Kilby: The Intelligent AI Agent
Powered by Claude Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6
Kilby early access: HERE
EARLY ACCESS TO KILBY: We are offering early access to our intelligent AI Agent - Kilby (named after Jack Kilby, who invented the first integrated circuit (IC) at Texas Instruments in 1958).
1.) UNIQUE EXPERIENCES: Kilby’s differentiated IP - we gave Kilby various experiences so that users may prompt Kilby and receive a different output based on the experience that the user assigned to Kilby, such as “Tech CEO”, “CFO”, “Portfolio Manager”, “VC”, “Software Engineer” and a number of other distinct “experiences”.
2.) BIG BRAIN: Kilby’s brain - Claude Opus & Sonnet 4.6.
3.) BYOK: Kilby is a BYOK model for power users, meaning users bring their own API Key.
4.) CHAT WITH KILBY: Users engage with Kilby in the chat as with other LLMs. No terminal offering yet.
5.) “EARLY ACCESS”: meaning Kilby’s primary automations are with Google Workspace, and it will be 2-6 weeks before Google complete’s Kilby’s audit. Until then, when users connect their setup to Google Workspace, they see Google’s scary warning about Kilby not being a recognized developer. That warning will go away in April and Kilby Android and iOS will roll out in April and June respectively.
Ask Kilby: “We’re burning $200K a month with 18 months of runway. Should we cut costs or push for growth?”
KILBY’S ANSWER THROUGH THE LENS OF A TECHNOLOGY CEO:
“That depends on one number you didn’t give me: what’s your revenue trajectory doing right now? But here’s the real framework:
Cut if:
- Revenue is flat or declining
- You haven’t found product-market fit yet
- Burn is funding operations, not growth
- Your next raise is uncertain or 12+ months away
At $200K/month, 18 months is not as safe as it sounds. By the time you run a process, close a round, and get cash in the bank, you’ve consumed 6–9 months. Real runway is closer to 9–12 months.
Push if:
- Revenue is compounding meaningfully (20%+ MoM)
- You have clear evidence of PMF
- A raise or revenue inflection is within 6 months
- The growth spend has a measurable, short payback period
The honest answer for most companies in this position:
You’re probably doing neither well enough. The most common mistake is spending like you’re growing when you’re actually just burning. The second most common is cutting so deep you kill the momentum that was actually working.
What I’d actually do:
Audit the burn in 48 hours. Separate growth spend from operational overhead. Cut overhead ruthlessly — that’s not strategy, that’s hygiene.
Protect the 2–3 things driving real user or revenue traction. Don’t touch those.
Kill everything else. Tools, contractors, experiments that haven’t converted in 60 days.
Then decide if you push. With a cleaner base, you’ll see clearly what’s actually working.
What’s the revenue trend look like? That’s the swing variable here.”
KILBY’S ANSWER THROUGH THE LENS OF A VENTURE CAPITALIST:
This is a capital allocation decision, and the right answer depends on a few variables — but here’s how to think through it clearly.
The Core Tradeoff
$200K/month burn × 18 months = ~$3.6M in the bank.
That’s not a crisis, but it’s not comfort either. The real question isn’t “cut or grow” — it’s where are you on the product-market fit curve?
Two Scenarios
1. Produt Market Fit (PMF) is unclear or early
If retention is soft, NPS is meh, or users aren’t pulling the product — cut first, then grow.
Burning into ambiguity is the classic startup mistake. You’re essentially paying to learn slowly. Tighten to 24+ months of runway, reduce the noise, and find the signal.
Target: Get to $120–140K/month burn. Extend runway to 24–30 months. Now you have time to iterate without a clock forcing bad decisions.
2. Product Market Fit (PMF) signal is real
If you have strong retention, organic pull, or a replicable GTM motion with positive unit economics — push growth, but do it surgically.
Not “spend more everywhere.” Find the one or two channels with proven CAC/LTV and pour into those. Everything else gets scrutinized.
Target: Keep burn where it is or slightly higher, but tie every dollar to a metric with a 90-day feedback loop.
What I’d Actually Ask First
What does the revenue curve look like? Flat, up, or accelerating?
What’s driving the $200K? People, infrastructure, sales, marketing?
Do you have a term sheet in process or are you relying on organic milestones to raise?
What’s the next fundable event? You need 6 months of runway past that to negotiate without desperation.
The Honest Default
18 months feels long, but a raise process takes 4–6 months minimum. That means you have roughly 12 months to create a fundable narrative. That’s tight.
If you don’t have strong PMF signal today, I’d cut to 24+ months of runway now — not because growth doesn’t matter, but because optionality is worth more than speed when the product isn’t ready to scale.
What does the revenue curve look like? That changes the answer materially.