A few weeks ago, Reese Witherspoon posted a video telling women to learn AI or risk getting left behind. The pushback was immediate. The Cut called it the "girlbossification of AI," lumping Reese in with Mel Robbins and Sheryl Sandberg as women selling other women on adoption-or-die. Taylor Lorenz went further on Power User, breaking down what she dubbed the AI "Hot Girl Economy" and how tech giants are using aesthetic trends to repackage AI for women, mothers, and teen girls.

All of that is fair critique. But underneath the noise, a different conversation was happening among the women I was actually talking to. They weren't anti-AI. They were anti-being-talked-down-to. They wanted in. They just wanted in on their own terms.

That gap is what became the Women's AI Challenge, a collaboration with Jenny Stojkovic, Sabrina Ramonov, Aditi Mishra, and Aria K. that pulled in more than 7,000 signups in a few days. Here's what I took away from how it came together, in case you're sitting on something you want to build fast.

Pay attention to the conversation already happening. The Reese video was controversial, and the controversy itself was the signal. There was clearly an audience the debate wasn't serving, and as people who cover and use AI every day, we didn't need to argue. We needed to build something useful for the women stuck in the middle. When a topic in your space goes viral and the response splits, that's a green light, not a distraction.

The right collaborator is usually one well-timed conversation away. Right after Reese's post hit, I happened to have a meeting with Jenny. Right place, right time. We agreed we were stronger together and pulled in three more creators covering AI. You don't need to manufacture the perfect partner from scratch. Look at who's already in your orbit talking about the same thing you are.

Move while the moment is open. I'll be honest. An idea this big would have been overwhelming for me solo. I already have a lot on my plate. But because Jenny stepped into the lead and five of us were splitting the work, we had enough gas in the tank to push it forward fast. If we'd waited for everything to feel perfect, we'd have missed the window entirely. Momentum is the asset. Spend it.

Launch loud, on every channel you have, on the same day. We released the announcement video together, with all five of us in it, then pushed it across Instagram, LinkedIn, and our newsletters. Five creators posting the same launch on the same day doesn't multiply your reach by five. It's closer to ten, because every audience trusts a different voice in the room. If you have collaborators, use them on day one. Not as a slow rollout.

The launch is the start of the work, not the finish line. People who signed up are getting content delivered straight to their inbox, but we're each also taking over a week of the challenge with public tips across our channels. That keeps new people discovering it, keeps participants engaged, and keeps the conversation moving past the initial spike. Most launches die because nobody keeps showing up after week one.

Real credit goes to Jenny, who has been the engine behind all of this. But the bigger takeaway for me is that we're stronger in numbers. Women lifting each other up gets results no individual brand play can match. If you've been sitting on something that feels too big for one person, find your collaborator, move while the moment is open, and keep showing up long after the launch.

You can join the Women's AI Challenge here. I'll keep sharing tips in The Alpha as the 30 days unfold.

I'm hosting Realities of Mental Health in the Creator Economy with Creators 4 Mental Health, in partnership with Matt Steffanina's Mad Chill and Movember.

Join us for an afternoon of honest conversation and actual tools — grounding exercises with Jordana Reim, a burnout and boundaries session with Dr. Raghu Appassani, iJustine, and Sidney Raskind in collaboration with the Creators Guild of America, and a Self-Trust Over Self-Pressure workshop with Isaiah Frizzelle. Snacks from That's It, drinks from Olipop, networking after at Gran Blanco.

Always on, always creating, at what cost. Let's actually talk about it, then do something about it.

RSVP here — approval-based, space is limited.

I'm co-hosting Creator Run Club with Grace Ling and Chris Flight. Free, open to anyone in the creator economy. We run, we mingle, we move before we open our laptops.

It's powered by Creators 4 Mental Health, the nonprofit I founded to make well-being a real pillar of creator culture. We talk about burnout. Less about what we do about it. Showing up on a beach, in motion, is one of those things.

RSVP here

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