I'm Art Harrison. I've started businesses, sold one, made some expensive mistakes, and found plenty of ways to get in my own way.
These are short, true stories about work, money, ambition, relationships, and starting over. I talk about what happened, what I thought I was doing, and what I make of it now. Sometimes there's something useful in the gap.
For anyone building something, changing direction, or trying to work out what they actually want from the life they're working so hard to build.
I Accidentally Erased a Year's Work on My First Business
I thought I was backing up a year's work on my first business. I erased it instead. I was broke, living in my parents' basement, and trying to decide whether I could face starting again.
What got me back to work was a bit of arithmetic I kept doing about the people who stopped along the way. The '10% rule' in this story was how I talked myself into continuing; those percentages aren't measured odds of success.
00:00 The math I used to keep going
00:49 Erasing a year's work
01:48 The campus job that gave me the idea
02:34 Taking the first step
02:59 Sticking with the work
03:57 The setback and another decision
04:29 Sitting down to rebuild
05:09 Why I kept showing up
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I'm Art Harrison. I tell stories about work, money, starting businesses, and starting over, usually because something didn't go the way I thought it would.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtHarrison (https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtHarrison)
26 Oct 2026
The Best Thing I Got From My First Startup Pitch Wasn't a Yes
My first startup pitch was at Y Combinator. I didn't get in. I did get a $700 travel-reimbursement check, and the battered photocopy is still one of my favorite things I own.
I'd applied almost on a whim and managed to treat Paul Graham like tech support. But I chose the first interview slot for a reason. There was something I wanted from that day that didn't depend on getting a yes.
00:00 The $700 check I kept
00:42 Applying without knowing much about YC
01:31 Treating Paul Graham like tech support
02:15 Travel money and my first pitch
02:59 Getting more out of the trip
03:19 Choosing the first interview slot
04:08 The people I stayed in touch with
04:56 Looking beyond the person who can say yes
05:52 What that check reminds me to do
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I'm Art Harrison. I tell stories about work, money, starting businesses, and starting over, usually because something didn't go the way I thought it would.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtHarrison (https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtHarrison)
24 Oct 2026
I've Built Companies and I Still Ask AI If My Ideas Are Good
I kept asking ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini whether my business ideas were good. If an answer wasn't enthusiastic enough, I'd rephrase the question. Then I'd take the answer to another AI and ask it to check.
I've built companies, made pitches and taken plenty of risks. I still fall into that reassurance loop when my confidence is low. It's made me look at the difference between getting advice and needing permission to trust my own judgment.
00:00 Confidence and a career of trying things
00:40 Trying to press the call button
01:17 What confidence means to me
01:51 Asking AI whether my idea is good
02:32 Why reassurance does not build my confidence
03:21 Looking for small wins
03:50 Still being scared before I start
04:40 The phone-battery comparison
05:27 Building enough confidence to try
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I'm Art Harrison. I tell stories about work, money, starting businesses, and starting over, usually because something didn't go the way I thought it would.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtHarrison (https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtHarrison)
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