Jason Toy is the founder of the 88stacks AI image generator, which provides easy-to-use and affordable tools to democratize access to generative modeling and images. Jason believes that everyone should have the opportunity to explore and create with generative technology, regardless of their technical background or expertise.
To achieve this goal, 88stacks is dedicated to developing innovative solutions that simplify the process of generative modeling and image creation, while also offering comprehensive training and support to our users. Jason has a strong passion for machine learning and artificial intelligence, where he has contributed significantly to both practical implementation and cutting-edge research.
What is 88stacks all about?
88stacks is a platform for AI enthusiasts and marketers to tell stories through images. The platform allows users to create images of anything to use for visual storytelling, marketing, visual assets, or anything else.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company.
I’ve always loved the idea of using machine learning and visual storytelling together and I’ve been playing with generative AI since 2016. The technology was not ready at that time for general users, but in the summer of 2022, the technology made huge leaps forward. So I started to explore the technology again and built products for people to use the technology.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
To be successful, an entrepreneur must have:
- A learning mindset. It is paramount to always look for ways to improve what you are doing, your processes, and your ideas. Embracing a learning mindset involves staying open to new ideas, seeking feedback, and being willing to adapt in response to evolving market conditions. Entrepreneurs who are receptive to learning are better equipped to identify inefficiencies in their processes, seize emerging opportunities, and stay ahead of their competition.
- Strong communication – Being able to articulate your vision, your ideas, and thoughts will make you unstoppable. This can be on paper or when speaking. A strong communicator can inspire and mobilize their team, garner support from investors and partners, and engage customers effectively. Effective communication enables entrepreneurs to convey their value proposition compellingly, negotiate deals, resolve conflicts, and more.
- Adaptability – Entrepreneurship is an unpredictable journey filled with ups and downs. The ability to adapt to changing circumstances is essential. Successful entrepreneurs need to be resilient and maintain a positive attitude when facing obstacles and setbacks. They must embrace change, learn from failures, and quickly pivot their strategies when needed.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
We plan to go into video and animation after we have conquered images. Our long-term vision is to help bring technologies like the holodeck from Star Trek into our lives.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
There are many competitors, but we are creating tools specifically for marketers and story-tellers. We want to make it as easy as possible for non-technical people to use this technology. We have built lots of tools and technologies around non-technical people.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
- Not being customer-focused enough. Just focusing on cool technology is not enough—we need to make sure we are solving problems for real customers.
- Not thinking larger scale – This company was started right when the generative AI exploded. We are at a point in time where technology is moving at exponential speed. With these AI tools available, we need to think about how to move much faster.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Our system is able to recognize trends and news and help content creators create stories. We look at what is being talked about around the word and are constantly creating little stories and snippets about the news to be discussed and shared. This helps us ensure that we are always part of the discussion.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
On the technical side, our original image quality was pretty low. People wouldn’t share our content, but over time we have dramatically increased the quality. We did this by following the process of kaizen, a management philosophy and methodology focused on making small, incremental changes and improvements to processes, systems, and products in order to enhance efficiency, quality, and overall productivity.
What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?
The original version trained custom models of people and objects. So we could train a model that was an expert at generating pictures of Benjamin Franklin. Lots of people used that , but it was computationally expensive to do and I wanted people to be able to play with the system faster.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’ve been studying the art of storytelling and how to tell more compelling stories. Having a great story is important to stick out from the thousands of other generative AI companies.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
I played with a couple of different business ideas in the beginning because I wasn’t sure which one made sense and which had product market fit. I would have focused only on this idea and not played around with the others to help focus and save time, but I couldn’t have known that ahead of time.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
Here are the top 3 online tools and resources I’m using to grow my business:
- Google.com/analytics – I use this to help track usage on our site.
- We use Trello for issue and ticket management, and overall operations for the company.
- We also use Chatgpt to accelerate everything — engineering, marketing, human resources, training, ideation, and more. Learn to add these large language models into your company processes and you will move faster than the competition.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
I fill my calendar with time for deep work, work that will move the needle forward. Then every morning I review my list of to-dos and change those deep work slots to specific action items I need to work on. This forces me to use my allocated time for my important tasks. This has been a life changer.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
My favorite book for entrepreneurs is ‘Zero to One’. Peter Theil gives expert advice on how to build a startup.
What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is:
‘Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.’
Know thyself and reflect on your issues and you can make great progress.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
My biggest tip is to make time to move the business forward every single day. This compounding interest will help push you through even when you feel like nothing is happening.
How can readers get in touch with you?
To get in touch, you can visit my website at 88stacks.com. You can also reach me on LinkedIn.
