What does blitzscaling look like when technology moats evaporate overnight?

Investor and author Chris Yeh (co-author of Blitzscaling) joins Puja to unpack Blitzscaling 2.0—why you still prioritize speed, when it’s rational to trade efficiency, and how real moats now come from network effects, adoption, and trust. We get practical on agent hype vs. reality, using AI for personalization over slop, prototyping to learn (not to impress), and what “responsible blitzscaling” means with simple Kant/Rawls tests.

Plus: Silicon Valley’s in-person edge, the 2026 memo to founders, and surviving any “AI bubble” by driving daily usage, not just demos.

• Definition: “Speed over efficiency in the face of uncertainty—to win winner-take-most markets.”
• AI shifts organizational vs. user/revenue scale (Instagram pattern becomes common).
• Adoption is the bottleneck, not model capability.
• CMO playbook: use AI to customize 1:1; keep humans consistent with the personalized experience.
• Prototype = test a hypothesis fast, not a perfect mini-product.
• Ethics: “What if everyone did this?” + “Is it fair if I don’t know my role?”
• 2026 memo: go deep on business context; buyers confuse buying with adopting AI.

Guest: Chris Yeh — investor, co-author of Blitzscaling, partner at Blitzscaling Ventures. Follow via chrisyeh.com.

00:00 Cold open: What Blitzscaling really means

02:18 Blitzscaling 2.0—principles that survive rapid change

08:45 Defining “scale” in the AI era (users, revenue, org)

14:22 Tech moats fade; business moats win (network effects)

19:40 Agents: hype vs. adoption; a simple agent that works

25:55 Marketing playbook: personalize > produce

31:10 Building trust at scale (leaders + AI)

36:42 Prototyping to learn: hypothesis first

41:10 2025 surprises; global pulse on AI

45:20 2026 memo: go deep on business context

49:40 Is there an AI bubble? Usage as the cure

54:05 Responsible blitzscaling (Kant & Rawls tests)

57:30 Closing + how to follow Chris

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