The guy who helped turn "Birds Aren't Real" into a movement just made Enron TikToks (and a Y2K website)

Hey Everybody,

So I'm about to spend $28 on a t-shirt...

From the "nuclear energy division"... Of the biggest corporate fraud in American history.

But here's the twist that makes this story INSANE...

The guy selling it to me? Connor Gaydos. Co-author of the Birds Aren't Real book.

You know... the satirical conspiracy theory that convinced thousands of people that all birds are actually government surveillance drones.

And now Connor's making TikToks about ENRON's fake nuclear division.

Plus he built an e-commerce site that looks like it time-traveled from 2000.

Complete with early internet fonts, retro colors, and my personal favorite touch...

A disclaimer that it "no longer works on Netscape."

Because apparently when you're resurrecting corporate fraud... You commit to FULL historical accuracy.

Let me back up... Connor bought the ENRON trademark for $275.

Then created a completely fictional "nuclear division"... Complete with corporate website, employee portal, and something called "The Enron Egg."

(There's literally a picture of this thing sitting on a coffee table.)

But the REAL genius move? The e-commerce site where you can actually BUY this stuff. It's a perfect time capsule of early 2000s web design.

The kind of site that makes you nostalgic for dial-up internet and AOL Instant Messenger. Besides where else can you buy an ENRON ashtray?

And he's documenting the whole thing on TikTok...

Dead serious videos about Enron's "energy solutions." Corporate-style content that's so convincing...

You forget you're watching performance art about a company that collapsed in scandal 20+ years ago.

And you know what? This reminds me of another "impossible" success story...

Remember when Poo Pouri launched?

A company that makes... toilet spray. Not exactly the sexiest product category.

But instead of trying to be "professional" about it...

They leaned INTO the absurdity. Made viral videos about unicorns and rainbows.

Turned something nobody wanted to talk about...Into something everybody was sharing.

Both Connor and Poo Pouri figured out the same secret:

In a world of vanilla sameness...

Being counterintuitive is your competitive advantage. Everyone expects bird conspiracy theories to be serious. Connor made it satirical.

Everyone expects toilet companies to be embarrassed about what they sell. Poo Pouri made it magical.

Everyone expects corporate resurrection attempts to be respectful. Connor bought Enron and started making TikToks.

Everyone expects e-commerce sites to look modern and optimized. Connor built a Y2K throwback with a Netscape disclaimer.

Here's why this matters if you run an agency:

Your prospects are drowning in sameness. Every agency promises the same results. Every pitch deck looks identical.

Every case study follows the same template. Every website uses the same "conversion-optimized" design.

But what if you took the Poo Pouri approach?

What if you took the Connor approach?

What if instead of trying to blend in...

You found ways to stand out that were so authentically YOU...

That prospects couldn't ignore you?

Because here's the thing about disruption...

It doesn't have to be fake or gimmicky. Connor's not just being weird for attention.

He's making a point about misinformation and performance art.

Poo Pouri wasn't just being silly.

They were solving a real problem in an unforgettable way.

The disruption serves the business.

And sometimes authenticity beats optimization.

So what's YOUR version of this?

What could you do differently that would make prospects stop scrolling...

And actually pay attention to what you're offering?

Maybe it's how you present case studies.

Maybe it's how you structure your proposals.

Maybe it's the way you talk about results.

Maybe it's building a website that looks nothing like every other agency.

But in a world where every agency sounds exactly the same...

Being genuinely different isn't just smart.

It's survival.

Speaking of which...

I may or may not be running an agency panel at Growth Hacking Live in San Diego this September.

(Still working out the details, but there's a good chance.)

And if I do...

This is EXACTLY the kind of stuff we'll dive into.

How to break through the noise without being fake.

How to stand out without being gimmicky.

How to use disruption as a business strategy for you AND your clients.

⟶ Get your tickets here 

Because whether I'm on stage or just in the hallways...

I'd love to hear about the weirdest thing you've tried to differentiate your agency.

(And whether it worked or crashed spectacularly.)

When "Revolutionary" AI Needs a 10,000-Word Manual to Work

Speaking of performance art...

Let's talk about OpenAI's latest masterpiece.

After months of hype and a livestream that made watching paint dry seem thrilling...

They dropped GPT-5.

Their "revolutionary breakthrough" that was supposed to change everything.

And it was such a disaster...

That they quietly brought back GPT-4 as a "legacy option."

(Translation: "Please use the old one that actually works.")

But here's my favorite part...

They had to publish a 10,000-word prompting guide. You can view it here:

Just to teach people how to make their "smarter" AI not completely suck.

Think about that for a second.

You build something that's supposed to be MORE intelligent...

But it needs MORE babysitting than the previous version.

That's like Tesla releasing a "self-driving" car...

That comes with a 50-page manual on how to hold the steering wheel.

The guide is hilariously desperate:

"Try lowering the reasoning effort if it's being too thorough..."

"Use XML tags to make it follow instructions..."

"Here's how to stop it from asking for clarification every 5 seconds..."

My dude... if your AI needs structured XML therapy sessions...

Maybe it's not as intelligent as you claimed?

But here's what really kills me:

The whole guide reads like damage control.

"We know it's verbose and annoying, so here's how to make it shut up..."

"We know it won't follow instructions, so wrap everything in special tags..."

"We know it overthinks simple tasks, so here's how to dumb it down..."

This is like releasing a sports car...

That comes with instructions on how to make it not flip over on turns.

The lesson for agency owners?

Sometimes "revolutionary" is just a fancy word for "broken."

Your clients don't want bleeding-edge if it means they need a PhD to use it.

They want solutions that actually work.

Out of the box.

Without needing a dissertation-length manual.

Connor's Enron TikToks work because they're simple and brilliant.

OpenAI's GPT-5 fails because it's complex and confusing.

Complexity for the sake of complexity isn't innovation.

It's just expensive chaos.

And if your "upgrade" needs more explanation than your original product...

You might want to ask yourself if you're actually moving forward.

Or just moving sideways with extra steps.

Here’s how to give yourself the legacy options in CHAT GPT

Till next week,

Laura

P.S. Connor helped turn fake bird surveillance into a cultural movement, bought corporate fraud rights, made TikToks about it, AND built a Y2K e-commerce site with a Netscape disclaimer. Poo Pouri turned toilet spray into viral magic. If they can make the impossible work, what's stopping you? See you in San Diego? Let me know. I answer everyone of these emails personally.