■ In this week’s Backchannel:AI startups say the promise of turning dazzling models into useful products is harder than anyone expected. Three founders discuss what it takes.
Julie Bornstein thought it would be a cinch to implement her idea for an AI startup. Her résumé in digital commerce is impeccable: VP of ecommerce at Nordstrom, COO of the startup Stitch Fix, and founder of a personalized shopping platform acquired by Pinterest. Fashion has been her obsession since she was a Syracuse high schooler inhaling spreads in Seventeen and hanging out in local malls. So she felt well-positioned to create a company for customers to discover the perfect garments using AI.
The reality was much harder than she expected. I had breakfast recently with Bornstein and her CTO, Maria Belousova, to learn about her startup, Daydream, funded with $50 million from VCs like Google Ventures. The conversation took an unexpected turn as the women schooled me on the surprising difficulty of translating the magic of AI systems into something people actually find useful.
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