Founders don’t need another tool telling them how to write. What we need is a way to sound like ourselves while still moving fast. Investors, early users, and future hires can smell canned copy from a mile away. If your launch notes or fundraising updates sound like they were spit out by a machine, you lose trust before you earn attention.
Here’s my trick. I draft fast, then run the text through an ai detector. Not to play cop, but to highlight lines that read cold, generic, or overpolished. Those are my edit magnets. I rewrite them in my own rhythm, add a story, and keep the jargon count near zero.
Why authenticity beats algorithmic shine
People don’t remember “innovative solutions.” They remember how your product solved a stubborn, oddly specific problem. Write like you talk to a friend who pays for software. Swap generic claims for real moments: the bug that ruined your Sunday, the customer quote that changed your roadmap, the scrappy experiment that finally moved a metric. Precision is persuasive. It also happens to be very hard for a model to fake convincingly.
People don’t remember “innovative solutions.” They remember how your product solved a stubborn, oddly specific problem. Write like you talk to a friend who pays for software. Swap generic claims for real moments: the bug that ruined your Sunday, the customer quote that changed your roadmap, the scrappy experiment that finally moved a metric. Precision is persuasive. It also happens to be very hard for a model to fake convincingly.
A lightweight workflow you can steal
- Draft in one burst. Don’t edit.
- Read it out loud once. Wherever you stumble, mark it.
- Run the draft through the detector. Note the flagged sentences.
- Replace each flagged line with something you observed, measured, or learned.
- Cut every filler phrase you can’t defend.
- Add one proof point a human would know and a model wouldn’t, like an internal metric delta or an unexpected user behavior.
- Ship it. Perfect is too slow for a startup.
Signals that make writing feel human
- Timelines: real dates and sequences instead of vague “recently” and “soon.”
- Constraints: what you couldn’t do and why you chose the tradeoff.
- Texture: names, geographies, niche tools, quirky edge cases.
- Contradictions: an assumption you held, then overturned with data.
- Ownership: say “we” and “I” when it’s truly yours; attribute when it isn’t.
Where AI still helps without taking the wheel
Use models for grunt work, not your voice. Summarize a customer interview, cluster feedback themes, or propose ten headline angles. Translate tone from formal to casual. Generate alt text for images. Draft a changelog skeleton. But the final words should pass the founder-on-a-call test: could you say this on a Zoom with your best customer and feel credible?
Make small pieces useful
Your audience is skimming on the train or between standups. Serve them slices, not speeches. Swap a wall of text for a short list of what you changed, what you learned, and what’s next. End with a single clear ask. When readers act, reward them with a quick reply. Momentum is a content strategy.
The tiny editorial ritual
Before you hit publish, answer three questions: What did we actually do? What surprised us? What should a smart reader try now? If your post answers those with concrete detail—and your detector scan doesn’t light up like a Christmas tree—you’re writing like a human who builds things. That’s the voice people follow, fund, and root for.
About the author: Anna Kovalenko
Startup writer and Early-stage Operator helping Founders turn messy notes into clear stories and measurable launches. Focused on product-led growth, honest metrics, and practical AI in daily workflows. Mentors Pre-seed teams and runs scrappy go-to-market experiments.
