Leveling Up with Eric Siu

Everyone is chasing AI software, but the biggest opportunity may actually be services. In this video, Eric explains why top investors are betting on services-as-software, how AI is reshaping agency and consulting business models, and why the future belongs to companies that sell outcomes instead of labor. He breaks down managed growth loops, AI-powered operating systems, and the new organizational structures that will separate winners from everyone else. If you're building an agency, consulting firm, service business, or AI startup, this video will change how you think about growth, valuation, and the next decade of opportunity. Chapters (00:00) Why Services Beat SaaS (01:13) The $1 Software vs $6 Services Opportunity (02:52) Why Managed Growth Loops Matter (04:49) Agents, Loops, and Human Judgment (06:43) How Single Brain Powers AI Service Businesses (07:22) The Services-as-Software Manifesto (08:41) The New AI-Native Org Chart (10:13) Building Outcome-Based Offers (11:13) Final Thoughts

Most people are still using AI like it is 2023. They use ChatGPT like a search engine, ask random questions, and stop there. In this video, I break down the three levels of AI usage from open loops to end to end workflows to fully closed loop systems that recursively improve themselves over time. I walk through practical examples including travel planning workflows, AI sales systems, autonomous agents, Slack based collaboration, YouTube content packaging, investment research, and how I personally use Hermes and OpenClaw agents every day. I also show how AI agents can work together inside Slack, connect to tools like Google, Meta, SEO platforms, X, and internal systems, and become true thought partners instead of simple chatbots. If you want to actually understand how to use AI for leverage instead of just experimentation, this is the framework. Chapters: (00:00) Why most people use AI the wrong way (00:23) Open loops vs end to end workflows vs closed loops (01:18) Building repeatable AI workflows (02:44) How recursive self improving systems work (04:18) Why autonomous agents matter (05:02) How I use Hermes and OpenClaw daily (06:00) Using AI for YouTube content and research (06:45) AI investing research and thought partnership (08:25) Running multi threaded workflows inside Slack (09:11) Why closed loop systems are the future

Here’s why most AI agent systems break once they touch real business operations. The issue is not intelligence. The issue is control. Most companies are building disconnected prompts with no evaluation systems, no approval layers, and no recursive learning loops. That works for demos, but it falls apart when agents start touching production systems, ad spend, customer data, or outbound communication. The better approach is treating agents like an operational command system. Hermes becomes the control tower that launches goals, evaluates outputs, routes approvals, stores learnings, and continuously improves future execution while humans stay in the loop for anything high risk. In this video I break down how the AI optimization lab works, why recursive self improvement matters, how approval gates protect revenue and reputation, the difference between safe autonomy and dangerous autonomy, and how to structure agents that continuously move the business forward without creating operational risk. Chapters: (00:00) The real problem with AI agents (00:54) AI optimization lab explained (02:00) Hermes as the control tower (03:26) Safe autonomy for businesses (04:56) Why approval gates matter (06:01) Human approval for risky actions (07:42) Recursive self improvement loops (09:20) Scaling autonomous systems (10:31) Using Hermes to grow revenue faster

Here’s the real difference between OpenClaw and Hermes when it comes to actually making money with AI agents. OpenClaw has the bigger ecosystem, more integrations, more community support, and way more features. Hermes is newer, but it’s faster, more reliable, and learns alongside you over time through persistent memory and skill files. In practice, that means OpenClaw feels like the execution layer, while Hermes feels more like the brain. In this video I break down where each agent wins across reliability, security, features, and community, how we structure them inside our “single brain” system, why reliability matters more than features for business use cases, and the exact way we’re thinking about deploying agent fleets inside companies right now. Chapters: (00:00) OpenClaw vs Hermes overview (00:28) What OpenClaw already helped us achieve (01:05) Why Hermes feels more stable (01:23) The 4 categories that matter most (01:52) How our team uses agents inside Slack (02:25) Reliability problems with OpenClaw (03:14) Security tradeoffs and risks (04:23) Why OpenClaw still wins on community (05:05) Feature comparison between both agents (05:44) Why reliability matters most for business (06:07) Hermes as the “brain” and OpenClaw as execution (06:54) Final verdict on which agent wins today

👉 Growth Newsletter for top marketers: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe If I had to start SEO from scratch in 2026, this is exactly what I’d do. Traditional Google SEO isn’t dead but it’s no longer enough. You have to win across Google, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, and AI search like ChatGPT and Perplexity at the same time. In this video, I break down the five shifts that matter now. Search everywhere optimization. Freshness and content velocity. AI workflows that 10x output with humans in the loop. And how to actually measure success when AI mentions matter as much as rankings. If you’re still playing the 2020 SEO playbook, you’re already behind. Chapters 00:00 The 5 things you must get right in 2026 01:31 Traditional SEO plus AI SEO 02:09 Search everywhere optimization 07:19 The content freshness system 09:25 AI workflows with humans in the loop 12:38 Playing the long game and new metrics How to Connect IG: / ericosiu X: / ericosiu 👉 Get 25k Words of AI-Powered SEO Content: https://clickflow.com/ 👉 Single Grain - Ad Agency focused on innovation https://www.singlegrain.com

👉 Growth Newsletter for top marketers: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe OpenClaw might be the closest thing I’ve seen to an infinite money glitch for business. In this video, I break down the real revenue use cases inside my company. Reviving dead deals with deep CRM context. Booking meetings with companies like Google. Writing X articles that consistently pull 50k to 100k views. Generating YouTube ideas based on what’s actually working. Acting as a business strategist on hardware, compliance, and growth decisions. Running SEO audits that surface millions of wasted impressions. Even sourcing senior hires. This isn’t theory. These agents are plugged into my CRM, Gong calls, Slack, Telegram, and website right now. If you’re thinking about AI as a toy, you’re missing the point. Chapters 00:00 The OpenClaw infinite money glitch 00:36 Deal resurrector and pipeline revival 03:26 AI-written X articles driving distribution 05:33 YouTube strategy and revenue positioning 08:25 Business strategist and event planning 13:32 Agent round table and mission control 17:06 Recruiting and SEO automation How to Connect IG: / ericosiu X: / ericosiu 👉 Get 25k Words of AI-Powered SEO Content: https://clickflow.com/ 👉 Get 25k Words of AI-Powered SEO Content: https://clickflow.com/ 👉 Single Grain - Ad Agency focused on innovation https://www.singlegrain.com