What defines the entrepreneurial dream in an AI-first world?

Read the full What the Future: Success issue

The promise of success draws people to entrepreneurship. And there’s no place where success feels as possible to achieve this way as it does in the U.S., and especially Silicon Valley. Laura Behrens Wu, founder and CEO of shipping platform Shippo, is a modern example. She pivoted her own early e-commerce challenges into a logistics platform to empower small businesses to compete with retail giants. 

Now, as AI reshapes business, entrepreneurs like Behrens Wu and her customers face a new future of competitive challenges. AI not only makes it easier than ever to start a business, it also creates fresh disruptions. Behrens Wu acknowledges AI’s potential impact on her business and how it could shape her dream. “We know that logistics will be done differently in an age of AI, but we don't really know how just yet,” she says. But she asserts that human creativity and authenticity will be critical differentiators, even in an AI-first world.

Kate MacArthur: AI is making it easier for anybody to start a business, but corporate giants are getting bigger. What does that tell you about the future of American capitalism?

Laura Behrens Wu: Companies that are getting started have that advantage of not working with all the baggage built up over years. They're able to be nimble from and rethink and design processes in an AI-first way. E-commerce is not going away, and in a world of AI, people want to be human. They want to stand out and buy things that are made by other humans.

MacArthur: How has your idea of the American dream shifted since starting Shippo 10 years ago?

Behrens Wu: I'm originally from Germany. My co-founder is from Germany as well. We came to the U.S. both as interns for other tech companies. And we managed to start our own business and raise venture funding for ourselves and grow a company to the size it is right now with roughly 300 employees all around the U.S. and some internationally as well. I'm really honored to be living the American dream. This is something I don't think we could have accomplished in any other country. Entrepreneurs are taken seriously here in America, or in San Francisco, more so than in any other place around the world.

MacArthur: AI can create a sea of sameness. How might this shape entrepreneurship going forward?

Behrens Wu: Right now, everyone's applying AI to their product somewhat randomly. Within the next year, we'll see which of those applications are actually useful and which were just chasing the buzz.

MacArthur: What do you consider success?

Behrens Wu: We've built a lot of products our customers are satisfied with, but this AI revolution is making me a little nervous. What are the right shipping products for the future of logistics? It's a never-ending treadmill to constantly adapt to market needs, customer needs and new technology.

MacArthur: What about as a person?

Behrens Wu: I had a kid recently, and I look at my kid and feel extremely successful. I've made the most beautiful kid out there.

MacArthur: The agentic shift seems to be the future. How are you factoring trust into that innovation?

Behrens Wu: We've started talking about how to appeal not just to a human customer, but to Claude or ChatGPT, which are making those recommendations. In the future, there might be a final human decision-maker, but all the research about what tools are best to use and bringing forward a recommendation will be done in an agentic way. And probably eventually the final decision will be done in an agentic way.

MacArthur: Is there a difference between the global definition of business success and how it’s viewed in America?

Behrens Wu: In Germany, in order to be taken seriously or to raise funding, you have to have a track record. We were first-time founders. We didn't come from prestigious U.S. universities. The first Shippo investor literally said, “I'm not sure your idea makes sense, but you have that entrepreneurial sparkle in your eyes,” and wrote us a $25,000 check. And people believe more in that entrepreneurial drive. Failing and learning from your failure is not as stigmatized in the U.S. compared to other countries, where you don't get a second chance.

MacArthur: What opportunities make it easier to be successful as a founder?

Behrens Wu: As long as you're solving a problem that customers really have, you get a lot of open-mindedness from the customer to use a product that is new and less proven. Of course, San Francisco is full of other startups, so being able to tap into a hiring market of people who have worked at companies of a similar stage before and working at an early-stage company is pretty intense.

MacArthur: What barriers make it harder for future entrepreneurs?

Behrens Wu: Right now, the AI craze. Everyone is looking to invest in AI, and everyone is trying to figure out what's going to happen with these new tools. I think people are going to remain creative, and human creativity is probably the main thing we'll ask for.

For further reading:

• The Ipsos AI Monitor 2026
• How the American Dream is shifting for entrepreneurs
• How tech is helping companies future-proof their supply chains