14.ai Dispatch #31: New year, same chaos, better fortune cookies. 🥠
We’re one week into 2026 and already causing problems. Here’s what went down.
We delivered brutal fortune cookies
We showed up to Kim Kardashian SKIMS company office with fortune cookies. A nice gesture, right?
Except the fortunes inside were their own one-star customer support reviews.
“Your order never arrived and no one responded for 3 days.”
“I’ve been on hold for 47 minutes.”
“This is the worst experience I’ve ever had.”
Delivering honesty wrapped in a cookie shell. The reactions were chef’s kiss.
Consider this a friendly reminder: your customers are leaving reviews, and they’re not all five stars. Maybe fix that.
One year in the 14.ai house 🏠
One year ago today, we got the keys to our SF house.
7:00am - Keys in hand
10:12am - Wi-Fi up, desks assembled, everyone coding
10:15 - First Riva Walk
11:05am - First commit
Twelve months later: still going. Even more energized.
San Francisco’s been incredible to us. The city’s culture of building and ambition runs through everything we do; late nights, wild ideas, and JUST DO THINGS energy.
Looking ahead, our priorities haven’t changed: relationships, growth, and health above everything else.
Here’s to year two. Let’s build.
TikTok Live shopping breakdown with Jason 🎥
Jason Termechi wore pink shapewear on stream after hitting 1M likes, so yeah, he knows what he’s doing.
Amazon fumbled the bag. They had a massive head start on live shopping and completely blew it.
Meanwhile, TikTok figured out it’s way easier for a social platform to add shopping than for a shopping platform to add social.
Jason’s whole thing is that the more ridiculous the milestone, the more invested people get. Promise to do something insane at 1M likes? Your audience will literally spam likes to make you do it. Then they buy stuff.
Bundles are everything. Biggest mistake brands make? Showing up to an 8-12 hour mega live with one or two bundles.
You need 3-5 minimum - they drive AOV, create urgency, and give your host fresh things to pitch all day.
Post-live matters just as much. Turn on Live Highlights. Use the CRM to retarget people who bought once or almost bought. Register your lives so people get notifications. Most brands ignore all of this.
On hosts: The best ones are organized under pressure, actually personable (not just “energetic”), and can pivot on the fly without losing it. Some people are just built for this. You’ll know it when you see it.
Huge thanks to Jason for breaking this all down. Spotify link.
What people like about Michael 💙
We asked everyone what they like about Michael:
Marie said he’s the best husband and cofounder (aww).
Ugo diplomatically refused to say who wins at tennis.
Riva ate the microphone.
Michael said his team is his favorite part.
Wholesome content? In this newsletter? More likely than you think.
B2C founders:
Next live: Scaling campaigns to millions with ex-MrBeast team member Ryann Carr 📈
January 21 - We’re going live with Ryann Carr, ex-MrBeast team member and Founder of RiseWave Media.
Ryann scales creators and brands to massive organic reach across YouTube, TikTok, and IG, without heavy ad spend. She’s breaking down the actual playbook.
We’re covering:
Hooks, thumbnails, and titles
Retention and pacing tactics
Building creative teams and testing frameworks for consistent winners
Operational systems to sustain 10M–100M+ view pipelines
Perfect for founders, creators, marketers, and growth leads ready to scale audience and impact fast.
Join us: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7414534056433909761
We’ll be at Amplify summit in Newport Beach
January 18-20 at VEA Newport Beach.
300 founders. DTC, retail, and CPG brands who are done with clout-filled conferences.
Keynotes from founders behind Basepaws ($90M exit), Neuro (Red Bull F1 partner), MaryRuth’s ($100M+ growth), Cymbiotika ($200M+ wellness empire), and more.
It’s basically a college reunion for people who build companies.
Shark Tank alumni? There’s a reunion party. We want to interview you for a funny video. Ping us.
Details: https://luma.com/amplifysummit
Actually Worth Your Time 👀👂📕
Marie: 10x and cheaper in an AI world, Sarah Tavel
Michael: A technical guide for building applications where agents are first-class citizens, Dan Shipper
Ugo: Good vs great animations, Emil Kowalski
Until next time. Go find something amazing on TikTok live, touch grass, and let us do a street interview on you.