Most founders are using ChatGPT wrong. Not because they lack skill. Because nobo
By Maria Gharib · October 8, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Most founders are using ChatGPT wrong.
Not because they lack skill.
Because nobody ever taught them the actual rules.
One-line prompts on complex problems.
No context, no constraints, no examples.
Blind trust in whatever comes back.
Zero verification before it feeds into a real decision.
I saw this constantly before.
Founders who could nail a 40-slide pitch deck.
Then completely fumble a ChatGPT prompt.
Treating it like a search bar instead of a collaborator.
That gap cost us real time when we were scaling.
Half the team assumed it already knew our numbers.
The other half never explained what they actually wanted.
Both ended up with mediocre output and no idea why.
Now, I see the same pattern daily.
The founders who fix this move noticeably faster than everyone else.
Not because they're smarter.
Because they stopped guessing.
Here's the full list.
Save it for your next session.
10 things to stop doing:
✘ Vague one-line prompts on complex tasks
✘ Assuming it knows today's news, prices, or laws
✘ Uploading a file with no explanation of what you want
✘ Treating memory or chat history as a substitute for real context
✘ Letting agentic tools take action without checking scope first
✘ Pasting passwords, keys, or confidential data into a chat
✘ Trusting high-stakes answers without verifying them yourself
✘ Using Study Mode or Deep Research to skip real thinking
✘ Assuming every feature is available on every plan
✘ Using multimodal tools in ways that ignore consent or copyright
10 things to start doing instead:
✔ Write clear prompts with goal, context, constraints, and format
✔ Use Search or Deep Research for anything time-sensitive
✔ Explain exactly what you want from an uploaded file
✔ Use Projects and Memory to preserve context that actually matters
✔ Use Tasks and connectors for recurring, scoped work
✔ Use Data Analysis instead of manually crunching numbers
✔ Use image tools to actually create, not to shortcut thinking
✔ Use Study Mode to learn it, not just copy the answer
✔ Use Voice and Record with consent, every single time
✔ Review the output before it touches a real decision
We built our last company on tools nobody had mastered yet.
This one's no different. A tool only compounds once you know how to hold it.
Most people are still holding it wrong.
Learn AI for free: https://lnkd.in/d3p96JwZ
If this is useful, stick around.
More of this every week.
Know a founder still writing one-line prompts?
Send this their way.
What's the one you're guilty of on this list?
Genuinely curious.