It’s hard to overstate just how much the AI revolution has transformed the tech world, especially for startups looking to enter the space. In 2023, Forbes’ top 50 AI companies — many of them startups — raised $27.2 billion in funding.
But of course, funding alone doesn’t guarantee success. In a landscape where hundreds of AI startups are launched weekly and customers aren’t yet sure what AI means for them, how do you build a sticky AI-powered product and a scalable business? Advisors from ExponentialX share their observations on the challenges they’ve encountered and insights on how to navigate them.
The AI boom has been likened to a gold rush — and not without good reason. OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November of 2022. Two months later, they had over 100 million users. And while many companies have been operating in the AI arena for years, the instant success of chat GPT has inspired a new wave of innovation. And it’s not just hype, either. By 2030, AI market size is predicted to hit $740 billion.
So how can companies set themselves apart in the eyes of their target demographics?
“Start with the brand,” says Holly Chen, marketing executive and advisor at ExponentialX. “Actually having a look and feel and brand language that is distinct from other brands — I feel that was a big unlock for one of my clients. They created a brand that’s very approachable. For whoever comes to their website or comes into contact with their products, it’s very easy to remember.”
Unique positioning is the other half of the equation. “Be really clear about differentiating what you're offering,” Holly says. “If you’re a chatbot platform, what kind of chatbots do you specialize in? Or what makes your platform better than another? Maybe you integrate better with other tools, maybe you have a unique knowledge base integration.” Identifying the unique value you offer and communicating that in language your audience understands is key.
Here’s the good news: Generating interest in AI products is easy.
“For AI companies with even an OK product, getting the traffic from zero to one seems really easy,” says Bei Zhang, growth leader and advisor at ExponentialX. “There are newsletters, there are influencers, there are organic channels, there are paid channels. AI Secret has over 500K readers.”
The bad news? “But getting retention, it's a lot harder,” says Bei.
The top-of-funnel interest in AI products is there, but particularly with consumer products, “AI tourism” can make retention and monetization difficult.
Holly describes AI tourists as individuals who are eager to try AI products, but don’t have a clear need for them. “They think ‘sounds cool,’ use it, and they are gone. When it comes to monetization, there is almost an invisible ceiling for a lot of prosumer tools,” says Holly. “If you want repeatable revenue, the B2B use case is actually a much higher margin. Affordability is a lot higher. And it's more of a critical need versus a lot of the tinkerer audience.”
Bei explains how the AI video generator HeyGen went from zero to 1 million AR in seven months. “They took the initial prosumer and individual use case and quickly iterated into a more sticky use case. They pivoted from messaging just random video creation into professional use cases, such as marketing how-to and sales videos.”
Despite the challenges of converting free users to paid users, there are other ways to get value out of them.
“Free users can be your viral distributors. If you design a viral mechanism well, free users can be sharing your content and exposing your brand to audiences that could pay you.” A tactic as simple as a watermark on AI-generated videos can help spread awareness for your product.
The other piece of monetization lies in proving value.
Beatriz D’Angel, a product marketer with expertise in AI and cybersecurity, points out that many companies who successfully monetize AI products can quantify how users benefit from the product. “How much have I done? How much time have I saved? How much have I copied from the platform into my typical workflow? I think value will be the best way to prove pricing,” says Beatriz.
Particularly for B2B products, usage-based pricing can create a direct connection between price and value. AI products lend themselves well to usage-based pricing, given that token usage is a significant part of their cost.
“For AI, because you're so dependent on the LLMs, a lot of companies are basically using a credit system,” says Holly. “Adobe Firefly uses that. It’s like, here's the token size for this tier, for this type of usage, which is associated with the value that you're getting.”
AI is a crowded field at the moment, but there’s opportunity everywhere. For startups poised for success, here’s the mantra: captivate with innovation, but retain with impact. This is how you convert early adopters into lifelong advocates, charting a course for sustainable growth and success.
