The most valuable opportunities in my career arose not from aggressively pursuing deals, but from focusing on enabling others to succeed first.

These customer-centered indicators help identify genuine product-market fit, preventing premature confidence based solely on growth numbers.

Prism Layer, co-founded by an Irish entrepreneur, has come out of stealth mode after securing $1 million in pre-seed funding. Fenway Summer led the round, joined by Plural Ventures and several angel investors. This funding will enable the company to accelerate its development and growth.

Munich-based Conxai has secured €5 million in fresh funding to advance its AI-driven automation of complex construction project workflows. Unlike typical general-purpose AI, Conxai’s technology is trained on construction-specific data to optimize operations. The startup's investors include Earlybird, Pi Labs, noa, and Zacua Ventures, building on a €2.7 million pre-seed round closed in early 2022.

P&G has announced a multiyear sponsorship agreement with the WNBA, featuring prominent brands such as Olay, Secret, and Downy. This partnership comes as the league enjoys record-breaking viewership, highlighting P&G's strategic focus on supporting women’s sports.

Block has introduced Managerbot, an innovative AI agent integrated into the Square platform designed to proactively oversee small business operations. Unlike previous reactive chatbots, Managerbot anticipates issues such as inventory shortages and scheduling conflicts, offering actionable solutions before the seller is prompted. Key features include inventory forecasting using local data, optimized employee shift scheduling, and automated marketing campaigns targeting top customers. Built on advanced AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic, Managerbot emphasizes user control by requiring seller approval before any changes are made. This launch follows Block's significant workforce reduction attributed to AI integration and highlights the company’s strategic pivot towards intelligence-driven business tools. Early adoption shows sellers consolidating more operations within Square for data-driven decision-making, potentially strengthening Block’s market position. Managerbot aims to improve business decisions and save time for sellers, marking a major step in Block’s AI vision to transform commerce management.

For over twenty years, digital discovery revolved around a straightforward process: search, scan, click, and decide. This worked well when humans conducted web searches, but AI agents have changed the landscape. These agents consume information differently, leading to a new focus: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Unlike traditional SEO, which values rankings and clicks, AEO prioritizes whether AI comprehends, selects, and cites content. This shift means enterprises must rethink their strategies.

AI agents don't browse like humans; they analyze user intent with persistent context and require concise, structured content. The interaction now includes agents retrieving and summarizing information, shifting emphasis from clicks to citations. Experts highlight that AEO extends SEO by making citation and recognition more important than page rank.

Developers already benefit from AI agents for tasks like research and sales preparation, which these tools simplify and speed up significantly. However, challenges remain with accessibility and reliability due to website restrictions.

For enterprises, competing in an AEO-driven world requires content to be conversational, authoritative, fresh, and well-structured, supported by strong brand presence on platforms influential in AI training datasets. LLM-referred traffic converts at a significantly higher rate (30-40%) compared to traditional SEO or paid channels. Businesses not adapting risk invisibility in AI-mediated searches.

Practical steps include engaging on high-impact forums like Reddit, building YouTube presence, investing in digital PR, and aligning content with AI citation preferences. Quality, expertise, and trustworthiness remain vital, with original long-form content favored. Ultimately, success hinges on focusing on user needs and ensuring content is genuinely helpful rather than trying to game AI systems.

In his latest book, bestselling author Marcus Buckingham explores the key factors that drive performance and foster growth in individuals and organizations.

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