Going Short On Growth

Bob van Luijt is co-founder and CEO of the popular open-source AI-native vector database Weaviate.

As the CEO of an AI infrastructure company, I find myself in constant dialogue with customers, analysts and partners, exploring how AI can transform their businesses. These conversations often brim with excitement and potential—until I ask one deceptively simple question: "How do you see AI bringing value to your business?"

The responses are usually variations on a single theme: cost savings. One guest on a recent podcast panel told me how AI could reduce the number of developers on his team. Another described compressing two weeks of sprint work into a single week. While these examples are tangible and practical, they reveal a pervasive mindset—that AI’s value lies in reducing, trimming and cutting.

And that’s where I pause, because as a CEO, I can’t help but think: Saving a dollar is fine, but making a dollar is better—especially with AI.

The Ceiling Of Cost-Saving Thinking

Let me frame this with a simple metaphor. Imagine you start with $100. If your goal is cost-saving, the best outcome is you claw back toward zero. But if your focus is on making a dollar, the upper limit disappears. When you invest in growth, that $100 can become $200, then $300 and beyond. In other words, cost-saving has a floor, while growth knows no bounds.

This is what I call going short on growth. It’s a subtle, almost reflexive habit that business leaders often fall into when thinking about AI—or, frankly, any new technology. The mindset defaults to trimming costs because that’s easier to grasp, easier to calculate and easier to sell to stakeholders. However, focusing solely on cost savings is like taking a short position in your business' future. You’re betting against growth, against the potential for innovation to create entirely new streams of revenue.

The Cognitive Comfort Of Short Positions

There’s a reason this happens. Going short is intellectually comfortable. It’s straightforward to say, “AI will save us 10% on this line item,” because you’re operating within a familiar framework. Short-term gains are immediate, quantifiable and predictable.

But going long on growth—that’s hard. It requires imagining what doesn’t yet exist. It means reframing AI not as a tool to save hours or dollars but as a lever to create exponential value. It demands that you think beyond "How do I reduce the cost of a sprint?" to "How do I use AI to create an entirely new product, service or market?"

This kind of thinking is uncomfortable because it demands a leap of imagination. It forces you to embrace uncertainty, take risks and potentially fail. But it’s also where transformation lives.

The Growth Flip

Here’s a simple exercise for business leaders grappling with AI’s potential. The next time someone asks you how AI can help your business, pause before answering. Reflect on whether your response focuses on cutting costs or creating value. Are you going short on growth, or are you going long?

If you are going short, simply flip the argument.

For example, if your initial argument is to reduce the number of software engineers in your organization thanks to AI, ask yourself why AI should increase the number of engineers (e.g., you can now be even faster to market than competitors, allowing you to grab more value before they do).

As creators and leaders, it’s our job to push past the intellectually easy answers. AI is not just a tool for efficiency; it’s an enabler for possibility. But unlocking that potential requires the courage to look beyond saving dollars and focus on multiplying them.

It's Time To Build

Ultimately, the decision to go long on growth reflects a more profound philosophy about your business. It’s about the willingness to bet on abundance rather than scarcity, to embrace complexity rather than simplicity and to see AI not as a way to cut costs but as a partner in creating new futures.

So ask yourself: Are you shorting growth? Or are you taking the long position, investing not just in AI but in your own imagination and ambition?

Because when it comes to growth, the sky’s the limit, and especially now, it's time to build.

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