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Are You Questioning Enough?

Are you questioning enough?
Are You Questioning Enough?

I’ve spent my life moving.

And this year alone, Europe, back to California, to Australia, to Greece, then California again — and back to Australia and Greece.

And every time I land somewhere new, I’m reminded of something uncomfortable:

Most people aren’t questioning enough.


Not their assumptions. Not the “obvious” narrative. Not the incentives underneath the opinions they repeat.


In 2025, that matters more than ever — because AI isn’t just a technology shift. It’s a worldview shift. And depending on where you stand in the world, you’ll hear completely different “truths” about what AI is, what it’s doing, and what it’s about to break.


AI opinions (and why it’s the point)

Here’s what I saw with my own eyes:

  • APAC, people aren’t adopting AI — they’re protesting its harm. The tone is “slow down,” “protect workers,” “this is dangerous.”

  • Europe is creating some of the most groundbreaking technologies… in silence. Less hype, more rigor. And a standard that feels like minimal sellable product — not maximal marketing.

  • California is still California. Speed, ambition, capital, validation, and the constant pressure to be first.


Same year. Same industry. Same “AI.” More Burnout. Completely different adoption.


And if you’re a founder, this isn’t just interesting — it’s strategy.


Because adoption isn’t only about product. It’s about culture, trust, regulation, labor dynamics, and whether the market believes the upside is worth the disruption.


No money, no honey (and the part nobody wants to say out loud)


Across all of these places, one rule kept showing up:


If there’s no budget, no urgency, no measurable ROI, no political cover — the AI project stalls.


2025 made that brutally clear.


Are You Questioning Enough?


Even in the U.S., inflation stayed sticky enough to keep pressure on budgets. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge (PCE) ran around 2.8% year‑over‑year in late 2025 — above the 2% target, meaning cost pressure didn’t disappear. Source: BEA PCE data (+2.8% in Sept 2025): https://www.bea.gov/data/personal-consumption-expenditures-price-index

So when founders pitch “AI transformation,” buyers are silently asking:

  • What’s the cost?

  • What’s the risk?

  • Who gets blamed if it fails?

  • Who gets promoted if it works?


If you’re not questioning those incentives, you’re not doing GTM — you’re doing wishful thinking.


The 2025 reality check: AI is infrastructure + policy + risk


2025 wasn’t just “new models.” It was a year where the shape of the AI economy became obvious:

  • Compute and power became the story (chips, data centers, grid constraints)

  • Governance moved from abstract to enforceable (disclosure, transparency, safety)

  • Real harms became mainstream (jobs, deepfakes, cyber risk, misinformation)

This is why your market can look “anti‑AI” in one country and “quietly building” in another.


2025 AI timeline — Breakdown

This is a curated, founder‑relevant timeline based on widely reported 2025 themes: infrastructure, policy, commercialization, and risk.

January 2025 — Compute goes macro

  • The year opens with AI compute as the baseline constraint: GPUs, cloud capacity, and “who gets access” becomes strategic.

February 2025 — Policy coordination ramps

March 2025 — Hardware + systems, not just models

  • The narrative shifts from “best model” to “best system”: networking, orchestration, deployment.

April 2025 — Reliability and real‑world performance

May 2025 — Vertical integration accelerates

June 2025 — Governance becomes real

July 2025 — Risk becomes concrete

  • Dual‑use concerns (cybersecurity, propaganda, autonomy) become mainstream.

August 2025 — Regional AI strategies crystallize

September 2025 — Orchestration and workflow ownership

  • The “AI stack” becomes a competitive moat: orchestration layers, inference optimization, ops.

October 2025 — Commercialization broadens

  • Consumer robotics and AI marketplaces show up more visibly.

November 2025 — Policy + capital formation converge

  • Regulation and infrastructure capital move together, shaping what gets built.

December 2025 — Multi‑cloud and cost narratives

  • Multi‑cloud compute becomes table stakes; cost economics narratives (including “cheaper training” stories) dominate headlines.


Climate reality in 2025: the bill came due


If you want to understand why “Validation” is so real right now, look at what climate disasters did to budgets, insurance markets, and risk appetite.

U.S. climate disaster costs (2025)

Global insured losses (H1 2025)

California / Los Angeles wildfires (Jan 2025): structures, evacuations, losses


What to expect next year (2026): the second‑order effects founders ignore

This is the part most founders don’t model:

  • Insurance becomes a growth constraint. Premium spikes, non‑renewals, and exclusions change where people can live and where businesses can operate.

  • Power and permitting become GTM constraints. Data centers, AI workloads, and electrification collide with grid upgrades and local politics.

  • Risk becomes a procurement requirement. Buyers will demand governance, auditability, and safety documentation.

If you’re selling AI, “climate + power + insurance + compliance” is not a separate conversation — it’s the environment your buyer is operating in.


Why this is an interesting season for Zero to Millions Club

This year was supposed to be about one thing.

I started 2025 improving recruiting.

And then I ended up full circle — back on Zero to Millions Club — because founders are behind on the things that actually move the needle:

  • real connections

  • partnerships

  • the power of listening

  • the discipline of shipping what people will pay for


Not “more features.” Not “better prompts.” Not “another model.”


The basics.


And the basics are where most technical founders get stuck.

They can build.

But they can’t translate.

They can validate. Minimum sellable product MVP

But they can’t sell.

They can talk.

But they don’t listen.


Join me: learning, unlearning, rebuilding


If you’re questioning enough, you’re already ahead.

Because the founders who win the next decade won’t be the loudest.


They’ll be the ones who can:

  • learn

  • unlearn

  • rebuild

  • and stay honest about what’s actually happening in the market


That’s life.


And our community needs this mindset more than ever.

If you’re building in AI (or trying to), join me inside Zero to Millions Club.


Let’s keep learning, unlearning, and rebuilding — together.


What we’re building for the community


ESCAPE (Greece): 5 days. AI frontier + GTM sprint.

This isn’t a “retreat” where you talk about your dreams and go home unchanged.

It’s a post‑slush, full‑focus sprint designed for founders and operators who want traction before they build.

What you’ll get:

  • Full GTM sprint: positioning, ICP, offer, pricing, distribution, and founder‑led sales moves

  • 5AM Club: deep work blocks + nervous system regulation so you can execute without burning out

  • Partnerships before product: build real relationships that create distribution and trust

  • Frameworks from top researchers: Stanford lab thinking, Andrew Huberman‑style performance protocols, and Mindvalley‑popularized learning frameworks

  • GTM on wheels: different regions, different conversations — because markets are not universal

If you’re tired of building in isolation, this is where you come to ship the right thing.


Join us.

If you want to be considered for ESCAPE and the next GTM sprint cohort, start here: https://www.zerotomillionsclub.com


 
 
 

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