The Layman's AI: First Update (+ a win I didn't expect this fast)

Hey buddy,

Quick one this week — an update on Experiment #2.

If you're new here: I'm Kris. Every issue I break down a real side hustle with honest numbers and no fluff. Once in a while I run a live experiment and document it in real time. Right now, that experiment is a second newsletter I launched called The Layman's AI — practical AI guidance for small business owners, written in plain English. You can catch the full backstory here.

For everyone else: let's talk about what's happened since I hit send on that launch email last Friday.

The wins

I'll start with the one I genuinely didn't see coming.

The Layman's AI already has its first sponsor.

Justin French from The Revenue Ronin reached out and locked in a sponsorship spot. Two issues in. Zero paid promotion. I set a goal of landing the first sponsor at 1,000 subscribers — we're nowhere near that yet.

I'm not reading too much into it. One sponsor doesn't mean the model works. But it does mean the positioning landed fast enough that someone opened their wallet, which tells me the niche is real.

First issues are live. Open rates are early but promising. The format is working the way I hoped — short, scannable, actually useful.

What the newsletter actually looks like now

When I announced this, I described a 3-section format. I've since refined it into four sections that feel tighter:

• Tool of the Week — one AI tool, one real use case, one honest verdict

• The Practical Play — a step-by-step workflow you can copy this week

• News That Matters — the one AI update that actually affects how you work

• Skip This — the overhyped tool or trend you can ignore right now

That last section has been the most popular one so far. Turns out people love being told what not to pay attention to.

Where I'm at on the goal

Original target: 1,000 subscribers in 90 days.

I'm not dropping exact numbers yet — too early and too noisy to mean anything. Ask me again in 30 days when there's a trend line to look at, not just a starting point.

What I can say: it's moving. Reddit is doing its thing. The cross-promotion angle (WiFi Moolah readers → Layman's AI) is the channel I'm most curious about — which is part of why I'm writing this.

If this sounds like something you'd read

The Layman's AI is built for small business owners and side hustlers who want to use AI to work faster — without spending hours figuring out which tools are actually worth it.

If that's you, or someone you know:

→ Subscribe free here:

Back to the regular side hustle breakdowns next week. I've got something lined up that I think will surprise you.

Talk soon, Kris

P.S. If you subscribed to The Layman's AI after last Friday's email — thank you. You're officially part of the experiment.