada. She knows the technology, the mission, and the reality of doing a great deal with very little. Inside the conversation: ๐ด The adoption gap between small and large businesses shrank from 1.8x in 2024 to about 1.2x in 2025, and 91% of small businesses using AI say it lifted revenue
๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ญ. ๐๐จ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ. ๐ Ramp's latest reading shows token spend down 5.2% while the number of tokens used went up. The explanation on offer is price competition between the big labs, which means the saving arrived from outside the business entirely. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง: ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ. A discount you did not plan for is a discount you will not keep, unless somebody is watching the bill. KPMG surveyed more than 2,100 senior leaders across 20 countries and found which habits separate the organisations with an established return from the ones still experimenting. Inside the episode: ๐ด 77% of the established group track AI costs on a dashboard, against 43% of the experimenters
๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ. $๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก. ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค. ๐ณ Which is a team of fourteen where ten have never turned up. Most owners have never added that column up, because every line was small enough to ignore and they arrived one at a time. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง, we open a theme that runs all seven days: ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ. Output stopped being tied to headcount. For most of business history, doing more meant hiring more. That equation has quietly come apart, and the gap between what a lean team can attempt and what it can afford narrowed sharply in about eighteen months. Inside the episode: ๐ด Solo founded US startups rose from 23.7% in 2019 to 36.3% by the first half of 2025
๐๐จ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐% ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐.๐% ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ. ๐ณ Both numbers come out of the same research. The distance between what a machine can do and what it makes sense to employ it for is enormous, and almost every argument about this ignores the second figure. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง, we close the theme: ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ? Which ends where it had to end. When the thing you employed gets something badly wrong, whose name is on it. Inside the episode: ๐ด A finished model scrapped on safety grounds, for not quite meeting the bar on staying within scope and authorisation