If you’ve ever felt the dopamine hit of a working prototype only to realize nobody wants to pay for it, this one is for you.

Nicoleta Mocanu is a Systems Engineer. She speaks the language of reliability. But when she entered the AI beauty space, she realized that the excitement of new technology was actually obscuring a massive profit leak: the industry’s $2 billion failure to accurately match makeup, foundation, for melanated skintones.

As Nicoleta puts it:

The industry works on bad stuff, on old technology, biased technology and it looks totally different.

She didn’t just build a better tool; she had to kill her beautiful consumer vision because she realised that

building big was actually a trap.

We explore why founders must stop being product-first and start being friction-first.

The only way to know is by talking to 500+ people a month, and ask yourself: Are you solving a friction point or are you enamoured with your own implementation? Are you hiding in your IDE?

Nicoleta’s pivot is a masterclass in Momentum Protection, the uncomfortable process of killing your beautiful vision to find the one customer who will actually give you money.

Find one problem for one customer that is going to go and give you feedback, and give you money.

Find Nicoleta on:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoletamocanu/

* ChrysalisX website: https://chrysalisx.ai/

* Portfolio: https://nicoletamocanu.io/

* GitHub: https://github.com/nmo-genio

* Medium: https://blog.nicoletamocanu.io/

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nicoletamocanu2694

* Twitter: https://x.com/nmo_genio ; https://x.com/ChrysalisXAI

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.chrysalisx/

Find the full episode wherever you get your podcast, specifically on ;)

* Youtube podcast

* Spotify podcast

* Apple Podcast

* LinkedIn page

Please follow me on:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavitrast/

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pavitrastandon/

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pavitra.s.tandon

AI Momentum™ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Get full access to AI Momentum™ at pavitrastandon.substack.com/subscribe