Talking to YouTube
If you want to get smart, the question you have to keep asking is “why, why, why?”
-Charlie Munger
One of the more powerful and intellectually enriching uses of AI is to converse with a bot which simulates an expert. This is even more powerful if you can feed the AI useful content, like an article or a video.
It’s easiest to explain by example. Recently, I came across this tweet. Anduril is well outside my circle of competence, but inside my circle of curiosity, so I decided to explore further.
To do this, I installed a free plugin which sends the transcript to Claude, and asked Claude to summarize the video for me. I used a plugin with my custom prompt, which is:
“Pretend that you are the author of this transcript, and your goal is to write a clear summary of what you talked about. Start by introducing yourself. It should be in your own voice. Feel free to quote the transcript if helpful. Should be about 1000 words.”
That summary was good (I think!), but the real magic happens in the follow-up questions.
Here were my questions.
Interesting. Can you go into more detail about the tribal leaders part?
The title of the video mentioned 10 rules. What, specifically were those 10 rules?
Their strategy seems to borrow a lot from military tactics, counter-insurgency etc. Which makes sense, given their domain expertise. Do you think these tactics are more effective in certain industries than others, and why?
Of note these were good questions, but not amazing ones. Mostly, they reflect simple curiosity on my part, and my ability to be an active, critical reader rather than a passive consumer.
Claude’s answers were very good, and in particular its answer to my third question was truly insightful. Excerpt:
I do think there are certain industries and company archetypes where this kind of approach is likely to be more effective and necessary. Startups operating in heavily regulated, entrenched, or politically charged sectors often face a tougher communications challenge. Think industries like defense, healthcare, energy, financial services, etc.
In these domains, incumbents and special interests may feel threatened by disruptive new players and use their influence to stir up opposition. Moreover, the stakes are often higher in terms of potential real-world consequences, which invites greater scrutiny and criticism. Startups need to be prepared to aggressively make their case and defend their right to operate.
By contrast, a consumer mobile app or enterprise SaaS startup may have an easier time generating positive buzz and riding the momentum of customer adoption without having to resort to more combative tactics. They're less likely to face the same level of entrenched resistance or ideological opposition.
That is good stuff!! Genuine insight, the real McCoy. While it’s true that I (the human operator) planted the seed, there is no question that Claude took the idea further than I could have on my own… and in about 10 seconds.
All told, I spent perhaps 15 minutes interacting with this content, including typing my questions and reading the responses. And since I am publishing this about 3 weeks after the fact, I can report that I have retained my memory of this content much more than I remember videos which I watched passively.
Anyways, here is the full interaction.
Claude
Sure, I can provide a summary of this conversation in my own voice. Here goes:
Hi there, Claude here. I recently had the pleasure of listening to a fascinating discussion between Trey Stephens, co-founder of the defense technology company Anduril, Lulu Cheng Meservey, a communications expert, and Mike Solana, the host. The conversation centered around Anduril's strategic communications approach in the early days of the company.
One of the key takeaways for me was the importance of founders taking an active, leading role in driving the communications strategy and narrative for their company. As Trey and Lulu emphasized, you can't just outsource this to a comms team - the founders' unique knowledge, passion and storytelling ability is critical for shaping an authentic, compelling narrative that will resonate.
Another crucial point was the need to be very targeted and selective in your communications approach. You have to first identify your key business goals, then determine which specific audiences you need to reach and influence to achieve those goals. Trying to become a "nationally beloved brand" is usually the wrong approach for startups. Instead, focus with laser-like precision on winning over the people who really matter to your mission.
This means identifying key "tribal leaders" and influencers in your space, briefing them, and getting them on board to help amplify your message. It's far more effective to have trusted third parties advocating for you than trying to reach everyone yourself. At the same time, in today's media landscape, it's vital that founders leverage direct channels to get their story out unfiltered.
Trey and Lulu also discussed how to handle the near-inevitable attacks and criticism that innovative, disruptive companies tend to face, especially in fields like defense tech. The key is to expect and even embrace the opposition - use it as fuel to fire up your team and supporters. Be proactive in addressing likely critiques upfront. Importantly, make it painful and unrewarding for attackers to come after you. As Lulu put it:
"Every time they attack you, it should be unpleasant for them and they should not want to do it. It should create the opposite of job security for them, it should create the opposite of prestige for them."
While Trey admitted that constantly having to repel attacks and "say the thing again and again" can feel annoying and pointless in the moment, it's crucial for implanting your narrative. And over time, if you stay the course, you'll start hearing your own deliberately crafted messages and phrases coming back to you from others.
The final key point was that playing defense is never really over for a successful, high-growth startup. As Lulu explained, "The only version of peacetime is the company is failing and no one cares about you anymore." If you're winning, you'll always have detractors trying to tear you down. The communications strategy may evolve, but you can never take your foot off the gas.
This discussion provided a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how one of the most impressive young technology companies out there approached the vital task of strategic communications. The insights shared by Trey and Lulu, and skillfully drawn out by Mike, offer valuable lessons for any founder looking to define and defend their company's narrative in a noisy, often hostile media environment. I know I personally took away a lot from this fascinating conversation.
Ethan
Interesting. Can you go into more detail about the tribal leaders part?
Claude
Absolutely, the concept of identifying and winning over "tribal leaders" to help spread your company's message was one of the most intriguing insights from the discussion.
Lulu described how in the early days of Anduril, she and Trey devoted significant time and effort to meeting with key influencers in the defense and technology space - people who, if they bought into Anduril's vision and potential, could become powerful advocates and help rapidly scale the company's reach and credibility.
As she put it: "What you want is amplifiers, and the way that you spread a message is to find 10 of those and then have them go out and tell 10 people and have them go out and tell 10 people, as opposed to you trying to tell everybody at the same time."
The benefits of this approach are multifold. First, having your story told by respected voices in the industry or community you're operating in confers an authenticity and authority that is difficult to achieve on your own as a young startup. People are more likely to pay attention to and trust the perspective of established leaders versus a new entrant proclaiming their own importance.
Second, these tribal leaders have follower networks that allow your message to spread far beyond your own direct reach. Convincing one highly connected node in the network unlocks access to many more. It's a highly leveraged and efficient way to build awareness and credibility.
Third, tribal leaders can help translate and customize your story for specific sub-audiences in ways that will resonate with them. As Lulu noted, "They actually know who to talk to more than you would." This targeted dissemination is far more effective than a one-size-fits-all broadcast approach.
Interestingly, Trey and Lulu focused primarily on proactively identifying and cultivating these tribal leader relationships themselves, rather than waiting and reacting to inbound interest. This makes sense for the defense industry, where deep subject matter expertise and relationships are key. But I would imagine the principle applies more broadly - figure out who the most important voices and nodes are in your ecosystem and find ways to connect with them and bring them into your circle.
The tribal leaders concept links back to the overall theme of being highly strategic and targeted in communications. It's about efficiently building credibility and buzz where it matters most. For a startup, that's a far better use of limited time than trying to blanket the general public with a message that likely won't stick.
Identifying and cultivating those key tribal relationships early seems like one of the most high-leverage investments a founder can make from a communications and network-building standpoint. It's not necessarily the kind of thing that makes headlines, but it can be incredibly powerful in shaping the trajectory of a young company.
Ethan
The title of the video mentioned 10 rules. What, specifically were those 10 rules?
Claude
You're absolutely right, the discussion was framed around 10 key rules for mission-driven founders from a piece that Lulu wrote about Anduril's communications strategy. Let me list out those 10 rules for you:
1. Start with the ends: Begin by clearly defining your business goals, then reverse engineer your comms strategy to serve those ends.
2. Go direct: In today's media landscape, it's crucial for founders to directly share their story and vision through their own channels and voices.
3. Nail the narrative: Thoughtfully construct the core narrative you want to imprint about your company, and relentlessly hammer it home through consistent repetition.
4. Act like an insurgent, not an incumbent: Embrace your role as a disruptive upstart and use it to your advantage. Trying to placate everyone is a losing strategy.
5. Increase pressure by decreasing surface area: When facing attacks, zoom in and concentrate your counter-offense on a specific weak point or individual to divide the opposition.
6. Inner circle comes first: Always start communications from the inside-out, ensuring your own team is fully aligned and bought in before engaging externally.
7. Win over the tribal leaders: Identify, cultivate and arm key influencers in your space who can become force-multiplying advocates for your mission.
8. Turn FUD to fuel: Expect fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) and use it to fire up your team and supporters. Proactively address critiques to defang them.
9. Take more risk: Startups that try to play it safe and avoid bold, even controversial stances will struggle to cut through the noise. Calculated communication risks are essential.
10. Stay the course: Inevitably, you will face headwinds, attacks and unfair coverage. You have to persist and continually reinforce your core narrative over the long haul to win.
These rules provide a roadmap for founders looking to strategically shape the communications battleground and proactively define their company's narrative. While the specific tactics may vary by company stage and industry, the core principles of going direct, starting with clear objectives, mobilizing authentic advocates, turning attacks to your advantage, and relentlessly staying on message are broadly applicable. Mastering the communications game is essential for mission-driven founders who aim to build something impactful.
Ethan
Their strategy seems to borrow a lot from military tactics, counter-insurgency etc. Which makes sense, given their domain expertise. Do you think these tactics are more effective in certain industries than others, and why?
Claude
You raise an astute point about the parallels between Anduril's communications strategy and military doctrine. Given the founders' deep expertise in defense and their focus on national security customers, it makes sense that they would draw inspiration from concepts like counter-insurgency, exploiting asymmetries, and shaping the battlefield.
I do think there are certain industries and company archetypes where this kind of approach is likely to be more effective and necessary. Startups operating in heavily regulated, entrenched, or politically charged sectors often face a tougher communications challenge. Think industries like defense, healthcare, energy, financial services, etc.
In these domains, incumbents and special interests may feel threatened by disruptive new players and use their influence to stir up opposition. Moreover, the stakes are often higher in terms of potential real-world consequences, which invites greater scrutiny and criticism. Startups need to be prepared to aggressively make their case and defend their right to operate.
By contrast, a consumer mobile app or enterprise SaaS startup may have an easier time generating positive buzz and riding the momentum of customer adoption without having to resort to more combative tactics. They're less likely to face the same level of entrenched resistance or ideological opposition.
That said, I believe the core principles around proactively defining your narrative, mobilizing supportive voices, and not ceding the communications battlefield are widely relevant for ambitious startups. Even if you're not literally fighting a counter-insurgency, you are still waging a battle for mindshare, talent, and resources. You can't afford to let others control your story.
Another key factor is the founder's appetite for bold, proactive communications. Some entrepreneurs are instinctively more conservative and risk-averse when it comes to taking strong public stances. But as Trey and Lulu argued, trying to stay above the fray is often a losing strategy for insurgent startups. You have to be willing to ruffle some feathers and polarize people to break through.
This founder mentality may be more common in mission-driven companies where the team is motivated by a deeper purpose beyond pure profit. They're willing to take on more risk because they so strongly believe in what they're doing. We see this not just in defense tech, but also in fields like biotech, greentech, and the passion economy.
Ultimately, I believe most high-growth startups will face some level of concerted opposition as they scale. Adopting a proactive, asymmetric communications strategy to define and defend the narrative is increasingly essential. Even if you're not using explicit military doctrine, embracing the core mindset of an insurgent force can serve founders well. The specific tactics may look different, but the underlying principles are the same.
How this works
One time setup
I installed the free plugin “Youtube Summary with ChatGPT and Claude”
I created a custom prompt:
“Pretend that you are the author of this transcript, and your goal is to write a clear summary of what you talked about. Start by introducing yourself. It should be in your own voice. Feel free to quote the transcript if helpful. Should be about 1000 words.”
I selected Claude 3 Opus as my preferred model.
When watching a video, I can click a button, which:
Parses the audio into a transcript
Sends my prompt along with the transcript to Claude
Opens a new window, where Claude prepares a response
Then, I can converse with the expert to my heart’s content