How to build an AI-powered business from the ground up
Designing a business where AI is part of the operating model rather than an afterthought bolted onto old habits.
Chapter 1 — Design the operating model first
An AI-powered business is one where the standard way of doing each task assumes assistance. That is an organisational choice, made in writing, before any subscription.
Chapter 2 — Choose an offer that compounds
- Digital products: no delivery cost, updates improve every past sale.
- Systems and templates: high perceived value, low support burden.
- Services with documented procedures: the SOP becomes the product later.
Chapter 3 — Staffing a small AI-native team
Hire for judgement and writing. Anyone who can describe a task precisely can direct an assistant; nobody can supervise output they could not have produced themselves.
Chapter 4 — The four documents that run the business
- 1Context file
Products, pricing, tone, constraints.
- 2Script library
Best-known answer for every recurring conversation.
- 3SOP set
Numbered procedures for delivery, support and refunds.
- 4Metrics sheet
Four numbers, reviewed weekly, in one place.
Notes from the founder on building AI-native businesses from Africa: what actually converts, what wastes money, and what we are building next.
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