For founders trying to decide how to use AI, the growing choice of tools can make decisions harder. Which application deserves their time? What should they automate? And how can they build a business that operates independently without losing the qualities that made customers choose it?
These are among the challenges Jeremiah Su, Founder of The Beyond and BeyondFest, sees in his conversations with entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia. In his experience, the pace of AI development is leaving some founders overwhelmed. They recognise that technology can help their businesses, but struggle to choose a platform and commit to using it.
Su believes the starting point is a clearer understanding of the business itself. Before selecting software or introducing new processes, founders need to establish their mission, the values that guide their decisions and the experience they want customers to have. Those principles should inform how technology is introduced and where people remain involved.
The same thinking applies to a challenge that extends beyond AI: reducing a company’s dependence on its founder. A founder’s attitudes and behaviours often shape how the business operates. Su argues that building an organisation that can function independently requires translating those qualities into processes and responsibilities that other people can carry forward.
His examples include entrepreneurs who use AI across their websites, content and sales activities while retaining team reviews. Others have documented how they work and communicate with customers to guide the technology they use. Both approaches reflect his emphasis on preserving human judgement as automation takes on more work.
Relationships also feature in his view of entrepreneurship across Southeast Asia. While culture and upbringing influence how founders establish trust, Su sees a shared willingness to collaborate when entrepreneurs find common goals. He expects direct interactions and personal connections to become more valuable as AI and automation become more common.
Since our last conversation in 2025, what has changed most in the challenges founders bring to The Beyond?
The main challenge is still how AI and technology are changing the way businesses and brands are built. What has become more urgent is understanding which platforms, applications and programmes entrepreneurs can use, and how those tools will support their individual business journeys.
In Southeast Asia, I see entrepreneurs becoming increasingly overwhelmed by developments in AI. The technology moves so quickly that some feel unable to choose and stick with one programme long enough to use it.
There is a lot to consider. Founders are trying to understand what is available while deciding which tools are relevant to their businesses. That difficulty in choosing and committing is a significant part of the challenge.
What separates a business that depends on its founder from one that can operate without them? Where should a small business owner start?
It comes down to whether the qualities the founder brings to the business can become part of how the wider organisation operates.
Every founder brings a set of attitudes, behaviours and characteristics. These influence the business from the beginning. The question is whether the founder can translate those qualities into systems and responsibilities across different departments, so the organisation can function without depending on their constant involvement.
That is where I would encourage a small business owner to start. Understand what defines the business and how much of that currently sits with you. Then work out how to make those qualities part of the organisation’s everyday processes.
When founders introduce automation and repeatable processes, where do they risk losing the qualities that customers value?
The risk comes when founders assume they can automate everything, build a system and remove human involvement entirely. That is a mistake I see. People still need to be involved in how the system operates and what it produces.
One founder I have seen used AI across the company’s website, social media posts, outreach, sales activities and email drafts. However, the founder kept safeguards in place so the team could review the assets being created. They were using the technology while maintaining oversight of its output.
Another founder spent a week building a bank of information about how they worked. This included how they would approach tasks, speak to customers and express the personal qualities behind their business. They then used that information to guide their technology stack.
Both examples show an effort to find a balance. The founders wanted technology to support the way they operated while retaining the human judgement and character behind the business.
If a founder has limited time and money, what should they clarify before investing in AI?
The main thing a founder should focus on is the mission. What is the purpose behind the product? What is the business trying to achieve?
Trying to work out which tool to use or which process to build can waste time if that mission is unclear. Founders need to ground it in their own principles and beliefs before making those decisions.
For me, that is the starting point. Before choosing technology, be clear about the purpose it is meant to serve.
From your experience building communities across Southeast Asia, what most affects how founders establish trust and win business?
Culture and upbringing make a difference to how entrepreneurs build their businesses. However, one quality I see across different Southeast Asian markets is a sense of community and mutual support.
When entrepreneurs feel a sense of camaraderie or recognise a common goal, they are more willing to extend trust and build businesses together.
That shared purpose matters. It can encourage founders to support one another and find opportunities to collaborate. Although there are cultural differences across the region, this willingness to work together is something I have found in different communities.
A strong personal brand can attract business, but it can also make a company dependent on its founder. How should founders approach that relationship?
For me, this is a discussion about legacy and individual reputation. A founder’s personal brand can extend across several businesses, even when those companies are separate entities.
Founders who want to create more separation between their personal reputation and their company’s reputation need to establish a strong foundation for the business. The organisation needs to be able to stand independently.
I often say that your job is not your life. Founders should build their lives and their businesses separately, even when there is a close connection between the two.
I also encourage founders to build in public. That is part of how I think about developing a business alongside an individual reputation, while recognising that they are separate.
Over the next 12 months, what should Southeast Asian founders pay closer attention to? What practical action would you recommend this month?
I think founders should pay closer attention to people and human relationships as AI, robotics and automation become more common.
My expectation is that real-life interactions and experiences will become more valuable. As more activity is automated, founders may find it easier to lose sight of why they started their businesses and the relationships that matter to them.
One practical action this month is to revisit your mission, alignment, purpose and intention. Be clear about why you are doing the work and what you want the business to represent.
That may sound abstract, but it reflects a pattern I believe will become increasingly important. As technology takes on more activity, founders should keep paying attention to the people and purpose behind their businesses.