Generative.

Check your prior beliefs of the static, slow, world.

Code is on the fly now.

//no.1 - Macro Tracker

I’ve been lifting regularly and “paying attention” to diet for a few years now. I decided I’d do some new tracking of macros. So, I opened Claude and like I’ve done many times before with Google, I typed “macro tracker” and expected it would give me back a list of “good ones” to choose from.

It was taking a while. Far longer than I thought it should to render a simple results page. I checked on my data connection. Afterall, I was on mobile in a rural area. Nope. The phone had data. I thought maybe Antropic was down. I set the phone aside.

When I picked it back up, Claude had built an entry level macro tracker and was asking me where I wanted to move it.

It built one… on the fly.

//no.2 - Hermes, play

Hermes is like an Open Claw. It’s an installable semi-autonomous agent. I have one running. A buddy and I were on the phone this week and he’d just installed an instance. I remembered I had heard someone talking about being able to ask an agent installed on a machine on your network to see if it could get into Sonos. I suggested the idea.

A few minutes later… sonos was connected to his Hermes.

Then we tried the sauna, also on the network. A few minutes later it was also connected. What temp would you like it at? At what time? On what days?

The agent saw network friends. Then it looked up and wrote a way to talk to them. And, reached out to them to start a conversation.

Hermes, play coldplay in the den. Thanks.

//no.3 - Give me a front end

I’ve been building software again. Software for lots of business and personal interests. And now it does not require the capital of the old model, nor the former process friction. It’s amazing.

On one project I had spent a few days on databases, a server on the east coast, Claude Code constraints, the whole bit… and I had it all strung together and running. But this time I conceived of and built the project from the database side first. Not the front end, like I’ve nearly always done before.

It was time for a user interface.

I prompted something like “Now, I’d like a front end. Make it modern, clean, just blacks, grays and whites. I’d like a map, a simple circle on locations and a fly out of detail about each dot on the right of the screen if selected. Chat on the left. In standard map view, make a summary of all the data points in the map. Thanks.”

Time crunching: 4 min, 29 seconds

I did not spec the map provider, the font, the sizes of the flyouts, the circles, the ui kit, or build a series of cards, host a sprint planning mtg and wait days to weeks to see it running. It just gave me back a url and I loaded it.

Just astonishing. 4 min, 29 seconds. I then added a new prompt and made the product even more usable in just a few more minutes.

Sum

What I’m able to accomplish as a solo founder in a given week is expanding each week. It’s really amazing. I’m working to catch up. At this compounding rate I suspect noticeable new revenue impact on the business inside 3 months. I’m starting to see hints of it now.

Standby.

Now I just need more time sitting with my laptop.

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Last Tuesday I came across a new file, an llms.txt file on our shopify stores. I did not put them there.

Turns out Shopify quietly rolled ‘em out.

//1 - Not just SEO

Organic search is up on our pages over the beginning of the year. I’ve been hustling. Conversion volume has followed. It’s been great. And, from what I can tell, this file is not about that effort.

Rather, this file wires up the Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoints for your store to be able to support the shopping and checkout behaviors of agentic agents. Yes, robots can now more easily purchase on your Shopify stores. This file talks like they talk and makes it easier for them to buy.

//2 - More than barebones

The original file Shopify created for the stores vivront.com and sharpow.com were generic… less than vanilla, less exciting than the Google Business profiles.

Figuring I’d like for the robots to have more intentional context about each brand so we might stand a better chance of being selected in their efforts to purchase things for their owners, I drafted an update and replaced the file but matched it’s previous format. Check it out here vivront.com/llms.txt

//3 - Infrastructure is live

2M+ stores just went agent ready last week. I wonder how many of the millions of users and their agents will be looking for sharpening services.

Sum

I don’t yet know if any of this moves the needle for volume or sales. I do know that with most changes on the internet, the early movers gain more from the changes than those that arrive late.

Internet things are changing faster now than any other time I can remember. It’s normal these things happen without announcement or a good guess as to what might be gained.

Similar to surfing, you can’t catch the wave if you’re not out there looking for it. Here’s to the builders and the tinkers. Maybe we’ll all find a greater share of the robots attention then we deserve.

Change

• We’re back making videos for the Insta. Grab your chef’s press while you’re at it.
  

• Sharpow has a new TikTok Channel for demo and edu in kitchen knife maintenance. The Sticks are winning all sorts of new fans these days.
  

  

  @sharpowkitChefs practice daily. You don’t. How to use a hone to “sharpen” a kitchen knife.

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• We Be Knives in San Francisco, a top EDC knife shop, brought The Sticks by Sharpow online last week. Here’s to them selling out, fast. I’m most excited about their customers reactions to the edges that can be placed on pocket knives with LIL Stick.

On Your Way

May your summer plans be inspiring and your attention span focused enough to get the the end of the school year.

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You’ve read about, maybe tried, these “AI” tools.

They’ll 1) 10x your work or 2) take your job or 3) answer in some unhelpful or underwhelming way. So, which is it? What can we expect from these hyped disembodied guessing engines?

I’ve been wondering, and testing, what a solo founder of a kitchen knife sharpening and retail store could gain from these tools. As a result of persistent iteration over the last months I’ve changed a few workflows including: 1) products and details, data based decisions, and content updates.

//no.1 - Products and details

I underestimated the amount of computer work required to keep a small retail organization going. Sure, the payroll and taxes and bills. Yes, those require computer work. But the ordering and product details… those have been way more time taxing than anything else.

Shopify has a core set of variables. The shopping feeds that integrate with other systems have a set. The search engines have a set, etc. And just like those sale side systems are divergent in what they offer and care about, so also are the vendors. Few, if any, of the vendors share a set of variables about their products. Some are multinationals. Some are garage startups. Neither create or distribute data about products in a way that makes it easy to get it in Shopify much less get it configured to sell at volume.

After many iterations I now have a workflow to streamline these efforts that takes a fraction of the time it did three months ago. I think it’s in the range of 20% of the previous effort for a new product coming into the store.

The single biggest gain? Uploading screenshots or pictures of data in the format it comes to me (and there are many) and having these tools move the data around to the fields that make both ordering and bulk uploads swift.

This is a game changing reduction in the amount of data variable laptop time in this business. Afterall, I might have 20 hours of laptop time a week. If 10 of it is on data entry… ick.

//no.2 - Data based decisions

You’ve seen dashboards. Maybe you’ve built them. They’re good if they were answering the questions you wanted to ask with relevant data. But, what about the questions you have not yet designed for? And the ones you have not thought to ask?

For example, how can you tell the dashboard that your city had extenuating circumstances in January and that the 38% YoY decline is out of norm and it should stop telling you how bad things are? Most can’t act on that data.

I’ve been pulling snapshots from various systems together in one place (which is now way easier than it’s ever been) and then asking for perspectives, new questions and pattern recognition from AI models. This has been helpful and is impacting how I think about the business. And because it’s chat, I can explore for a while through my lense and flip to “now, you’re a merchandising expert at xyz, tell me what you see.”

The game has changed.

So far, I’ve uncovered some insights about transaction types I did not expect… tested them and implemented changes that are… working to grow the business faster. A meaningful data driven improvement coming from chat cycles.

//no.3 - Content updates

Regarding organic content strategy. Wow.

I’ve written content for the gaps in topical content that were identified after data analysis in select AI tools. I can directly pin back the efforts to new traffic, and increases in conversions, in the last three months. The trendlines are super clear.

Just, wow.

Sum

I’m spending fewer hours on low, relative value, time suck tasks. I’m asking new questions and finding new opportunities and actualizing them. And organic traffic is notably up, as are conversions. The business is growing faster than it was 6 months ago.

These are arguably low impact first steps any worker or business can deploy with AI tools. Easy ones. The results of custom code driven efforts I have underway are TBD but also promising.

These are wild times!

Change

• IYKYK - Chef’s Presses just arrived, again. We’ll have stock for a handful of days. That’s right. Hundreds of these now sell each week, when we have them. Order here.

  

• The Ready Series, which we collaborated on with Justin from Running Man Forge, just got it’s third restock since December. It’s a hot series. So smooth and it hit some great design notes too. Line cooks to home cooks love these things. Order here.

  

• Stop breaking your wine glasses. It’s patio season. Act now and grab these hot Italian unbreakable glasses. We sell at least 5x more of these online right now than I intially anticipated. Order here.

On Your Way

Spring has arrived in MN. But it’s also May-cember, and things are busy! May your graduations and end of school year activities and sports team startups and summer kick-offs all be wrapped in a sense of joy vs busy.

Happy cooking!

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Good day,

It’s not every day a TV crew rolls into a retail shop through the back alley with lights, cameras and Emmy-winning energy. But last July, that’s exactly what happened. The TasteBuds team with Stephanie Hansen spent a full day filming in our Edina shop (vivront.com), turning our little classroom-test-kitchen-retail-space into a buzzing studio. It was a blast and a meaningful reminder of why we do this work.

Here are three bits from the day.

VIEW EPISODE HERE

//no.1 - TV Makes Everything Feel Smaller (and Bigger)

The crew came in early, rolling cases between sharpening wheels and the Hasegawa boards like they had been there before. It takes all of ten minutes for a TV team to turn any room into a set. And somehow, the lights made our France Ave shop feel both tiny and dialed in, exactly the right size for teaching knife skills around a cutting board.

Stephanie is the kind of host who brings curiosity right to the front of the room. Warm, game to jump in, quick to ask the real questions. And once the cameras rolled, the things we do every week… salsa prep, safe slicing, better grips.. suddenly felt like they mattered at a national scale.

//no.2 - Confidence at the Cutting Board Travels

TasteBuds is going national this season. What started as a Twin Cities favorite is now landing in kitchens across the country. A bigger platform, one of 88 cities, is celebrating local MN makers and the people behind the brands. Being part of that story was humbling.

We’re not here only to sell knives and sharpening. We help people who cook feel more confident in the kitchen. Sometimes that looks like sharpening a beloved tool that’s gone dull. Sometimes it’s teaching a friend how to keep a knife sharp with simple maintenance on The Stick by Sharpow. Sometimes it’s watching Stephanie pick up a Dragon Storm or Shiro Hane blade and immediately understand why sharp matters: speed, safety and joy in motion.

A sharp knife changes how people cook. And when someone sees it in action on TV, that little spark, “oh… I could do that,” spreads farther than a day of classes. And the team did such a great job on the edit!

//no.3 - Tools That Matter, Stories That Stick

On set we walked through the tools that show what we believe:

• Sharpow Kit (our best-selling mail-in system)

• The Stick (prototype off camera, used to keep the knives running in top shape)

• Knives from Perfect Edge Cutlery — Dragon Storm and Shiro Hane

• And, Hasegawa cutting boards

These aren’t props. They’re the things we put in home kitchens, pro kitchens and gift boxes because they make cooking easier.

Watching Stephanie move through the shop, exploring tools and talking about cooking confidence, made our mission feel wonderfully real.

And yes, the crew left with sharper knives than they arrived with.

Sum

A TV crew shrunk the room and expanded the story. Stephanie brought warmth and curiosity. And Vivront got to share the thing we care most about, helping more people cook with more confidence.

Change

TasteBuds is now airing nationally. You can watch our segment and explore every tool from the episode on the Vivront × TasteBuds page:

👉 vivront.com/pages/kitchen-knives-on-fox9-tastebuds

On Your Way

If you’re new here, welcome. We sharpen knives by shipping kit, sprinter van or in-store. We teach classes. And we cheer for every cook who wants their kitchen time to feel a little easier, a little more fun and a touch more confident.

Send me a note if you want help picking a knife from the episode. Or if you just want to share what you cooked this week. Love that too.

VIEW EPISODE HERE

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Good day,

I’ve been reading The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr. It came out in 2020 and reads like a field report from inside the American food system. It’s part anthropology, part logistics, part hustle. Lorr follows people who move food from ocean to shelf: truckers, brokers, small brands trying to get picked up by the national chains, and the buyers who decide what makes it on the shelves we stroll and scroll.

It’s a curious read for someone building a food brand or exploring grocery as a channel. How does the context, the environment, work? What does it operate on? What does it value? What kind of players win the grocery game? There are many strategies one could employ, from chasing fads at food shows to building authentic stories that sell at the shelf.

Our current approach for Sharpow Kits is not yet defined. But I’ve had a handful of key observations so far.

//no.1 - Not primarily about food

Success in grocery has little to do with food. It seems the systems run on three key engines: real estate (location and deal dynamics), distribution partnerships, and shrink. Location drives traffic. Distributor and CPG relationships fill shelves and fund promotions. Shrink, the measure of what spoils or disappears, makes an outsized impact on profit.

The business of grocery isn’t then primarily about feeding people; it’s about orchestrating these three dynamics efficiently.

//no.2 - Products, not food

Somewhere between a field and a shopping cart, food stops being food. It becomes product, measured in velocity, margin, and basket size. The grocery store doesn’t sell nourishment; it sells throughput. Only when that product lands in someone’s kitchen, or plate, does it become food again. For brands aiming for growth, two key questions need be answered: how are are you feeding people and how are you feeding the system? You’ll have to do one before you get the chance to do the other.

//no.3 - Movement

The grocery machine depends on movement. Industries like trucking, warehousing, cold storage and distribution centers make modern grocery possible by nature, largely out of public view. Grocery then is a logistics empire disguised as a marketplace.

And in recent years our culture has added last-mile delivery where grocery shopping, and takeout, no longer requires any time physically in a store. Product just appears, perfectly branded in our kitchens, telling us stories as we survive one day to the next.

Sum

Grocery isn’t a food industry; it’s an infrastructure industry. The shelf may look like the goal, but for new brands it’s just another stop on a supply chain seemingly optimized for not much else but itself.

Change

If grocery has taught me anything so far, it’s that systems shape habits. We reach for what’s easy, what’s near, what fits inside the machine. Sharpening doesn’t live there yet, but it could.

Sharpow Kits were built to work like the internet: order, ship, repeat. The difference is what comes back is renewal, not replacement. It’s a small act that keeps every meal sharper and more beautiful, every cook better equipped, every tool alive longer.

If you’ve never shipped your knives for renewal, this is your sign. Try a kit. See what sharper feels like in your kitchen.

On Your Way

As the coming season fills your kitchen, get the tools ready. Order sharpening made shippable at Vivront.com or Sharpow.com. And, let’s cook!

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At Vivront, our shop has become a magnet, for anyone who cooks, walks by, or stumbles onto the .com searching for sharpening nearby.

It’s built around three things: great knives, real education, and professional sharpening.

Behind it all, something bigger: we’re learning how to scale a local model that funds better school lunches nationwide.

To get there, we have to build access. We have to build trust. And we have to meet people where they are in the kitchen.

That’s why we commissioned a national survey about sharpening. We wanted to understand the middle ground… the millions who don’t send knives to pros, who don’t sharpen on stones, who bought the gadgets that promised “easy sharpening” and ended up disappointed.

Here’s what we found:

//no.1 - The Promise That Faded

67% of Americans have owned a knife-sharpening gadget. Only 28% still use one. Wow.

It’s not from lack of effort. The promise looked good: pull the knife through, get a new edge, back to dinner. But the results didn’t match the pitch. Edges tore instead of sliced. Knives got worse, fast. Gadgets landed in the drawer beside garlic presses and old corkscrews.

This isn’t laziness. It’s lost trust.

//no.2 - The Middle Ground

About 19% of people just get new knives when they go dull. 18% of people don’t sharpen at all.

A small group sharpens on stones. Some already use professionals. But the rest, the true middle (some 30-40 percent), live in an uncertain zone of gadgets and guesswork.

They cook often. They care about their tools. But they’ve been left without a path that feels reliable, safe, or worth the time.

That’s the gap Sharpow is built to serve.

//no.3 - The Real Edge

“The promise of the gadgets let us all down.” That’s what I thought when we saw the numbers. It’s true. Gadgets hide complexity and over promise; pros embrace complexity and (over) deliver.

Sharpow kits for kitchen knife sharpening are designed to make knives work again with minimal effort and do so at scale. Kits ship through the Postal Service, just like Benjamin Franklin’s original network was meant to do. The whole thing is simple, reliable, accessible to everyone. No gimmicks. No confusion. Just sharp knives, done right, by pros.

Because you value tools that last longer than trends.

Because cooks deserve as much care as the food.

Because sharp knives make cooking calmer.

Because fixing something right is more satisfying than replacing it wrong.

Because a sharp knife says: I’m ready to cook.

That’s the real edge… confidence restored, time respected, beauty put back in motion.

Sum - What we Learned

The survey told us something simple: people didn’t give up on cooking; they gave up on the broken promises of sharpening gadgets.

Our job is to make the promise of sharp and keep it.

Vivront and Sharpow exist to reconnect people to the edge of cooking, to the confidence that comes with a tool that works, and to a larger cause that feeds better futures.

The survey was conducted by YouGov Omnibus of 1,181 adults with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.

Change

If we’re going to change school lunch nationwide, we have to reach beyond the few who already care about sharpening.

That means converting this middle, the cooks with good intentions and dull knives, by showing that real sharpening is not an indulgence. It’s maintenance. It’s care. It’s impact. And can be easy, even habitual.

Each kit sharpened through Sharpow helps fund school-lunch improvement projects. Every edge restored supports a broader mission.

On Your Way

If you’ve got a drawer full of gadgets that didn’t deliver, you’re not alone and this is your reset.

Get your knives back to work, and help improve school lunches while you’re at it.

→ Order a Sharpow Shipping Kit, for Kitchen Knife Sharpening

→ Read the Press Release

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It’s a busy time of preparation at the shop. And, we’re ready for the coming wave of shoppers and sharpeners. See you all soon via mail and in person at Vivront, Edina.

You missed our Halloween stroll, ekem, madhouse, on the Saturday before. We had 500 full size candy bars AND 300 minis before the event started. We had zero after 2 and 1/4 hours. Absolutely wonderful. I dressed as a man riding a T-Rex again and my daughter and her friend swapped in 1/2 way through. There was also a blow up chicken! Both costumes are total magic mind benders for those among us under 5 years old. They reliably stop in their tracks and just stare. Fantastic.

//no.1 - Knives, Sharpening and TV

We’ve had a couple of recent TV appearances, one on KARE 11, one on Fox 9. Both were morning shows. Both were a joy to participate in. The results?

One of them drove nearly 10x the conversion on vivront.com and sharpow.com the day of the show. Which is your guess for which impacted sales more?

Not a perfect test, but a strong signal. Watch the most recent segments: KARE 11 and Fox 9.

//no.2 - Gadget Graveyard ——> Sharpsgiving

The graveyard got full in October. Many of you took us up on our sharpening gadget in exchange for professional sharpening deal and buried your gadget in the graveyard. And you have sharper knives going into November and holiday cooking season as a result. Wahoo.

We also have a more gadgets we can use as props and test with. Win win.

More on the gadget graveyard here.

SHARPSGIVING

As we shift to November, we’ve started Sharpsgiving in Edina. We’re inviting folks to drop-off their knives for service and to share a story of who they are sharpening for this Holiday.

There are always stories present during drop-off. Now we’re getting a few written down. Come share yours. See you soon!

//no.3 - Join Us Nov 19th.

Stephanie Hanson will be sharing her new cookbook and signing it. Umut will be pouring olive oils from Turkey. I’ll be sharing about keeping knives sharp with home tools.

See you Wednesday, November 19, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Vivront Knife Shop | 50th & France, Edina, Minnesota

RSVP

Sum

We’ve see success with a few fun promotions we’ve had going. And I’m delighted by the initial stories we’re capturing with Sharpsgiving.

Drop those knives off or order now for a mailing kit return trip in time for Thanksgiving.

Here’s to getting the rest of the product on order physically in the shop and available before Thanksgiving! There’s a lot out of our control there. Fingers crossed.

On Your Way

Enjoy the heck out of the remainder of the Fall leaves! Go walk around a lake or something. :)

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Oh, this is the question. Lots of reasons to and not to sharpen. Let’s look at them.

//no.1 - Why those that sharpen, sharpen

There are more than three reasons. These three come up regularly.

Safety and control

Dull knives are sneakier than you think. They need more force, they slip, and they make small kitchen jobs dangerous. A sharp knife, by contrast, almost does the work for you. It glides, you get better control, and the risk of accidents drops. That safety wake-up (often after a near-miss) pushes a lot of folks to act.

Ease and enjoyment of cooking

Sharp knives make prep faster and, honestly, more fun. Once people see the before/after (one sloppy onion vs. perfectly even slices) they’re hooked. It removes the drudgery and makes cooking enjoyable again.

Protecting good tools

When you’ve spent money on a decent knife, ore received one, you want it to last. People who invest in quality knives start to treat sharpening like maintenance, not optional fiddling. A ruined edge from a bad DIY attempt will get anyone to a pro sharpener fast.

//no.2 - Why those that don’t sharpen start

There are more than three reasons. These three come up regularly.

They hit a friction point

There’s usually a specific moment: a crushed tomato, a butchered steak, a cut from a slipping blade. That moment jolts someone out of the “meh” routine and into action. It breaks their inertia.

They see someone they trust doing it

A friend, a demo, or a chef on social makes sharpening feel normal. Social proof lowers the intimidation factor. It stops the tasks from feeling like a niche hobby and starts to feel like a regular kitchen practice.

They upgrade to a nicer knife

When someone buys a nice knife, their mindset shifts. The knife becomes worth protecting. That’s when people try an inexpensive pull-through, or drop off a set at a pro shop, and then start learning more.

//no.3 - The market sketch

Rough ballpark: about one third of households have never had a knife sharpened in any way. That’s a sizable owned market for prepared foods and delivery services.

Can you imagine if those numbers existed for tire rotation, oil changes and furnace filters?

The rest of the population splits out in to a few more buckets:

• ~10% sharpen on stones (the skilled few).

• ~30% use pull-through sharpeners (a gadget crew).

• ~20% think a honing rod sharpens (it doesn’t; it straightens).

• ~20% use powered drag-through sharpeners (super gadget crew).

All of those options need some learning (and muscle memory). The abrasives also wear out. They don’t last forever and the results vary, a lot. That variability is the opportunity.

Simpler routines, better education, and consistent results will win trust. And, we’re fast after all of those as professional sharpeners.

Sum

Of the reasons for changing from not sharpening to sharpening we don’t control when folks upgrade or when they hit a snag. We can win some trust by partnering with people they trust. And that is why there are so many celeb chefs with their names on products they themselves don’t use.

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Good day,

Gadget marketing works to get us to buy. But that doesn’t mean the gadgets work when we use them.

This week, three quick bits on those very promising sharpening shortcuts that sell better than they should.

//no.1 - The Contraption Trap

You buy the thing. It looks like a shortcut. It promises ease.

You unwrap it. Maybe use it once or three times. It sorta works. What do you know? You’re a new user. Then the contraption goes into the drawer.

And that’s where it stays… next to the three double peelers, the avocado tool, the corn butter-er that sounded cool but never quite felt right.

We’ve all been there. You might be there now. But here’s the question:

Was the tool broken? Or was the promise broken?

//no.2 - Skill Required (Even With the Shortcut)

Even the best gadgets and contraptions require skill to render performance. The fancy sharpener still needs judgment and know-how. The grill still needs timing and seasoning and attention. The Instant Pot won’t fix bad taste or habits. The strap for your golf swing can’t swing for you. And, on and on.

In fact, most gadgets introduce new and unique learning curves of their own. And they are seldom planned. When they fail, they fail in slow motion. They suck time, storage, and hope.

Skill still matters. Whether you use a whetstone, a “right” angle on a gadget, or a ~$300 powered machine, you still have to know what sharp means, how to make it and what it feels like when it’s not there vs. there. That’s how you’ll know when you’re done, when it’s sharp.

//no.3 - Or Outsource It

Some tasks are worth mastering. Others are worth delegating.

You didn’t likely plumb your replacement water heater, trim your own hair, or cook each of your meals in the last week. Why? Because you don’t have to do it all yourself.

Kitchen knife sharpening can be like an oil change. Sure you could do it. But… it’s a mess, necessary, and better left to someone with the tools, know-how, system and training to do it well.

So, now what?

• Drop your knives off at Vivront in Edina (we’re open 7 days a week),

• Order a Sharpow.com shipping kit (we’ll handle the edge from your doorstep),

• Or pick up a shipping kit at your local grocery store (we partner with a few like Kowalski’s Markets and select Hy-Vee stores in MN).

No gadgets. No gimmicks. No contraptions. Just sharp knives.

Sum

Contraptions sell a dream. They rarely save the day. Don’t let the gadget farm you. Don’t risk the time it takes to let it fail you.

Some things are worth working hard for. Kitchen knife sharpening, via gadget or contraption? Likely not.

Get an edge without the baggage: Vivront.com & Sharpow.com

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Order kitchen knives sharpened or give the gift of sharp at Vivront.com.

The Sharpow positioning effort continues. The last round was about why people don’t sharpen from a psychographic perspective. This time… why do they sharpen?

//no.1 - Go have a deep think

Here are the raw materials regarding why people do sharpen that I’ve distilled:

• Higher quality of food from slices vs. smooshes - plus you know what’s your food when you do the prepwork and cooking.

• Safer and more efficient use

• Speed up prep and improve results

• Protect investment in the knives

//no.2 - What household items we do the same thing with?

And I got to thinking… what if the product was something else?

If it were a stain remover… you’d use a stick to recover your clothes from the stain and protect your investment.

If it were a car, you’d want it to be safer and faster. You’d also, maybe, want it to be fun. A little cheeky?

If it were a drink, you’d want it to be refreshing. You’d have an “ah” moment with it.

//no.3 - And here is the positive frame

If Sharpow was a:

Stain Remover in stick form

• “Your tomatoes called. They deserve respect.”

• “From disaster to ready it seconds.”

Car

• “Sharp is the safe speed.”

• “Fast food, without the drive-thru.”

Drink

• “Dull knives murder flavor.”

• “Slaughter prep time.”

Sum

After the above I began to daydream about kitchen knives as if they were pets. And that’s where “Your knives want to be sharp” came into view. More to come on this adventure.

On Your Way

Happy first weeks of your new fall schedule!

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A few days ago I found myself wondering, again, about the deeply emotional topic of kitchen knife sharpening. I say deeply emotional because I challenge you to find a more emotional topic than anyone’s kitchen knives.

These deep emotions go for the positive and the negative. These things carry stories across generations. Most of them were gifts and they can create visceral, non rational, reactions unlike spoons, sheet pans or spatulas. They drive fear. They spark joy. And nearly all of them are dull.

Only single digit households are sharpening yearly. Really.

Why don’t more than single digit percentages of American households sharpen their knives each year… from a psychological perspective?

Until I can fund primary research to help answer the question I’ve been doing some reading and research on my own about behavior in general and making some leaps to sharpening kitchen knives as a topic.

The purpose? I want to increase revenue through a refined brand voice and higher then average conversion rate for our in store displays as well as our ads.

//no.1 - Bias’

Here’s a list of cognitive bias’ that stop humans from doing things and some plain language expressions of the thinking as each might relate to sharpening.

Present Bias - “Next time.”

Status Quo Bias - “They’re probably not that bad.”

Learned Helplessness - “Tried. Did not work.”

Identity Bias - “That’s for pros.”

Temporal Discounting - “I’ll wait until they’re really bad.”

Avoidance Loop - “I’m embarrassed.”

Perfection Paralysis - “I’m still researching.”

Normalization Bias - “I’ll just push harder.”

Effort Aversion - “Where do I even go for that?”

Decision Fatigue - “I’ll do it later.”

//no.2 - The Big Three

I think the biggest of the buckets for avoiding sharpening are (1) Effort Aversion, (2) Present Bias and (3) Temporal Discounting.

We see these on the regular at the shop when folks drop off for service.

//no.3 - Early Expressions

So, I’ve been designing some ad like objects that point at each of these objections folks tell themselves about sharpening. What do you think?

For those avoiding effort…

For those valuing the present more than the future.

For the someday-ers.

Sum

There you have it. Three lines of thought to test. I’m going to aim for some adwords and social content tests and go from there.

On Your Way

What cognitive bias most forcefully stops you from having sharp kitchen knives and loads of joy in cooking? Drop yours in the comments. It’ll help us take our next steps.

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We recently had the chance to host Mareko Maumasi at the shop for a Meet the Maker event after a day of forging at Patterson Forge. Mareko was in town for a fundraiser for a non-profit Help The House. In reflection, here are three takeaways.

//no.1 - Craftspersons Craft

When you watch a craftsperson of well developed skill at work, each movement speaks. There is flow and intention and connection to the work. Check the video above!

These movements are comfortable, well paced and absolutely not present with those under practiced in the craft.

//no.2 - Transform Mistakes into Meaningful Lessons

You’re going to make them. When they happen, transform them. Make them work for you.

You can go as far as to intend to make the mistakes. This would be to push the process too far - to break things. You’ll find the limits of the materials… and the process… and you can dial back from those limits and operate with more confidence.

And then share the lessons. In the photo above Mareko is sharing a forging process with local makers.

//no.3 - Reduce Friction

Reducing friction for customers is about anticipating potential barriers and removing them before the customer experiences them. It’s real good for business.

Mareko is aiming to reduce cut friction. This is a whole series of decisions that make knives easier to use. He’s doing that with grind patterns, materials, shapes and more. And he’s winning. Customers love it.

We’re aiming to reduce sharpening friction for customers by shipping kits ordered online, starting a store, putting the store in a densely populated high-end retail area area, educating via approachable classes, stocking knives from around the world, bringing a sharpening truck online and inventing Sharpow kits - shipping kits for sharpening purchased at retailers like grocery stores and more.

It’s all in the pursuit of easier, for the customer… reduce friction.

Sum

Hosting Mareko was a reminder that mastery isn’t an accident. Rather, it’s built through years of refinement, a willingness to learn from mistakes, and a relentless focus on removing what gets in the way of work. Whether it’s a knife that glides effortlessly through food or a sharpening service that meets customers where they are, the principle is the same: make it better, make it easier, make it matter.

Here’s to craft, curiosity, and cutting down friction in all the right places.

Event Transcript

We hosted Mareko for a Meet The Maker event/interview at the shop. Read along if you’d like.

Transcript Available here.

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The truck has been on the road for a few months. It’s starting to have it’s own workflow, different than the store, but equally good.

We had a chance to bring it on tour to +10 similar locations/contexts in the last two weeks. Here are a few things we learned.

//no.1 - Message the day of or at least two weeks ahead

Messaging the truck will be at a place and time a week in advance is less than 1/2 as impactful as messaging two weeks in advance. It seems a week is just not enough time for people to make sharpening plans.

However, we also had a number of persons see the truck, ask how long it’d be in that place and go home to get their kitchen knives for service.

Both instances show strong demand. But, when it comes to sharpening, message the day of, or more than 14 days in advance for the best results.

//no.2 - Saturdays>Fridays

Sharpening at a truck seems to be much more of a Saturday thing for most home cooks. I wish it were not. I wish Thursday afternoons were as busy as Saturday mornings. I like my Saturdays planned with tennis in the mornings. However, if success is going to be measured by the number of customers arriving at a the truck with knives, the schedule must have Saturdays on the list.

//no.3 - ??FREE

There are parts of town where customers read “First knife Free, 3 knives for $20” and somehow think the whole experience is Free, even if they bring 5 knives.

These areas happen to be parts of town known for being more “educated.” This is a really important thing to learn. We’ll not schedule the truck in those places going forward. It is what it is.

Sum

The truck certainly catches attention. The wrap is doing some heavy lifting. The truck also gives us the opportunity to “do” something and introduce the brand to folks. It “drives” people to make plans and visit the store in Edina too. And, we still have a bit of work to do to dial in these Sharpening Tours.

The next tour will be better.

Change

• We’ve run our first Sharpening Block Party. It was a hit! Video.

• I’m so pleased with how this summer round of the Tres Beau series turned out. Video.

• Had the chance to spend a day with a very talented bladesmith. It’s apparent in the way he moves that he’s a craftsperson. Video.

On Your Way

We’re headed into August. We’re going to change the hours on the shop to represent reality. Folks slow down in August. We’re going to drop Sundays. Enjoy the heck out of the last 5 weeks of summer here!

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Big July. We’ve shot for three shows and some radio too in the last few weeks. And we found a way to get to the lake and rest for a few days too.

//no.1 - Things kicked off on Good Day, Fox 9

I got there late but our hosts were gracious. Set up was smooth and we had a great time chatting about something that is deceptively simple—sharp knives.

Most of us don’t realize, read “neglect” :), that our kitchen knives have gone dull… months ago. That is until they’re sharp again. Prep feels smoother and bundled with more confidence. Even joyful excitement. You might catch yourself fabricating an excuse to cook!

If your knife is smushing instead of slicing, grab a Sharpow kit at all 11 Kowalski’s Markets in the Twin Cities. Those are new!

Watch the segment.

//no.2 - On to WCCO - Woah!

This one went differently than anticipated after the first slice. Usually I have an idea of where a conversation is going. Not this time.

“What have I been doing with my life?!” said Heather Brown moments after using a sharp knife on a red pepper. She then proceeded to rope A.J into trying it. Earlier, he said he had no interest in using a knife in the live segment. :) Gotcha A.J.!

And, like the first segment, we had a chance to share about Sharpow kits, now in all 11 Kowalski’s!

Watch the segment.

//no.3 - And, an episode for fall

We had big fun shooting with the Taste Buds team for an episode with fall release target. We shared some of our our kitchen knife tip & tricks from our 101 skills class and demonstrated that sharp knives really can help bring a whole lot of joy to kitchens.

Thanks to and Ellie for the laughs! Such silly good fun!

Sum

Ok… that was all the TV from the last few weeks.

Change

• We also had a chance to share a longer explanation of Sharpow and Vivront via radio with the Shop Girls on a Saturday morning. Give that a listen. Good fun there!

• The truck has been on a Sharpening Tour. See you around town!

On Your Way

May you find your way into some early garden harvest here in the Northern Hemisphere. A tomato salad with some soft cheese is in your future! Happy July!

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We got on TV and the Art Fair was great.

//no.1 - LIVE

We had two live hits on the Saturday morning of Art Fair Weekend. It was great. Here those hits are cut together. The second one was a little smoother, IMHO.

Rich of Patterson Forge came and swung the hammer around. I chatted about the fair and it was great.

//no.2 - RECORDED

The TV team came back and asked a few questions to roll tape on the district and it’s bounce back after the very elective bus construction of last year (it’s still not really done). That edited story ran twice, once in the 5 and then again in the 6 o’clock hour.

//no.3 - You Watch TV?

I was floored by the number of people that said “Hey, I saw you on TV.” Folks at the gym, the coffee shop, the tennis courts and on and on. It’s been a few weeks and people are still remarking about it. They were all watching TV at some point that Saturday. Amazing.

It goes to show that your own personal experience can be and often is very divergent from those around you. Design for it.

Sum

As I watched the clips back I thought of a few things to make better. That’s good. I’ll be ready for next time.

Oh, and we had a live radio interview the same weekend on The Weekly Dish. Start at 10 mins, or so for a conversation about knives.

On Your Way

Have fun. Get out and play some tennis, or walk the lake and maybe even watch some TV.

Cheers,

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One thousand and ninety five times a year you decide what we’re going to eat.

Woof. 1095!

That’s 3x more often than we pick what to wear. Maybe, 4 or 5 times more often than showering?

It’s a massive cognitive load.

We all deal with it in different ways.

Jokes about getting married have punch lines that claim we get married so we can spend the rest of our lives asking each other “What should we have for dinner?”

Funny. And, true.

So, we started a new substack. We’re going to run this for 60 days and see what comes of it. Let us know how it goes… how to make it better. If it’s going well… we’ll keep going. If not… we’ll dump it and do something else with the time and effort.

//no.1 - A Daily Assist

The 1095 by Vivront is a daily assist for this ongoing and persistent challenge of what to eat.

Go look it up… and subscribe.

Often we just need a little spark of an idea for what to make next. The standards are standard. But, a new thing each week can keep our humanity engaged in the creative process of wondering what comes next. It puts some life in the predictable and necessary.

So, subscribe and you’re receive a daily email with ideas, tips/tricks and new ways to think about what to eat or what to make to eat next. It’s intended as a little help—a win in the vast sea of edible options for your next meal and the 1094 that follow.

//no.2 - An Experiment

To generate the ideas, the writing, the photos and the specific links to the sources we curate from, we’ve turned to spinning up and tuning different GPT instances. It’s not perfect or even “easy” but it is fascinating to keep messing with the workflow. We’re learning. Come learn with us.

We’re designing humans in the loop. It’s our opportunity to put our embodied curatorial expertise to work with the disembodied recent PHD graduates with too much time on their hands - these synthetic instances.

Please… as you read along, subscribe and think about how you’re deciding what to eat… please drop us a line and let us know in the comments. What should we research for you? What do you like to eat? Hit us up.

//no.3 - Join Us

Subscribe.

Follow along as we press the boundaries of what disembodied intelligence can do to assist our very real human need—to eat.

Subscribe. :)

Sum

You need to decide what to put in your face 1095 times a year, not including snacks! We can all use a little help with the effort. The Vivront team offers The 1095, empowered by our experiments with AI, as part of your mix for inspiration and ideas.

See you in the kitchen!

On Your Way

Happy cooking!

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June is here!

Bring on summer 2025, our first without bus construction.

//no.1 - Edina Art Fair

Some 150k people will walk our shopping district next weekend, June 6-8.

Hundreds of artists will share the results of their creativity. We’re excited to see old friends and meet a whole slew of new ones.

Swing by and see us! We’re just north of 50th on France Ave.

As for the business impact of the Edina Art Fair, we saw the second biggest month of the year last June—after the fair. We’re optimistic we’ll see something similar this year. See you soon.

//no.2 - Tres Beau

“Kitchen knives need not be boring!”

This occured to me after I snuck in the back door of what turned out to be a women’s fashion event in Atlanta last year. Black. Meh. White… ok. But, what about the colors of the season… where are those? Nowhere.

We now commission scales twice a year. A handful of makers join us in making limited edition knives from those scales. The Tres Beau Summer 2025 series is almost here. It’ll release this Friday in time for the Edina Art Fair.

Join the email list to get word when they are available online. HERE.

//no.3 - Mobile Sharpening, Truck

Technically, it’s a Sprinter. But, we’re calling it a Truck. And, it’s a bet.

What happens to the retail bricks business when there’s an on wheels sharpening business? What happens to the take rate on our sharpening services when we earn trust at our customer’s place of business vs ours? We’re finding out.

The first signals from the first 7 days of truck life are encouraging.

In the market for mobile sharpening truck service?

Sum

Art… do more art! Enjoy more art. Art! And, let’s see what this truck can do.

Change

• Want more tuned interactions with GPT? Consider this. It’s a noticeable improvement in my experience. Hat tip to Tim and Greg.

• What if the next steps in AI are multiple Agents with humans in the loop? Consider this.

• I’ve never been as excited about a fridge as this one. It should arrive this week. We’re going to put waters and NA things in it.

• We have two new classes at the shop. I was going to brand them independently. Then, in conversation, it occured to me… just call them Kitchen Knife Skills 102 and 103. There we go. SEO brilliance at work. :) More info here.

On Your Way

Happy early summer road trip vibes.

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It was 6:40AM on a Saturday.

I was in Madison, Wisconsin… walking into a Starbucks.

This was not my first choice for coffee. I had imagined something very different. Something crafted and thirdwave was on my mind. Something better. However, little else was open in that town before 7AM.

The third restaurant we sought dinner at the night before let us order. The first two informed us, with no lack of college town attitude, that last call was at 9:40PM. This happened even when their website clearly stated the kitchen was open until 10PM. I even showed them the listings. They both rejected my request. I’m not bitter. I do remain very curious about the party they were all off to at the end of shift.

I got to sleep after midnight. That is not normal. The sleep was not good. That is not normal either.

And, then it was time for coffee.

I walked into ‘bucks thinking of one of their warm ham sandwiches and a short black combo being a good first swing at preparing me for the 5 hours of driving ahead. I was greeted with a warm and friendly co-conspirator in coffee acquisition. He was just getting out of his late model Pontiac.

His fierce white hair flashed on and off as it caught the hot direct can light of the 2010 era design tendencies of this global coffee chain. You know the style.

He was moving well but differently than most. As I looked in his direction he asked, “Do you work out?”

I stopped walking, a little startled by the question, “Yeah, I do.” I said.

“Oh, yeah. Isn’t it great?” he asked.

And, on quick reflection I replied, “Like doing drugs.” Because, it is.

I’ve grown more addicted to throwing heavy stuff around in the last year than everbefore. I’m thankful for this change. It was instigated by imagining my future old self needing to be silly fit to go wakeboarding with young kids when I’m in my 70s.

And… this stranger and I were off to the races, chatting in freeflow.

Instant friends. Just wild.

I knew from the jump that he had more stories than either of us had time. I wondered about his life… I think I asked something like, “How’d you get to today.” And he informed me that he was 91, shadow boxed daily, spent 42 years as a bricklayer after coming back from the Korean War—a war he was able to participate in as a result of getting kicked out of his house because of a tattoo—and that he lied about his age to get into the Marines!

Wild.

He was so open, so alive, so spunky.

He was wearing a black sleeveless sweatshirt with a black long sleeve underneath. He had a thick silver chain on… and looked like a boxer with the appropriate shoes to match. I think he was headed to the gym. Or, he just dresses like a boss all the time.

I asked him about a war story. My Grandfather, now passed, was in the same war and never told me a single story about it, not one. This guy did not skip a beat. It went something like…

“There was this Three Striper next to me during my first week. I said Hey, Three Striper… I’m scared. And he said, It’s Sargent to you. And, I’m scared too.”

What a story to tell on the spot… so human… so real. So… oh, my.

I told him my name and he said his was Fred.

“Well,” I said, “that’s my Starbucks name” (the one I choose to use because they can’t spell my real name reliably).

Fred replied… “Well. Two Freds, getting coffee. I hope to see you again.”

Now, I’m back in Minnesota contemplating a flight to Madison to see if I can somehow connect with Fred again some early morning at that Starbucks. I bet he’s there most days before the gym. Maybe I bring a friend along to shoot video of the exchange… I want to hear more life stories… more war stories and he’d certainly kick my… in shadowboxing. I think it’d make for an interesting little short and a hell of a time well spent.

Maybe. We’ll see.

Either way… Thanks Fred!

It was great chatting with you last Saturday!

Onward!

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Happy April.

That happened fast.

It’s been two months since I hit “schedule” on a 3 Bits.

I’ve been heads down building, going to conferences, shows and grocery stores, learning, on vacation, or simply taking a break from the writing routine.

TV shows have seasons. This substack does too.

Welcome to a new season of 3 Bits.

//no.1 - This year, so far

The shop has been over achieving forecast through the first few months this year.

It’s good news. Up, and to the right.

However, the last few weeks have been like someone stomped on the actual breaks—most neighbors went on spring break.

Here’s to better weather, cooking outside and more people walking the shopping district again, soon. And, hopefully we can keep the roads open.

Ope, turns out a major traffic source is closed for the next three weeks to our South (in both directions) and a major bridge to our West is being removed and reconstructed starting next week. It’ll be open a week before Thanksgiving. Whew.

As the old couple next to me at the coffee shop said, just before I put my earplugs in again, “there is stuff going on all over the place.”

So true.

//no.2 - And, then there was a truck

You know… once you have a truck you need a place to park it. Ofda.

Minor detail.

And… you can drive it to where customers are (even when there is elective and major construction in front and around your store).

I bought the truck last November and kept it on the dealer's lot for two months. :) I negotiated almost two more months of “storage” at the graphics installer.

Turns out that was too long. The truck did not start when I went to pick it up. The negative 20 degree temps had killed the battery and our less-than-50-miles-on-it truck needed a tow and two more weeks in the shop. Ha.

It’s inaugural drive was to an open field to pick up a large diesel generator from a company with the word “Lakeside” in its name. Go figure. And it was on that trip I learned that our fair truck has an anti-rollover “feature.” No one told me! It’s wonderful… you’re driving along at full speed and it will simply, and without warning, slam on the breaks! It took me a bit to come to appreciate the feature while the fresh adrenaline flushed through my veins.

Whew.

The truck is in the shop… again. This time it’s being configured for mobile sharpening (with a sharpening rig I bought in SC and drove home in an S3 a few weeks ago). When it gets out of the shop I’ll be able to park it in a spot I somehow fanagled by unknowingly trading sharpening knowhow and competence for parking. Include this as one more wild story in this silly adventure of building this business from nothing into something.

I’m excited to test my active theories out about how a mobile sharpening truck can impact a business like this. Standby… we’ll be at farmer’s markets and more this summer.

//no.3 - It’s not so much a produce product

We continue to iterate package design for the grocery product. It’s getting closer. And, yes, the road is way longer than I had anticipated.

I’ve been ready to approve the next new package printing numerous times over the last 2 months. Then I learn something new and quickly press pause. We go back to the drawing board and reconfigure designs and messaging only to be in stores, talking with customers and staff, and learn something new. And… I hit pause once again.

These iterations are simultaneously tough and lovely.

I enjoy the process of product development and creation.

And, wofoofda, it is also a slog.

Sum

There you have it. We’re up year over year but someone stomped on the breaks over the last few weeks (in more ways than one). There is a new truck coming—a proactive measure to overcome construction and needing customers to come to the shop to grow this thing. And… the package design is now in interation…. I don’t remember.

Change

• New product arrived from France. Dig it. Sweet flippers and items from Theirs. We’ll see how gutsy I feel about ordering product from overseas in the coming months. Seems like it could be an advantage to just press on the gas?

• We’re going to update our sharpening service fees soon and include mixed and stone only service options.

• The Summer Tres Beau Series (kitchen knives should be fashionable) scales look great! They are in maker’s hands right now and the initial results are super! I’m excited to bring them to market in a few weeks.

• The 50th and France District has a load of new events coming this spring, including 600 people signed up for the egg hunt this Saturday. We have candy and stickers.

• I’ve been testing an AI audio tool during class sessions. So many things to say and learn about the implications of AI on… everything.

• I’m contemplating two new courses. 1) Kitchen Knife Shapes, where we’d chat about why those shapes exist and test them. 2) Sharper Longer, where we’d run a course on approachable and realistic ways to use hones and strops to keep knives sharper longer. Which one would you take first?

On Your Way

June was massive last year. The Edina Art Fair introduced the shop and our services to loads and loads of folks. We hope the same for this year! It’s the second weekend in June. See you there.

Summer will be here… soon! Get ready!

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“Was it worth it?”

That was the question I got from my closest humans. I had to think about it for a bit before replying.

At first, I thought about the experience. I dig travel and exploration and learning. This trip was that. It was my first time to Germany and to this show. However, I’ve spent my fair share of solo travel days all over the world and I don’t particularly enjoy them like I once did. So, I’m conflicted on answering yes on this point alone.

And then I did some math. On just one of the handful of deals I made during the show, we’ll make back the cash cost of the trip in roughly 30 days, once the product arrives 3-5 months from now.

And that’s the trick with the retail side of this business. Not only does a retailer need to find cool product and build the relationships and execute really well and fund product well before it arrives… but it all needs to be done on a fairly long time horizon compared to other businesses I’ve run.

I used to think the 50% margin on products was nuts - as a consumer. I no longer hold that view.

//no.1 - Perceived lead value

From the manufacture/brand team member perspective, which of the following new customer leads would you be most excited about receiving?

1. A cold email arrives in your inbox from a prospective customer that wants to purchase from you on a Thursday afternoon when you’re trying to get other things done before you take Friday off for a long weekend.

2. A lead walks up to your booth during the first day of a conference that your team designed and planned for months and traveled multiple time-zones to exhibit at and it turns out the lead wants to buy from you on the spot.

I met folks in person at this conference that I’ve been trying to connect with and order from via digital/email for years. Somehow, standing in a tall ceiling conference center, in a country none of us are from, filled with stale air and sweaty people proved to be more productive for our business goals than the hours I’ve spent emailing folks.

//no.2 - Giant

Just massive. The Messe center in Frankfurt is tied with another German conference center in Hannover for the 3rd & 4th largest centers in the world.

Messe is ~500,000 square feet of space to fill up with humans and stuff. Some 12 buildings, some double and triple decker, are all included in the conference pass, packed with housewares or manufactures from the world over and serviced by a fantastic wayfinding system and a better than average app.

I went thinking I’d spend a day and bug out. Nope. After a day I had covered a room and a half. I bought a second day, walked the whole day second day and did not come close to covering the show.

//no.3 - Long flight hacks

Would you ever spent $3k+ to screw up your sleep?

Loads of people do when they snag those horizontal seats heading west. In my view the Europe to US long haul flights are an exercise in the will to stay awake. Drink coffee a few hours in to the flight, even if the flight attendant advises against it (this literally happened). Open a laptop and work. Watch a movie if you must. Just, don’t make it comfortable. Stay awake.

On this trip I found a new twist. I flew the long haul flight on the first of two flights both ways. I’ll do that again. It’s just easier. And, the upgrades are automatic once you’re back in the US. That’s better than being jammed in the tiny cheap euro jets. It’s better than the auto upgrades on the long haul flights too. All that does it ensure that the back of the plane has more space to spread out than those jammed up front.

I stayed on the US sleep schedule too. That ment that I woke up at 11AM local. That was A-OK. Just remember to not buy breakfast with the room package.

Sum

Go to more conferences. Make new biz friends with speed. Somehow, conferences produce more results faster than pushing pixels in this particular business.

Change

You replied with a few AI tools from the last 3 Bits issue. Here they are:

• ChatGPT - everyday (Generative Pre-trained Transformer)

• Granola.ai for meeting notes - amazing

• Perplexity for research-y things

• v0.edv, replit.com and cursor.com for concepting

I’ve recently started using:

• elicit.com for searching scholarly articles

• Duolingo’s new chat with Lilly feature is amazing.

• Claude, Suno and Gemini (what a solid SB ad, BTW) are also on my phone but I’m not using them often.

On Your Way

Cheers to conferences!

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