She's running email campaigns, posting memes on LinkedIn, and somehow making "AGI" sound safe enough for a Fortune 500 CEO to not block her address. I'm trying to hold it all together, but the whiplash is real. I go from debugging our prototype-still duct-taped together with unpaid open source-directly into a meeting about "brand voice." I'm supposed to have opinions about brand voice now. Next week I have to talk to a printer about business cards. I'm about to lose it when Maddy bursts into the conference room, waving her phone like she's flagging down a lifeguard. "We got a live one!" she says. "Midwest Insurance wants a POC. Not a trial-a paid POC. They found us on LinkedIn."
Jian looks up from his spreadsheet and actually smiles. "That is a good lead."
I want to say something profound, but all I can think is: We might actually be a company. I might be the only founder in history who still can't afford a haircut, but hell, we're doing it. I add another slogan to the doc: INFERTHERMIC: The startup that shouldn't exist, but does. Maddy likes it. Jian flags it as "off-message." I don't care. It's the truth.