花$2赚$1的AI时代,不做IP的创始人正在出局

marsbitPublished on 2026-04-02Last updated on 2026-04-02

Abstract

2026年,知名风投a16z推出为期8周的“storyteller培训计划”,将内容创作者直接派驻被投公司,帮助创始人提升产品发布和内容传播能力。这一举动标志着创始人IP建设从“可选项”变为“基础设施”。 核心背景是获客成本(CAC)急剧上升:过去十年to C产品CAC上涨222%,SaaS行业平均需花$2才能赚回$1年收入,金融行业单客户获取成本超$4000。与此同时,创始人个人内容的有机触达ROI高达388%,其内容带来的潜在客户比公司官号多33%,交易规模大3.7倍,参与度是公司页面的8倍。 AI加速了产品同质化,2024年全球AI公司数量从1.4万暴涨至2.2万,但同年近千家创业公司倒闭。产品功能先发优势窗口从“年”缩短至“3-12个月”。消费者更倾向选择“有真实的人站在背后”的品牌:71%不信任重度依赖AI沟通的品牌,67%愿为价值观一致的创始人品牌多付钱。 案例包括:Sam Altman个人推特影响力超越OpenAI官方账号,一句推文可改变AI叙事走向;Perplexity CEO以零营销预算通过亲自沟通推动估值增长133倍;Midjourney仅20人团队、零广告实现$5亿营收,依赖Discord社区运营;Duolingo以虚拟IP(绿色猫头鹰)人格化品牌,4年月活从3700万增至1.17亿。 创始人IP是放大器,但产品力是1,IP是后面的0。没有过硬产品,IP无法创造价值。结论是,在获客成本失控、AI导致同质化、消费者渴望“人味”的背景下,创始人IP成为AI时代最高效的增长杠杆和最难以复制的壁垒。

2026 年,a16z 做了一件奇怪的事

他们推出了一个8 周的 fellowship 项目——培训的不是工程师,不是产品经理,而是storyteller 和 content creator。培训完之后,这些人直接被派进 a16z 的 portfolio 公司,帮创始人做产品发布和内容传播。

全球最顶尖的 VC,开始系统化地教创始人当 KOL 了。

如果你还觉得"做 IP"是一个可选项,这个信号值得你重新想想。

获客这笔账,算不下去了

先说一个让人不舒服的数字:过去 10 年,to C 产品的获客成本(CAC)涨了 222%。

2025 年,Google Ads 一个付费线索的成本是**$70+**,同比还在涨

SaaS 行业的中位数更离谱——花$2 才能赚回$1的年收入

金融行业一个客户的获取成本超过**$4,000**

不是你投放不够精准,是整个市场都在涨价。隐私法规收紧了精准定位,平台广告位在通胀,竞争对手在抢同一批用户的注意力。

更要命的是,广告停了,流量就归零。 你花了百万投放,获客成本摊下来可能比产品本身还贵。而一旦预算砍掉,之前买来的流量不会留下任何痕迹。

与此同时,有一组完全不同的数据:

  1. 创始人个人内容的有机触达 ROI 是388%——而且会随时间复利
  2. 创始人发的帖子比公司官号多带来33%的 leads
  3. 创始人驱动的交易规模大3.7 倍
  4. 创始人和员工内容的参与度是公司页面的8 倍

同一个市场,两种完全不同的增长逻辑。一种是花钱买量,越买越贵;一种是用人格换信任,越用越值钱。

AI 让产品同质化的速度,快到你来不及反应

2024 年,全球 AI 创业公司从14,000 家暴涨到 22,000 家。每天新增 10-15 个 AI 产品。风险投资翻倍涌入。

听起来很繁荣。但硬币的另一面是:同年美国有966 家创业公司倒闭(Carta 数据),其中大量是 AI wrapper——套了一层壳的 ChatGPT。

产品功能的先发优势窗口,从"年"缩短到了"3-12 个月"。

2024 年 8 月,Google 把 Gemini 1.5 Flash 的输入价格降了 78%,OpenAI 把 GPT-4o降了 50%。底层模型在商品化,上层应用更加同质化。你今天做出来的功能,竞争对手明天就能复制。

这不是 AI 行业的特殊现象。AI 加速了所有to C 产品的同质化——因为 AI 让开发更快、让设计更快、让迭代更快。

当所有人都能在 3 个月内做出一个 80 分的产品时,最后的 20 分差距写在哪里?

消费者在用钱投票:他们选"人",不只是选"产品"

  • 98% 的消费者认为品牌的真实性对建立信任至关重要
  • 71% 的人表示不信任重度依赖 AI 沟通的品牌
  • 52% 的人一旦嗅到 AI 生成的内容,参与度直接下降
  • 67% 的消费者愿意为价值观一致的创始人品牌多付钱

AI 内容越泛滥,"人味"越稀缺。有人味儿的运营是 AI 这个时代的企业生存法则。

消费者越来越倾向于选择"有一个真实的人站在背后"的品牌

这就是创始人 IP 的底层价值——不是"创始人当网红"那么简单,而是在一个 AI 让一切都变得同质化的时代,创始人本人成了品牌最大的差异化资产。

让我分享几个你一定听过的名字

一, Sam Altman — 一个人撑起整个 AI 叙事

Sam Altman 的 Twitter 粉丝 450 万,比 OpenAI 官方账号的 330 万还多。Sora 发布的时候,Altman 发了一条推文问粉丝想用它做什么—— 1500 条评论、700 万次展示。这不是营销部门策划的 campaign,就是创始人本人发了一条推。2025 年 1 月他发了一句"我们很确定知道如何构建 AGI"——没有产品发布、没有技术论文,一句话就改变了全球 AI 叙事的走向。

OpenAI 的估值从 2023 年$290 亿涨到 2025 年的$3000 亿。Altman 的个人 IP 是这个增长曲线中最大的免费加速器。

二, Aravind Srinivas — 研究员出身,零营销预算做到$210 亿

Perplexity 的 CEO Aravind Srinivas 可能是 2025 年最值得研究的案例。他不是网红出身,就是一个 ML 研究员——之前在 OpenAI、Google Brain、DeepMind 做研究。创业后他做了一件事: 自己亲自做所有的产品沟通,从来不委托给营销团队。 在 Twitter 上写研究拆解、解释产品逻辑、直接回应用户反馈。

结果?Perplexity 的估值从 2023 年的**$1.5 亿涨到 2026 年的$212 亿**——133 倍。月查询量7.8 亿次,日均 3000 万。印度用户增长640%——很大程度上是因为 Aravind 作为印度裔创始人在当地的个人影响力。

没有传统市场营销。就是创始人的可信度+产品故事+透明沟通。回头,问你一句,你在你用户社区里面每周多长时间,每天多久呢?

三, David Holz — 零广告,20 个人,$5 亿营收

Midjourney 的创始人 David Holz 更极端。这是零营销预算。团队只有 10-15 个人。2025 年营收$5 亿。用户超 2000 万。

他的策略是什么?定期在 Discord 做"Office Hours"直播——亲自回答用户问题、讨论产品方向、处理版权争议。不做公开发布,所有更新只在 Discord 社区里宣布。用户觉得自己在跟一个"独立研究实验室的理想主义者"一起参与一件事,而不是在用一个公司的产品。这种信任感让 Midjourney 的用户自发在 Twitter 和 Reddit 上传播作品—— 每个用户都变成了免费的营销渠道。

四,另类案例 Duolingo — 不是创始人 IP,但本质一样

Duolingo 没走创始人 IP 路线,虚拟 IP 也是项目 IP: 把品牌变成了一个"人格"。一只绿色猫头鹰在 TikTok 上"发疯"——演算法追踪你、假装死掉、和其他品牌互怼。4 年时间把月活从 3,700 万拉到 1.17 亿。不管是创始人本人做 IP,还是品牌人格化——底层逻辑一样: 在 AI 让所有产品看起来都差不多的时代,消费者需要一个"活的东西"来建立连接。 这个"活的东西"可以是创始人,也可以是一只会发疯的猫头鹰。

五, 也是最后的经典 Elon Musk — 双刃剑的极致案例

说 Musk 不能只说好的。

160M 粉丝,全球影响力最大的创始人 KOL。Grok 靠他的个人推广+X 平台整合,市场份额从 2025 年初的 1.9%涨到 2026 年的17.8%

但另一面是:Tesla 的品牌价值从 2024 年的**$583 亿跌到 2026 年的$276 亿——下降 53%**。2025 年销量下降 9%。原因?Musk 的政治言论引发了大规模消费者抵制。当然了,Elon 是我心中的神所以他也成功攻克了这个问题已经。我放入在哪仅为了更好提供案例让大家方便理解。

创始人 IP 是放大器,放大的是一切——好的坏的都会放大。

这是一个押注创始人懂得做 IP 的时代

VC 的逻辑很直接:创始人的 IP 能力,决定了产品的市场穿透速度和融资效率。

Weber Shandwick 的研究量化了这个关系:企业高管估计他们公司 44%的市场价值直接归因于 CEO 的声誉。 44%——接近一半。

当 VC 开始系统化地投资创始人的个人品牌时,这件事已经从"nice to have"变成了基础设施

但记住:产品力是 1,IP 是后面的 0

说完这些案例,有一句话必须讲清楚。

很多人说我流量很大产品没人用,那么又回到了你产品是否抗打是否有护城河?而你的流量是为了品牌给用户 NDA 打造还是为了蹭而蹭尽你项目压根不需要的热点或者称之为噪音?

创始人 IP 有一个前提:产品力是 1,IP 是后面的 0。没有 1,再多 0 也是 0。

IP 放大的是产品价值,不能凭空创造价值。先有过硬的产品,IP 才有放大的基础。反过来,有好产品但没有 IP,等于 1 后面没有 0——赢是能赢,但赢得很慢。

AI 时代创始人的新必修课

总结一下核心逻辑链:

获客成本失控 → 传统投放 ROI 持续恶化 → 需要更高效的增长方式

AI 加速产品同质化 → 功能不再是壁垒 → 需要新的差异化来源

消费者要"人味" → AI 内容越泛滥,真实性越稀缺 → 有真人站在背后的品牌胜出

三条线交汇在同一个结论:创始人的 IP,是 AI 时代 to C 产品最高效的增长杠杆,也是最难被复制的壁垒。

如果你还没有动手做自己的 IP,如果你还在纠结"公司那么多事情需要处理,做 IP 太花时间了"——那么请你读完这篇文章之后重新审视一下。

从现在开始,DO IT NOW。

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Related Questions

Q为什么a16z要推出一个专门培训storyteller和content creator的fellowship项目?

A因为a16z认识到在AI时代,传统获客成本不断上升,而创始人或团队的个人IP内容能带来更高ROI和信任度,因此系统化地培养内容创作者,以帮助其投资组合公司更高效地进行产品发布和传播。

Q过去10年to C产品的获客成本(CAC)变化趋势如何?这对企业意味着什么?

A过去10年to C产品的获客成本上涨了222%,这意味着企业通过传统广告投放获取用户的成本越来越高,且一旦停止投放,流量就会归零,增长不可持续,迫使企业寻找更高效、更具复利效应的增长方式。

QAI如何加速了产品的同质化?这对创业公司带来了什么挑战?

AAI使开发、设计和迭代速度大幅提升,导致产品功能先发优势窗口从“年”缩短到“3-12个月”,竞争对手能快速复制功能,使得产品差异化,创业公司必须寻找新的竞争壁垒,如创始人IP或品牌人格化。

Q消费者在AI时代更倾向于选择什么样的品牌?为什么?

A消费者更倾向于选择“有一个真实的人站在背后”的品牌,因为AI生成内容泛滥导致“人味”稀缺,真实性和信任变得尤为重要,消费者愿意为价值观一致的创始人或多付钱,并更容易与有真人连接感的品牌建立信任。

Q创始人IP与产品力之间的关系是什么?为什么说“产品力是1,IP是后面的0”?

A产品力是基础,是“1”,没有过硬的产品,IP无法创造价值;IP是放大器,是“后面的0”,它能放大产品价值和品牌影响力,但如果没有产品力这个“1”,再多IP曝光也是徒劳,无法实现可持续增长。

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What is STORY

Understanding Story Protocol: Pioneering a New Era in Intellectual Property Management Introduction to Story Protocol In the rapidly evolving world of blockchain technology, Story Protocol emerges as an innovative solution aimed at transforming the landscape of intellectual property (IP) management. Designed to empower creators, Story Protocol is paving the way for a digital ecosystem that promotes transparency, creativity, and legal empowerment. The protocol operates on the principles of web3, introducing a decentralized framework that allows creators to not only protect but also monetize their works efficiently. In an age where content can easily be reproduced and shared, Story Protocol aims to establish a mechanism that respects creators’ rights and fosters a culture of collaboration. What is Story Protocol? At its core, Story Protocol is an advanced blockchain-based IP management tool that strives to revolutionize how intellectual property is created, managed, and licensed. 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In conclusion, Story Protocol is not just a project; it is a movement towards a more equitable and accessible IP landscape. As the digital world expands, Story Protocol promises to lead the charge, ensuring that creators are acknowledged and compensated fairly for their contributions to culture and society. The journey has just begun, and the implications of such an initiative are profound—not only for creators but for the future of digital content itself.

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Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of IP (IP) are presented below.

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