money or dreams

There is a lot of conversation in my founder friend group lately about focusing on building something generational vs just making money + speed running to $1M ARR on some iOS AI app.

I can sorta understand why.

Every other day you see some new person on YouTube or Twitter talking about how they hit like $1M or $5M in less than a year and, then you catch yourself sitting there like:

"Wait. Am I doing something wrong??"

I see people around me that have been grinding for years on really massive problems questioning their core philosophies:

Do we build a money printer or
Do we continue to focus on building the dream.

It's like this growing impatience almost.

I also see a subset of founders discounting the amazing progress these apps are doing and saying "Meh, just a wrapper grown by mindless UGC on Instagram. Nothing that will impact humanity. Useless. Lame. A distraction".

A quick story:

I did a lot of dropshipping back in 2010 where I'd arbitrage random niches, wrap a product around cleaner messaging, do ads, and profit.

It's interesting how 99% of the AI apps I'm seeing drop in 2025 follow the same playbook: find niche, wrap latest model via Cursor with cleaner messaging, and instead of ads you pay TikTok college kids.

Of course, the playbook sounds simple but the ones actually winning are truly obsessed. Anyone can wrap a model, just like anyone could dropship. But hitting $100K a month on anything is difficult as fuck -- it takes relentless execution and genuine love for the game.

What's interesting is this loop of find niche, build software, distribute is getting easier and easier every month.

So more people are doing it.

Result: I'm seeing the same thing in 2025 I did in 2010 when I was 14, people aged 14-21 just printing on the internet.

It's pretty awesome.

But, obviously, many of those drop shipping businesses you saw in the early 2010s are gone now (including mine).

We were full-time arbitraging the short-term opportunity. But then, there was very little left to arbitrage. FB ads aqq costs went up, CAC became ridiculous, consumers understood everyone was just wrapping Alibaba, sales dipped.

And, since nearly no one was focused on building a true product that'd become core to people's lives, most dropshipping businesses died except those that put effort into their own formula, product, secret sauce, etc.

I do think something similar will happen with many of today's explosive AI apps.

So here's how I'm thinking about it for myself:

I want to find the large opportunity and have the patience to build the dream, I don't want to lower my long term ambition just to hit a money number short-term.

At the same time, I'm inspired as fuck by these 16 year olds hitting $1M ARR on iOS apps they make in 30-days. And I need to learn everything I can from them.

I think a great short-term money printer has a high chance of turning into a generational product with the right vision. I'd rather have an engine, than not.

Nike spent its first 10 years being a wrapper around Onitsuka Tigers from Japan just dropshipping their shoes. But, Phil Knight kept growing the biz, made a money printer, kept growing the vision.

One day, they started making their own shoes.

50 years later we all wear Nikes.

Ambition can be a poison.

Your ego can hold you back from doing things that work short term out of some belief that your way of building products is "better", or less cringe, or better for humanity.

There is no right/wrong.

If you're purely obsessed with speed running the money, I'd say that's great and try to put some braincells into the long-term a little bit.

And, if you're purely obsessed with being the next Apple and building a company that lasts decades but you're at $0 or close to it, I'd say that's great but perhaps go and make some money.

And, to those that have been grinding in founder land for years and have yet to see some big movement in progress I'll say this:

Keep your eyes and ears open 24/7. Constantly learn how this game is changing. When you open the internet and see someone winning online, instead of feeling like "Damn what am I doing wrong" think "What can I learn from this person and their work".

Just adjust your game plan vs crumbling.

So.

Money, or dreams?

Both.

It must be both.

I would hate to live in a world where we dream smaller or lower our ambitions just for a monetary goal. But, I would also hate to live in a world where we ignore reality and just stay stuck in our dreams forever.

P.S: if you think this essay would perhaps resonate with someone you know, send it to them!

Thank you to Jake, Sharif, and the wonderful Nokhez for reviewing this essay and giving me their notes.