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Can either of us actually sell? And does the most famous sales scene in movie history teach the wrong lesson?

Before we get into it, a quick AI update on who is responsible when AI misbehaves:

• A new government AI group, the Superintelligence Force, chaired by Jay Clayton, with 120 days to study AI's risks and opportunities
• A bipartisan bill from Senators Hawley and Murphy that would make AI agent operators and developers criminally and civilly liable when their agents hack other systems
• A New York City Council hearing where OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google were asked to guarantee their public AI agents would always follow safety rules, and none would
• A rough week for OpenAI: Sam Altman's comments on lighter rules, three safety researchers fired, and a nonprofit lawsuit

Then today's topic: do you know if you're being sold?

In this episode:

• The worst pitches we've made, and the worst pitch someone made to us
• What Harvard research says about why asking questions makes people like you more
• What the Wolf of Wall Street pen scene gets wrong, and what the real Jordan Belfort said about it, plus the caveat we say out loud about his history
• Do top sellers actually talk less than everyone else?
• Our game: sell a random object. A stapler, a single sock, a bag of ice, duct tape, a phone charger and a coffee mug
• The worst product reviews ever, including a one-star bag of ice from a Chick-fil-A Yelp page
• Is urgency a trick or real selling?
• How Landon opens outreach with a question about the business instead of a pitch
• Listener questions: the biggest technology mistake businesses make, where to start with AI, and how to know if AI is helping or creating more problems

This week's challenge: before you pitch anything, ask one more question, then stay quiet and listen. Tell us in the comments: the last time you were sold something, did the seller ask about you first?

Next week: a special guest, model Fred Kpoto, on how he made it in the modeling world.

Founders Unfiltered is hosted by the Vorena Team (Landon and Tayseer). Real people. Real ideas. A more honest tomorrow.

All our links: https://linktr.ee/foundersunfilteredpodcast Vorena AI: https://vorena-ai.com