I will die on this hill…

Zach Yadegari, my former co-founder and CEO of Cal AI, is the smartest guy I’ve ever met (and not just for his age).

I don’t know if you saw, but he just launched Persona, the first AI assistant you can wear and hit over 2M impressions on X.

It basically looks like an OG fitbit, but has agentic AI built right into it.

I wanted to share why this new venture is going to crush and some of the smart plays he made during the announcement of this new business.

Something I don't hear people talk enough about when it comes to marketing and distribution is  counter positioning. 

The idea is that you can find 3 to 5 prominent players in the niche or category you're operating out of and distinguish yourself by highlighting over and over again what makes you different from your competitors. 

You can talk about your content and in ads, and it is just one of the best ways to signal to the market why someone should give a crap about you and at the end of the day give you their money.

If you're active on X at all, I know you've seen at least a few of the high-production launch videos for every new SAAS and AI tool that seems to come out every other week.

Which is why I think it was genius that Zach set up a simple camera at a kitchen table and seemingly shot his whole launch video in one take without any crazy visuals or jump cuts.

Exhibit A of counter positioning: he is letting his personal brand and the product speak for itself and doesn’t try to do too much.

I've talked a little bit about how, during our Cal AI run, that was the age of AI-powered apps, and now, in 2026 and beyond, it's going to become the age of agentic AI apps.

Zach and his team have taken that even a step further by incorporating a physical product, basically creating an agentic AI harness that is easier to market and understand for the everyday consumer.

The wearable tech market is valued at over $30 BILLION according to this recent report, and Is expected to reach $65 billion by 2031.

This matters because they've entered a market that is still growing rapidly, and the average consumer already understands this type of product and have shown they are willing to pay for wearables.

They also have a very reasonable pre-order price point that I'm sure will create insane demand ($179 USD).

With the increase in AI, AI content (whether that's AI UGC or crazy reaction videos), you're starting to see more of the general public gravitating towards things that feel human and tangible.

One of the best offer engineers on X, Josh Gavin, even tweeted recently that he's bringing back physical products for the low-ticket ascension funnels he builds for clients.

People are craving things they can see, feel, and touch, and Zach's new venture provides that with AI technology baked into it.

If I were you, I would continue to keep tabs on what Zach is doing because he seems to always be ahead of the curve when it comes to building and scaling businesses.

Have a great weekend,

- Jake