You don't need to learn every skill from scratch. AI assistants can help you research a market, draft a plan and practise your pitch, as long as you check what they tell you. Here is a simple, low-cost toolkit.
Use AI as a co-pilot, not an oracle#
- Research: ask a general assistant (such as ChatGPT, Claude or Grok) to list competitors and open questions, then check every claim at the source.
- Plan: have it fill in a first draft of the Business Model Canvas, then rewrite it in your own words.
- Deck: follow YC's seed deck guide and ask the assistant to play a sceptical investor.
- Funding paperwork: read YC's SAFE with an assistant to explain the terms, and still check with a lawyer before you sign.
The rule#
AI drafts. You decide. Never paste confidential customer or investor data into a public tool.