Inside 14.ai this week: Gummies, aura readings, and sleeping where the detergent goes.
From launching an autonomous candy brand to napping in the laundry room, it’s been a week.
We built a gummy brand (yes on purpose)
After a year of running support for D2C brands, we figured we knew enough to be dangerous.
GloGlo is a rapid glucose gummy; dextrose-forward, vegan, shelf-stable, and designed to actually look like something you’d want in your bag.
Our cofounder Michael has Type 1 diabetes and has spent years dealing with chalky glucose tablets in clinical packaging that feel like they were designed by someone who’s never had to use them.
So we made something better. And it’s not just a diabetes thing. Anyone doing high-intensity training, long runs, endurance sports too. Anytime you need fast, reliable carbs and don’t want to fumble with a gel pack, GloGlo works.
The whole thing runs on 14.ai’s own stack. Support, social, ops - as much as possible is handled by AI. Every problem we solve running this brand makes the platform better for our clients. It’s a live R&D lab that also ships gummies.
Orders are rolling in and we’re shipping the first batch soon. Check it out. GloGlo.com
Shoes off, phones away
Marie’s ongoing crusade to make networking events not terrible continued last week.
Women founders gathered at the HF0 Residency house in Alamo Square for an evening that was, by design, nothing like a networking event.
An artist read auras. There was breathwork. Julia made a vegetarian feast with herbal elixirs.
Amy Buechler, former YC batch director and founder coach, facilitated a women’s circle.
More of these coming. Let us know if you want in the next one.
Marie’s new bedroom
Good news and bad news.
Good news, hiring is going great.
Bad news, all the rooms are taken so Marie is now living in the laundry room.
New rule: No laundry after 9pm...
Next LinkedIn Live: How brands actually make money from creators
We’re sitting down with Kendall Dickieson, founder of Flexible Creative and the strategist behind social programs at brands like Graza, Canopy, and Chubby Snacks.
She’s also an investor in MrBeast’s Feastables.
Kendall’s whole thing is turning creator partnerships into revenue.
We’ll be digging into how the best brands integrate social and influencer into the full marketing funnel, what separates programs that drive sales vs just get likes, and the mistakes most founders make when they try to “do influencer.”
If you’re running a brand and doing/wanting influencer programs, this is for you.
https://www.linkedin.com/events/7435756987176550400
In Case You Missed It: The TikTok shop creator playbook
Bora Mutluoğlu, co-founder of Reacher (YC S25), broke down how brands are scaling on TikTok Shop.
It’s not about landing one big creator and praying for a viral moment.
The biggest mistake brands make? Sending samples to every creator who asks. Instead, go watch their last three videos. If they can’t sell, it doesn’t matter how many followers they have.
The creators who actually move product tend to have 1-10K followers. They know the algorithm, they know how to sell, and they don’t have a personal brand to protect.
Get thousands of videos posted, figure out which ones convert, reverse-engineer what worked (the hook, the cuts, the CTA) then replicate that with new creators.
Viral is luck. A creator engine is a business.
And AI is great at analyzing creator profiles at scale. But getting a creator excited to work with you is very much human.
Full episode on Spotify +YT
Does your support team give you anxiety? Let us handle it:
https://calendly.com/14ai/15minchat
Until next time! We’ll be shipping gummies and trying to convince Marie that the laundry room counts as a bedroom on Zillow.