Visual Network
02 · Build something useful
Find the right AI opportunity before you invest
Most small businesses do not need an AI strategy. They need someone to look at how they actually work and say, plainly, where AI would help, where it would not, and what to do first.
When this helps
- You keep hearing you should "use AI" and do not know where to start.
- You pay for several AI subscriptions and are not sure any of them earn their keep.
- Someone has quoted you for an AI project and you want a second opinion before you sign.
- You have an idea for a tool and want to know whether it is worth building.
- You are worried about what happens to your customers' data if staff paste it into AI tools.
What I can do
AI opportunity assessment. A look at how the business runs today, where time goes, and where AI could genuinely help. You get a short list of opportunities, ranked by value and effort, and the ones I would leave alone.
Second opinion. An independent review of a proposed AI project, quote or supplier: what is realistic, what is missing, what it will cost to run, and the questions to ask before you commit. I do not sell software, so I have nothing to gain from the answer.
Tool and subscription review. Which of your AI tools are worth keeping, which overlap, and which can go.
Ongoing advice. A regular conversation while you put AI into practice: reviewing tools, checking outputs, and deciding what comes next. By Zoom or phone, at a rhythm that suits the work.
What you receive
A short written plan, not a slide deck. It covers what I found, what to do first, what to leave, the risks and data questions to settle, and roughly what each option costs to run. Where a tool is worth building, it says what the first version should do. Where it is not, it says so.
How it works
First conversation
Free, about 30 minutes. The problem, not a product.
Proposal
What I would look at, what you receive, the price and the timescale.
The work
Conversations with you and, where useful, the people who do the job day to day.
The plan
Written up and talked through.
Not every conversation ends in a project. If a cheaper tool or a simpler fix does the job, that is the answer you get.
Why an independent view
I do not resell subscriptions or earn commission on tools. I use AI every day, and I have built and run several applications with it, so I know where it is reliable and where it falls over. I will tell you both.
Questions
Do you sell AI software?
No. The recommendations are independent. If an app is worth building, I can build it, but that is a separate decision and you can take the plan elsewhere.
What about data protection?
It is part of every assessment: what goes into which tool, where it is processed, and what staff should never paste in. I am not a lawyer, and for formal compliance advice you will need one, but most of the risk is in everyday habits, and those can be fixed.
How much does it cost?
It is quoted after the first conversation, once the scope is clear.
Can we meet in person?
In and around Cambridge, yes. Everywhere else, by video call. In English or French.