Welcome to Curiously Chase.
This newsletter is a place where three of my biggest passions come together:
The journey of being a startup founder
The evolution of AI
The pursuit of thoughtful productivity without losing our human touch.
If you're navigating any of these worlds—or all three—this space is for you.
What you'll find here
Startup insights — Lessons and reflections from my own founder journey, from building Plumb to navigating the highs and lows of startup life.
AI perspectives — My take on where AI is headed, how it’s reshaping industries, and what it means for all of us.
Productivity, thoughtfully applied — Practical guides and insights for integrating tools, systems, and a bit of AI into your daily work—so you can move faster, focus better, and still feel like yourself.
Some weeks, you'll get a step-by-step workflow breakdown.
Other times, it's an essay on the state of AI or a candid reflection on the startup grind.
No matter the format, you’ll find real, field-tested insights meant to help you do better work.
Who this is for
Startup founders — Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, you'll find lessons from the front lines of building and leading a startup.
AI enthusiasts and professionals — If you want to keep up with where AI is going and what it means for your work, you’ll feel at home.
Productivity seekers — Anyone looking to integrate automation thoughtfully into their daily workflows without losing the human element.
If you’re balancing the art of building, the evolution of technology, and the discipline of automation, you’re in the right place.
Who I am and why I write
I’m Chase Adams, cofounder of Plumb, a no-code platform for building AI-powered workflows.
I’ve spent years navigating the startup world, building products, and figuring out how AI and automation can make us more effective without losing what makes us human.
I write this newsletter because I believe that sharing the real, unpolished journey—the wins, the failures, and the in-between—is the best way to help others on the same path.
What makes this different
In a sea of AI generated content, this newsletter stands out by being:
Practical and grounded — Real insights from real experience, not just theory.
Balanced and thoughtful — Focused on integrating AI in ways that enhance, not replace, human creativity.
Honest and evolving — Open about what’s working, what isn’t, and what I’m still figuring out.
Topics I Write About
This newsletter covers the real work of building with AI, automation, and systems—from both a technical and human perspective.
The content is based on what I’m learning day to day while building Plumb, working with AI creators, and navigating the messy middle of startup life.
Here’s how I think about the topics I cover:
Applied AI
Where AI meets the real world. I write about how AI gets implemented in projects, what breaks, what surprises us, and how to make it more reliable.
AI Concepts
Big-picture thinking about how we use AI, and what it means to build with it. I unpack the mental models, principles, and patterns that shape how we work with these tools.
Automation in Practice
Practical breakdowns of the workflows I’ve built—or rebuilt—to make work more efficient. Sometimes it’s simple, sometimes it’s edge-case hell, but it’s always honest.
Automation Strategy
Reflections on why we automate, what’s worth automating, and what we lose if we don’t ask those questions. I write about automation not as a shortcut, but as a tool for leverage.
Founder Insights
Notes from the front lines of startup life—things I’m learning (or unlearning) about building a company, managing uncertainty, and leading without pretending to have all the answers.
Startup Operations
Behind-the-scenes thinking on how we run things at Plumb: systems, decision-making frameworks, and the operational glue that keeps us moving without burning out.
Technical Deep Dives
Posts where I go under the hood. From schema structures and error handling to infrastructure decisions and constraint design—this is the part of the newsletter for the system thinkers.
Process Design
How to build processes that are clear, flexible, and actually followed. Whether it’s internal tools, onboarding flows, or consultant-client handoffs, I share what we’ve learned about making work smoother.
If you’re someone who cares about clarity, systems, and doing meaningful work with modern tools, you’ll find something here for you.
Explore a Few Pieces
Four Flavors of AI—and When Each Tastes Like Failure
Not all AI is the same. This post breaks down the four major types of LLM-based interactions—Chat, Agent, Workflow, and Copilot—and shows how each solves a different kind of problem (and how they go wrong when misapplied).When AI Automation Collides with Chaos
Before you automate, you need a real system. This piece explores the gap between ambition and reality—and how to turn messy processes into something AI can actually help with.This 1 Trick Turned AI Code Fixes from Garbage to Gold
Linting errors and bad prompt loops can kill your flow. Here’s a practical fix: turn noisy tool output into repeatable prompt structures that actually produce useful code.The Pink Elephant in the Room
Why telling AI what not to do often backfires—and how to reframe your prompts to avoid unintended results. A quick experiment that exposes a deep flaw in how language models process negation.AI Isn’t Magic
A grounded take on AI’s real capabilities, and why being a technological pragmatist might be the most useful stance right now. Less hype, more clarity.Your AI Chatbot Is Stuck in the Past—Here’s Why That Matters
The hidden cost of temporal drift in AI tools—and how it affects memory, context, and trust. If you’re building anything conversational, this one’s essential.How AI Might Change the Way We Think
A reflective look at how AI shapes not just how we work, but how we form ideas, make decisions, and build things. It’s less about productivity, more about cognitive process.Buried, Built, Reborn
A personal essay about going deep into the work, tearing down what didn’t fit, and emerging with a clearer sense of direction—for both product and self.
There’s more in the archive. Some are hands-on. Others are reflective. All of them come from real work, shared in real time.
Subscribe if it feels right
If you're building AI-powered workflows, navigating startup chaos, or just trying to work with modern tools in a more intentional way—this newsletter was made for you.
Subscribe to get practical, grounded insights from someone in the thick of it.
What to expect
New issues most weeks—never spam, never filler
Writing that values clarity over hype
A thoughtful perspective on how to use AI and automation without losing what makes your work yours
And yes, you can hit reply. I read every message.
From the liminal space between spark and structure,
Chase ✨🤘
