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The expert founders: what changed in v1.1.0
From v1.0.0 (2026-10-15, a41cf8745) to v1.1.0 (2026-10-15, 97c691038), paragraph by paragraph.
2 paragraphs added, 1 removed, 3 changed in place, 45 unchanged. About 47 words added and 19 removed. Insertions are marked like this, deletions like this; unchanged runs are folded to one line; figures appear as their file names.
1 unchanged paragraph
Summary: For twenty years the winning technology startup was usually built by a clever, ambitious outsider: someone who found a pain point, often through a hundred conversations with people they could reach, raised money on belief, hired the subject-matter experts, and displaced incumbents that had the customers, the knowledge and sometimes the money. It is a very American playbook, many bets for a few large wins, and it changed whole industries. It also has a second act: the disruptors became the incumbents, and much of what they built is now the software everyone complains about. My argument is that generative AI changes who can start. When agents do most of the execution, the people who know the problem can build the product themselves, without the millions that used to come first. The data on experts was always on their side: the fastest-growing US startups are founded at a mean age of 45, and three or more years in the same industry doubles the rate of top-tier success. And this favours Europe: its investors want to see it working, value lower, and ask for more revenue at the raise, which is exactly the discipline an expert founder needs, because money too early is one of the most reliable ways to kill a startup. Three examples: me in security, a knee surgeon in knee health, and a foundertranscriber in legal records.transcription.
7 unchanged paragraphs, under In short {#in-short}
• Three examples. Me in security, a knee surgeon in knee health, a foundertranscriber in legal records.transcription.
22 unchanged paragraphs, under The playbook that worked {#playbook}, This is not a criticism {#not-criticism}, Then they became the incumbents {#incumbents}…
Kate,Kate Curtis-Evans, in legal records.transcription. Kate is buildingthe founder of Audio Genius, which she describes as "the future of Legal Transcription & Workflow Management", "Built by a productTranscriber, for legalTranscription documents and transcription.Professionals". It could be used for a lot of things; she knows legal,legal transcription from the inside, so it starts there. Some of the documents I have written were written with her work in mind. Her site will be linked here when I have the link.
11 unchanged paragraphs, under Why this favours Europe {#europe}, What this does not claim {#limits}
• Two of the three founders are people I help. Their pages are public; Kate's link is to follow.
• Two of the three founders are people I help. What is said about them is from their own public descriptions.
• Updated on 15 October. Kate's surname, company and her own description were added after publication.
4 unchanged paragraphs, under Where this comes from {#sources}