The Friction Test: Quit or Keep Going

This episode is a gut check for founders heading into 2026.

In this episode of KP Unpacked, KP sits down with Nick to unpack a question every builder eventually faces: are you pushing through healthy friction or slamming into an immovable wall? From startup shutdowns to lifestyle businesses to full resets, they explore how to make clearer decisions when time (not money) is the real constraint.

This conversation spans the very practical (how founders are using AI tools daily to replace entire workflows) to the deeply strategic (why AI adoption has become a diligence filter) to the speculative-but-serious (how autonomy, robotics, and AI in the physical world could reshape where and how we live).

If you’re a founder, operator, or investor trying to decide whether to grind, pivot, or quit, this episode will sharpen your judgment.

Key topics covered

• The “friction test”: how to tell the difference between productive resistance and a dead end
• Why time should be treated as capital and how that reframes shutdown decisions
• AI as a new baseline skill: why hours per day in tools like Claude are now table stakes
• How non-technical founders are building real products from scratch using AI
• Why AI adoption is becoming a red-flag test in founder diligence
• Real-world AI in high-stakes environments (including life-or-death decision-making)
• Eliminating “thought mind work”: how automation reduces stress and extends founder longevity
• Big bets on the physical future: autonomous vehicles, robotics, VTOLs, space hotels, and living farther from cities without the commute tax

If you’re navigating 2026 planning and wondering whether to double down or walk away this episode is for you.

Listen now.

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