Don't Quit Companies With Happy Customers

Jason Lemkin believes that in the age of AI, the best path forward is often to transform your existing business rather than abandoning it for something new.

At the core of his philosophy is the conviction that your current company with existing happy customers is likely your best startup opportunity. When founders have already built a business with revenue and customer relationships, they possess a foundation that's incredibly difficult to replicate from scratch. As he puts it, "The best startup you're ever gonna have probably is the one you're working at today. Don't quit if you have happy customers—they'll buy more from you."

This perspective directly challenges the common impulse to chase the newest AI trend by starting fresh. Lemkin has witnessed multiple founders walking away from successful companies—including one who wanted to leave a $100M business to start a robotics company despite having "9 figures of equity." His advice is pragmatic: rather than abandoning your existing customer base, transform your current offering by integrating AI capabilities.

For leaders, this means evaluating AI opportunities within your current business model before considering a pivot. The practical implication is to look at your existing customer pain points and determine where AI could enhance your solution. This approach leverages your established market position and customer trust while reducing the risk of starting from zero.

For individual contributors, this perspective suggests focusing energy on bringing AI innovation to your current role rather than job-hopping to chase AI opportunities elsewhere. The most valuable path may be becoming the AI champion within your existing organization, where you already understand the customers and business context.

Lemkin emphasizes that despite how it might feel on social media, "it's not too late" to build AI solutions in most areas. While certain opportunities like building "the next ChatGPT on the cheap" may have passed, many AI applications remain wide open, particularly in marketing and sales. This creates space for innovation within existing companies rather than necessitating a completely fresh start.

The AI Transformation Approach

For leaders considering how to incorporate AI, Lemkin recommends starting with a single pain point rather than attempting a complete overhaul. Begin by experiencing your own product as a customer would—"in incognito mode"—to identify the most frustrating aspects of your customer experience, then deploy AI specifically to address that issue.

The practical implementation involves taking your best-performing human processes (like your top salesperson's email templates) and using them as the foundation for AI training. This approach ensures you're not starting from scratch but rather amplifying what already works in your business.

By focusing on enhancing rather than replacing your existing business, you can leverage the compounding value of customer relationships while still participating in the AI revolution.