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The AI Product Business Test
Before writing code, validate the unit economics of your AI feature. This editor's pick from Built In explores why most AI products fail on margin contribution, not technical feasibility.
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Your AI Agent Needs a Kill Switch
Current AI agent security is based on guardrails, which boil down to a guess. A working security program must be based on objective rules.
Redundant AI Requests
How to audit and intercept duplicate model queries at the gateway before they double inferencing costs.
Anatomy of an AI Agent Breach
A forensic post-mortem of how prompt injection escalates from a sandbox escape to an unauthorized database write.
Three Gates
An operational security architecture enforcing schema integrity, token budgets, and output validation rules.
Systems Governor
Defining the new role of the Systems Governor: verifying probabilistic execution in deterministic environments.
Your Claude API bill is higher than your revenue: Why simple Python tasks are blowing up AI costs
Using top-tier AI for simple tasks is draining corporate budgets. If you don't match the tool to the job, your most popular feature will become your costliest.
The innovation tax audit: Is your R&D actually just OpEx?
Discover how to audit your software portfolio for Zombie Assets and why a Sunset Committee is better than just funding new features.
Most AI Projects Just Burn Cash. Here's How to Make Them Profitable.
An expert analysis on AI unit economics, the 'Evergreen Ratio', and calculating the AI Volatility Tax to stop bleeding cash on inferencing.
The hidden inflation of AI: Why model collapse is a business risk
Everyone is worried about AI ethics, but few are talking about AI economics. AI is not a deploy-and-forget asset. It is a depreciating one that requires continuous CapEx to maintain.
Calculating Technical Debt's EBITDA Impact in Private Equity Due Diligence
A financial framework for Private Equity operating partners to translate legacy code maintenance burdens directly into EBITDA compression forecasts.
How to Translate DORA Metrics into Financial Technical Debt
Deployment frequency and lead times are useful for engineers, but CFOs need dollar values. Here is the formula.
Technical Debt Governance Frameworks for AI Startups
AI startups accumulate technical debt faster than any previous generation of software companies. This guide provides a rapid governance framework to survive the scale phase.
Anthropic Just Made AI Education Free — Here's What Leaders Should Take
A curated walkthrough of all 15 Anthropic Academy courses, grouped by audience — leaders, builders, architects, and educators — with editorial commentary on which ones matter and why.
Why Your CFO Hates Your Agile Transformation
CIOs speak in sprints; CFOs speak in quarters. That language barrier is the number one reason R&D budgets get slashed. This article introduces the Capitalization Matrix for bridging the gap between engineering velocity and financial governance.
In the Vibe Coding Era, What Does a Software Engineer Even Do?
An expert analysis of the changing nature of software development work. Introduces the 4 Laws of Probabilistic Software Development and the new role of the Systems Governor.
AI Agents Won't Crash the Economy. Bad Governance Might.
An expert analysis of the AI science and economics behind the Citrini Research report on agentic AI. Examines the liability gradient, macro regression loops, and the variable cost of intelligence.
Real Innovation Requires Deleting Code, Not Writing It
An expert analysis of how to audit for features you can deprecate and how to delete them. Introduces the Sunset Protocol for governing subtraction.
When AI Writes the Code, What Skills Are Employers Hiring For?
An expert discussion of how to conduct better software engineering interviews in the age of AI. Introduces the 4 Dimensions of Engineering Judgment scorecard.
The 3 Financial Metrics Every PM Needs on Their Scorecard
Selected for the Mind the Product Newsletter. This article on product P&L ownership and capital efficiency was featured in Mind the Product’s curated newsletter.
Is Anthropic’s ‘Cheating’ Scandal the End of the Coding Interview?
AI can generate code. The scarce skill is catching what AI gets wrong. This article introduces the Audit Interview.
Hey, senior PMs: Shipping faster won’t get you promoted
Shipping fast felt great — until margins tanked, and I learned that real product leadership means understanding how features make or lose money.
I Built an Incredible AI Product That Nobody Wanted. Here’s Why.
Validating AI unit economics before writing code. (Editor's Pick)
The Technical Insolvency Date
The exact quarter when maintenance costs mathematically consume 100% of engineering capacity.
The Innovation Tax
Why 80% of your R&D budget is actually just keeping the lights on.
The Cost of Predictivity
As AI correctness increases, cost scales exponentially. The hidden unit economics of LLMs.
Feature Bloat Calculus
A framework for calculating the negative carry of unused features.
The Best AI Product I Ever Led Had Zero Customers
A retrospective on why technical excellence doesn't guarantee product-market fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Executive Diagnostic Toolkit
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- The R&D Audit Checklist: 50 questions to spot engineering waste.
- AI Unit Economics Matrix: Predict your API collapse point.
- M&A Technical Diligence: 15 deal-killer red flags for CFOs.
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