Early Days #17: Feed Filter AI by Ted Thayer

<p><strong>Summary:</strong></p> <p>In this episode of Early Days, Car sits down with Ted from Feed Filter AI to explore using AI as a tool to enhance user experience on social media by filtering out unwanted content.</p> <p>They discuss the role of Feed Filter AI in content curation, the challenges of social media today, and the importance of understanding user needs in early-stage products.</p> <p>Ted shares hard lessons from earlier startups, the importance of shipping with live user feedback, and why he’s building Feed Filter AI as a company for the Bitcoin era, where privacy, ownership, and open networks matter.</p> <p><strong>We explore:</strong></p> <ul> <li>How to Make Social Media Great Again!</li> <li>Where does the moat live? User-owned rules, privacy, compounding models</li> <li>What to measure? Junk removed, time saved, retention</li> <li>User-controlled filters that run across X and Instagram</li> <li>Cutting social noise so users get their attention back</li> </ul> <p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p> <p>00:00 Problem framing: noise steals attention, AI gives it back</p> <p>03:11 Context over keywords: how the model reads text, images, memes</p> <p>06:33 UX realities: overwhelm, friction, drop-off—what actually fixes it</p> <p>09:55 Market entry: where Feed Filter wins first, initial wedge</p> <p>12:21 Feedback loop: ship weekly, instrument everything, learn fast</p> <p>16:15 Filtering engine: user rules, aggregation, precision at scale</p> <p>20:55 Roadmap and future app rollout</p> <p>25:05 Founder scars: what previous startups taught Ted that transfers</p> <p>40:30 Surviving the trough: cash, focus, and saying no</p> <p>48:13 Past pivots (incl. health tech): extracting playbooks, not baggage</p> <p>58:07 Post-mortems that matter: what to keep, what to kill</p> <p>01:02:53 Building for the Bitcoin era: privacy, ownership, open networks</p> <p><strong>Learn more about <a href="https://www.feedfilter.com/">Feed Filter AI</a></strong></p> <ul> <li>Download Feed Filter AI for <a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/idldcmphciipkhgnfbmajfjnhgdmjgoe">Chrome</a></li> <li>Follow Feed Filter AI on <a href="https://x.com/FeedFilter_">X</a></li> <li>Follow Ted Thayer on <a href="https://x.com/TedThayer_">X</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Subscribe to</strong> <strong><em>Early Days</em></strong> wherever you get your podcasts — and don’t forget to <a href="https://linktr.ee/earlydays21%E2%81%A0">leave a review!</a></p> <p><strong>Special thanks to our sponsor, VENTAC</strong> – trusted legal resources built for founders.</p> <p>From contracts to foundational and fundraising docs, VENTAC makes it easy and affordable to get the support you need to build.</p> <p><strong>Save 10% with code:</strong> <em>PlebLab</em> <a href="https://myventac.com/?aff=PlebLab">https://myventac.com/?aff=PlebLab</a></p> <p><strong>Follow Car:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/car-gonzalez-52190a369/"><strong>⁠LinkedIn⁠</strong></a></li> <li><a href="https://stacker.news/ThrillerX_">⁠<strong>Stacker News</strong></a> <a href="https://stacker.news/ThrillerX_">⁠</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Apply to</strong> <a href="https://www.pleblab.dev/#pricing">⁠<strong>PlebLab</strong>⁠</a></p> <p><strong>Learn more about</strong> <a href="https://pleblab.dev/">⁠<strong>PlebLab</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://pleblab.dev/">⁠</a></p> <p><strong>Build with PlebLab Online:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://stacker.news/~builders"><strong>⁠~Builders Territory on SN</strong></a></li> <li><a href="https://pay.zaprite.com/order/od_Ft1FcLT8LC"><strong>Online Builder Pass</strong></a></li> <li><a href="https://www.plebtv.com/login"><strong>PlebTV</strong></a></li> </ul> <p>PlebLab is a group that supports Bitcoin's success through free and open-source development. 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