Vol. I·Sunday, August 16, 2026
Makersfuel
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Sunday, August 16, 2026 · Vol. I

Where founders learn the unsexy half of building.

You can ship software. Getting anyone to notice is the other job. Jams, essays and a room full of people doing it the same week as you.

Next jamCold outreach that gets repliesOpens Mon, Aug 17 · 48 hrsJoin

Five-minute read. Three tools. No spam.

964Makers signed up
3AI tools in the portfolio

Jams

48 hours, one non-technical skill, one expert who answers questions about your product.

All jams
Jam No. 01Opens soon

Cold outreach that gets replies

Two days to build a cold outreach sequence you would actually send, and write down the workflow that produced it.

You get: An expert on your product, everyone’s workflow, and a thing you shipped

Expert to be announced1 makers in
Starts in

Built by Makersfuel

Three AI tools, built by the same desk that writes the essays.

The Portfolio

Three AI tools, built by the desk you’re reading
  • No. 01Agents

    Makersclaw

    Configurable agents for every startup role.

    Drop-in agents for recruiting, qualifying, writing, shipping. Plus agentic playgrounds for your own experiments.

    teams of 1–5 who want their headcount to feel like 20

    Try it
  • No. 02Infrastructure

    Assistiv.ai

    The complete AI backend, dropped into any startup.

    One layer for models, agents, retrieval, traces, billing, and rate limits. Add it to any app and ship AI features in a weekend instead of a quarter.

    anyone shipping AI features without building the backend twice

    Try it
  • No. 03Coding

    AskCodi

    The coding desktop, with a swarm built in.

    Works with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, or AskCodi's own multi-model subscription. Multiple agents on one task.

    technical founders who write most of their code with help

    Try it

The publication

Essays, teardowns and playbooks for founders shipping with AI.

All writing

Lead story

JULY 15, 2026Startup Blogs

The AI Startup Layoff Tracker (2024–2026)

We tracked 24 verified AI startup layoff events across 22 companies from 2024 through mid-2026. The reverse acquihire is now the dominant AI exit. Here's the full table, the pattern, and what it signals for founders raising in 2026.

Shreyans Bhansali
Read the essay
Recent

From the desks

Four beats, one publication

More from the desk

Longer reads, for when you have the afternoon.

The archive
MAY 28, 2026YC Applications

GitLab — YC Application (W15)

GitLab applied to YC in 2015 already at ~$1M revenue, growing 60% a month — and turning down a $10M acquisition offer. Six years later it IPO'd at ~$11B. Here's the actual application, reproduced word for word, with where it landed.

Shreyans BhansaliRead
MAY 28, 2026YC Applications

Dropbox — YC Application (S07)

Drew Houston got into YC with a screencast and a few paragraphs — and most of the company is already visible in the answers. This is the 2007 application, reproduced word for word, with where Dropbox actually ended up.

Shreyans BhansaliRead
MAY 27, 2026Pitch Decks

Airbnb Pitch Deck

Three guys, air mattresses, and 14 plain slides — the deck Airbnb used to raise its $500K angel round. Here's what it does that most decks don't, slide by slide, plus the original PDF.

Shreyans BhansaliRead

The Dispatch

What comes next

What we learned building with AI, and what the makers here shipped. Sent when there is something worth saying, not on a schedule.

Five-minute read. Three tools. No spam.

The archive

Every essay, teardown and playbook. Pull one off the shelf.

All writing

9 volumes on the shelf

Everything here, in your inbox

The Dispatch: what we learned building with AI, which jam is open, and what the makers here shipped.

  • Every jam announced before it opens
  • New essays, teardowns and playbooks
  • What people actually shipped, and the workflow behind it

Five-minute read. Three tools. No spam.