Fireside Chat Recap: Jozef Gherman (StealthGPT)

Hey team,

Just wanted to send a quick recap of today's fireside chat with my friend Jozef Gherman, founder of StealthGPT.

Key Takeaways

One of the most fascinating parts of Jozef's story was his perspective on what he calls "productive arrogance" - the confidence to pursue ideas even when logical reasons exist to quit. The distinction he made between true delusion and pursuing opportunities that others simply don't appreciate yet really resonated with me. He shared how after seeing a competitor launch with a superior product, his instinct was to quit, but instead he doubled down - rebuilding his product from scratch and pushing forward despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting he should stop.

This mindset has practical applications for all of us building here. The biggest opportunities often exist in blind spots that others aren't seeing yet. When Jozef created StealthGPT, he didn't know exactly who would use it, but trusted his intuition that the need existed. That bet paid off massively.

His journey from a failed crypto startup to bootstrapping StealthGPT from $250 to $330k MRR with minimal funding is a testament to persistence and focusing on real user needs rather than investor expectations.

Next Steps

The good news is Jozef will be in Austin for the next three months and is excited about what we're building. He specifically mentioned loving the camaraderie, experimentation environment, and brotherhood he felt in the Gauntlet office.

Monday Project Walkthrough: Jozef has agreed to come by this Monday around 7:00 PM to walk through different projects with anyone who wants to participate. He's open to bouncing ideas around and offering feedback based on his experience. If this goes well, we can make it a regular occurrence.

Resources

I'll be sharing the full recording and transcript of our conversation (sanitized version) for those who couldn't attend or want to revisit specific parts of the discussion.

Big thanks to Dallas for handling the recording setup!

Looking Forward

This is just the beginning - I'm committed to bringing more interesting people with strong, spiky POVs related to our work at Gauntlet. These perspectives challenge our thinking and expose us to ideas we might not encounter in our regular circles.

I'm glad so many of you found the session valuable. Let me know if you have suggestions for future guests or other feedback.

Gary