Ethan Mollick: 'sell picks and shovels' is the wrong lesson for AI startups
emollick · x · 2026-10-30
Wharton professor Ethan Mollick argues the popular "sell picks and shovels" advice for AI startups is the wrong takeaway.
His case: the Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution one. Gold is a single pile that runs out; machines keep making everything cheaper. Historically, far more people got rich using new machines than building them — so AI founders shouldn't default to infrastructure, as application-layer value creation is the bigger opportunity.
Related event: Mollick: The Real AI Startup Lesson Is Using Machines, Not Selling Shovels(3 posts)→
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