Bringing Old Business Back

Everyone's talking about AI disruption of work and jobs. Headlines shout about artificial intelligence reshaping industries, transforming operations, revolutionising product development. Yes, AI is a massive catalyst. But it's getting all the credit for a business change that was already underway, one built on something far older than algorithms.

Asset Abundance

Before we'd even heard of ChatGPT, something quieter was happening. The volume of ready-made assets exploded. Templates for everything. Solved problems in neat packages. No-code platforms that make developers optional. Pre-built components and solutions that turn months of development into hours of assembly.

We've moved from scarcity, where everything had to be built from scratch, to abundance, where the question isn't "how do we build this?" but "which existing solution do we adapt?"

It’s mad that digital production was hand-built when even traditional industries moved to automation decades ago.

The Mindset Shift

This abundance bred a new philosophy: reuse over reinvention. Copy over creation. Good enough over perfect. The businesses thriving today aren't obsessing over bespoke perfection, they're smart enough to stand on existing foundations.

Your grandfather built his fence from raw timber. You bought pre-cut panels and spent the weekend on something that mattered more.

The £400k Delusion

That custom solution you spent £400k building? It's probably not meaningfully different from the £40 template in a marketplace somewhere. The enterprise software you're paying six figures for? A founder with the right toolkit could replicate its functionality for £100 and a few weeks setup.

Companies that once wore custom development like a badge of honor are now asking: "Does this bespoke feature move the needle, or are we burning cash to feel special?"

Efficiency as Survival

The shift toward efficiency isn't philosophical, it's existential. Rising costs and tighter margins have forced a brutal reckoning with waste. Every pound spent reinventing the wheel isn't invested in actual competitive advantage.

Smart businesses realised that innovation isn't about building everything from scratch. It's about combining existing assets in ways competitors haven't thought of yet.

The Old Business

While AI deserves credit as an accelerant, the real transformation comes from embracing this old reality. The companies winning are just doing good business. They spot, adapt, and deploy existing solutions faster than competitors can commission alternatives.

Your advantage isn't having the biggest budget. It's having confidence to move fast, adapt freely, and build what people need while competitors debate requirements.