Writing

Essays and case studies by Matei Olaru on AI, product systems, and building companies.

• The product system behind my $100M public company (2025-11-14) — We built four products that fed each other, and the system they created together was worth more than any of them individually.
• Services as software: how AI changes the math on an entire business category (2025-02-05) — AI is changing the unit economics of service businesses so completely that they stop behaving like service businesses. They start behaving like software companies.
• The AI ROI Gap: 2026 CEO Benchmark (2026-04-01) — Original research surveying 139 CEOs across 13 industries on AI return on investment, spending patterns, and adoption trends. 86% of CEOs are not formally measuring AI ROI.
• Nvidia Just Told Every CEO to Get an OpenClaw Strategy (2026-03-17) — OpenClaw is the first genuine workflow replacement system most enterprises will encounter.
• What We Told 190 CEOs About AI Last Week (2026-03-10) — Companies misuse AI as incremental improvement rather than structural change. Adoption spreads through middle management, not executive mandates.
• 2025 CEO AI Readiness Benchmark: What 164 CEOs Revealed (2026-03-03) — Most CEOs struggle distinguishing practical AI applications from hype. Organizational clarity on AI ownership correlates strongly with adoption success.
• Your "Secure" SharePoint Is an AI Liability (2026-02-25) — AI agents expose permission vulnerabilities in traditional enterprise systems.
• Your Business Has Data. It Doesn't Have Memory. (2026-02-12) — Structured data infrastructure functions as institutional memory for AI deployment success.
• Stop Buying "AI Grease." Start Building Cogs. (2026-02-10) — The distinction between incremental AI improvements and transformative workflow automation.
• 10 AI Automations Your Competitors Deployed Last Quarter (2026-02-03) — Autonomous AI implementations already in use at mid-market competitors.
• Why Your Best Employees Will Quietly Kill Your AI Project (2026-01-27) — Organizational resistance from high performers undermines AI initiatives more than technical limitations.
• Why 61% of CEOs Are Burning Cash on "Weak AI" (2026-01-15) — Inadequate data preparation precedes failed AI investments. Sandbox auditing before deployment.