A product manager’s tale
After a few trips over the holiday period, I’m back into work again.
In preparation for our product soft launch, I logged on to our friends at Serversaurus to reserve the ‘product-name.AI’ domain. You could have knocked me over with one of Grok’s dodgy pics, $340 (for 2 years), that’s 10X the other domains we’ve reserved. You can imagine how this Scotsman felt about shelling out that kind of money…
After a bit of digging, I found out some interesting info, which I thought would make a fun blog.
So it turns out that .AI isn’t a generic web domain (like .com or .net), it’s the country code Top Level Domain of the small island of Anguilla (which I have to admit I hadn’t heard of). With the AI boom, this tiny Caribbean paradise (population 16k, size 26x5km) hit the jackpot. They realised that they could monetise their country code Top Level Domain by selling .AI to non-residents. This was initially providing a steady revenue but since the release of chatGPT and the AI boom, they have raked in millions (in 2026, they expect to earn $100m – that’s half of their GDP). The money is being used to pay off debt, build infrastructure, fund social programs and build climate resilience. Good to know not everyone in the AI bubble is just in it for themselves – respect!
You’ve got to feel for nearby Antigua and other A countries that missed out. Although maybe this unexpected bonanza will backfire… if Dangerous Donald finds out about this precious resource in his backyard, they may well get a visit from the gun boats…
Back to this country, we’ve mainly avoided the Sydney summer crowds (and sharks) with trips to the Blue Mountains, South West Rocks and our annual trip, South of the border, down Mexico / Melbourne way.
We drove this time (couldn’t find a dog-sitter), it’s a long way but so comfortable and easy in an EV. It was seriously hot (up to 45C), I am not built for that kid of weather, not sure anyone is… As well as a day at the tennis (only 24C thankfully), I squeezed in a couple days of work meetings.
The innovation scene in Melbourne is vibrant with a wonderful energy, I especially enjoyed the Commons co-working spaces I visited. I met with tech founders, policy shapers, social impact leaders and sustainability activists. I didn’t grab pics (or ask permission) so I won’t name names – you know who you are. Thanks for your generosity, mental stimulation and inspiration.
Having diverse, rambling discussions is probably some peoples’ idea of fluff, or hell. For me, however, as a progressive, future focused, big picture generalist, patterns really start to make sense when there are many balls up in the air (colliding off each other in unexpected ways). When I tried to initiate these types of discussion in the corporate world it inevitable got shut down (not my lane, above my pay grade, do some real work). In a micro-business, everything is in your lane, it’s all an opportunity and a risk, so it’s fun to indulge this type of trans-disciplinary thinking.
While I’ve been galavanting around the country, Mike has been hard at work and our first product is “this close” to alpha launch. In all the discussions we’ve had (with trusted advisors and potential partners/customers), we have gained a really clear picture of the particular problem we are solving and the initial target audience. This looks slightly different than we first imagined – but it’s exciting to know that others feel the pain of the problem we are passionate about solving. As a tech CEO said to me last week, “just give it to me now, I don’t care what state it’s in”…
I’ve been in and out of product development for years, I used to run courses to train others on the topic. Yet it’s very different when it’s your own company and a product you’ve built from scratch. A seasoned entrepreneur reminded me that we need to work out what our special sauce is and double down on that (given that most customers only value a small subset of the whole feature set). This was a timely reminder to step back and remain objective, to not get lost in the weeds of your product.
To all those I trained and coached, do as I say, not as I do!
Huge thanks to all our friends who have provided honest and valuable feedback to demos. It’s absolutely shaped what we’ve built, the order we are prioritising features and our go-to-market strategy.
The schools are now back, lots of excited kindy kids in new uniforms, lots of tired looking teens whistling past on E-bikes, gridlock on the roads. While Summer may not be over, it certainly feels like the holidays are.
And for those who require closure on the anecdote, yes, I reserved the domain, please spend it wisely, Anguilla.
Happy new year
Ewan (and Mike)
