Shifting Gears in 2026 (and Beyond)
On visibility, vulnerability, and building in public. Why 2026 is about showing up?
Today is January 1, 2026.
I’m starting a YouTube channel.
And I’m changing what this newsletter is about.
Not because “new year, new me.”
Because I realized something I should have known earlier:
I’ve been hiding behind the tech.
Technology is fascinating. It’s a lever. It’s genuinely powerful.
But it’s not the thing I care about most.
The thing I care about is building something real. And helping people do the same without making the expensive mistakes I made.
So I’m shifting gears.
Why I’m really doing this
Here’s the truth.
I spent 2018-2021 burning through my savings, my health, and my confidence building a startup that didn’t survive COVID.
I spent 2021-2025 recovering at Microsoft. Rebuilding. Learning to be okay again.
And now I’m back in it — as a Founding Engineer at a stealth AI startup.
But this time is different.
Because this time, I’m not hiding.
I spent months writing about Agentic AI because it felt safe. Technical. Interesting enough to justify a newsletter without getting too personal.
But every time I wrote about “multi-agent orchestration” or “tool-calling patterns,” I knew I was dancing around what I actually wanted to say:
Startups are hard. But they’re learnable. And I wish someone had shown me the real path before I paid full price for every lesson.
So that’s what I’m doing now.
What I’m actually building toward
I don’t want to be an AI expert.
I want to be the person who made the mistakes so you don’t have to.
The person who lost a lot of money learning how to build a runway properly.
The person who burned out hard and came back with a system.
The person still in the trenches — not teaching from the mountaintop, but documenting from the climb.
That’s what this newsletter becomes.
And that’s what the YouTube channel is.
Because here’s what I realized:
If I want to help people, they need to find me first.
And right now? I’m invisible.
I’ve been writing in a corner of the internet, sharing thoughts with a small group, staying comfortable.
But comfortable doesn’t help anyone.
So 2026 is about visibility.
Not because I want to be famous.
But because the thing I’m building — both my company and this content — only works if people actually see it.
YouTube and Substack aren’t the goal. They’re tools for that visibility.
Just like AI isn’t the goal. It’s the tool for building faster.
The goal is the same:
Build something real. Help people do the same. Don’t hide.
The real context I can’t ignore
I co-founded Simplified Automation as CTO in 2018. We scaled to real revenue. We moved fast.
Then COVID hit.
And I made every classic founder mistake:
Burned substantial personal capital trying to outrun reality
Pushed through exhaustion like it was “resilience”
Ignored the warning signs until burnout broke me
That chapter ended.
I spent four years at Microsoft Teams as a Software Engineer. Not because I gave up on startups. But because I needed to recover. To rebuild. To learn how to do this without destroying myself.
Now I’m back.
Founding Engineer at a stealth AI startup. Writing every week. Starting a YouTube channel today.
And this time, I’m not doing it quietly.
Because the mistakes I made were expensive. And if sharing them helps even one person avoid the same pain, it’s worth being visible.
What this newsletter becomes
Here’s the new spine:
Founder thinking, from someone still building.
Still practical. Still tactical. Still honest.
But less hiding behind AI theory.
More startup reality.
This is for you if you want to:
Build your first startup without losing everything in the process
Join an early-stage company and actually thrive
Transition from corporate to startup chaos with a plan
Learn from expensive mistakes without paying full price yourself
I’m not teaching from the finish line. I’m documenting from the middle.
What stays the same
The things that matter won’t change:
Real experience. Not guru advice. I’ll share what I actually did, what worked, what failed, and what I’m still figuring out.
Simple language. No buzzwords. No jargon without translation. If a 16-year-old can’t understand it, I’ll rewrite it.
Honest about the cost. Startups are incredible. They’re also brutal. I’ll talk about both.
And yes — AI stays in the conversation.
But it shows up as a tool in the stack. Not the identity of the newsletter.
You’ll see:
How founders use AI to move faster with fewer people
What to automate vs what to obsess over
How to ship with leverage without building fragile systems
Real examples from building in production
AI is still here. It’s just properly placed.
What changes immediately
1) The topics widen
Less narrow AI deep dives. More operator reality:
How to quit your job without destroying your finances
What to look for in an early-stage team before you join
Product truth vs founder delusion
How to balance a job + startup without lying to yourself
Execution systems that survive chaos
What I learned spending my own money vs building with investor capital
2) The content connects
I’m converging the newsletter with the YouTube channel.
Because I was splitting my thinking across too many places. And that creates noise.
Same ideas. Different formats.
Newsletter = the written version, the behind-the-scenes context, the operator notes that don’t fit in 8-10 minutes.
YouTube = the lessons, the stories, the frameworks, delivered like I’m talking to you over coffee.
Both pulling from the same source: what I’m actually learning while building.
3) The tone gets more direct
I’m done hedging.
Early-stage startup life punishes vague thinking. So I’m going to have stronger takes.
Not to be edgy. But because I’ve paid for these lessons and I’m not going to water them down.
Why I’m starting a YouTube channel
Because writing isn’t enough anymore.
I can write the best newsletter in the world and still be invisible.
So I’m showing up on camera. Weekly. Talking directly to the people I want to help.
Not polished. Not scripted into corporate-speak. Just real.
The goal is simple:
Make you feel like you can do this.
Not “this sounds impossible.”
Not “I guess I’m not cut out for startups.”
But: “Yes, I can do this — if I take the right steps.”
That’s the promise.
And if you want to see what that looks like, check out this video.
Here’s what I need from you
If this shift resonates, I need you to do something:
Make me visible.
Share this post. Forward it to someone building or thinking about building. Drop a comment with what you want to see more of.
And if you want the video version of these ideas — real stories, real lessons, no fluff — subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Because here’s the thing:
I can make all the content in the world. But if no one sees it, it doesn’t help anyone.
So help me help people.
2026 is about visibility. For me. For you. For anyone trying to build something real.
Let’s do this together.
Let’s build. Out loud. Where people can see it.
— Ishmeet
P.S. — If you’re reading this and thinking “I want to make a similar shift but I’m scared,” reply to this email. I read and respond to all of them. Let’s talk about what’s holding you back.