How to Launch a Successful AI Startup: Essential Steps, Tools, and Strategies for 2025

AI startups say the promise of turning dazzling models into useful products is harder than anyone expected. Three founders discuss what it takes.

Julie Bornstein thought it would be a cinch to implement her idea for an AI startup. Her resume in digital commerce is impeccable. She served as VP of ecommerce at Nordstrom and COO of the startup Stitch Fix. She also founded a personalized shopping platform acquired by Pinterest. Fashion has been her obsession since she was a Syracuse high schooler. She inhaled spreads in Seventeen and hung out in local malls. So she felt well-positioned to create a company for customers to discover the perfect garments using AI.