Field Notes
How we think, in the open.
We earn work by thinking in public. Each Field Note is useful even if you never hire us — a method you can copy, not "AI is transformative" filler.
Honest AI
Why most AI projects die as a demo (and the five questions that predict it)A practical pre-mortem for spotting whether an AI idea can survive real work, messy inputs, and human review.
10 min
Strategy
Buy, build, or pilot: a framework for your first AI projectA decision map for choosing vendor software, a custom build, or a short measured pilot without wasting the first budget.
9 min
Measurement
How to measure an AI system honestly: a field guideHow to use baselines, fresh samples, guardrails, and stop conditions so AI results are evidence, not theater.
11 min
Ownership
Own it or rent it: the real cost of AI you don't controlA plain-English guide to what to rent, what to own, and how to keep control of the workflows that make you different.
8 min
Funding
What investors actually look for in an AI startupWhat serious investors look for beyond the demo: painful jobs, distribution, feedback loops, proof, economics, and judgment.
9 min
AI pilots
The one number: how we pick the metric that decides a pilotMost AI projects fail because nobody agreed what "working" meant. Here's how we choose the single number a pilot must move.
6 min
Ownership
No lock-in, on purpose: the setup that lets you fire usWhy we build on your accounts from day one and hand over the code, weights, and docs — so you can walk away and keep everything.
7 min
Method
What a two-week AI pilot actually looks like, day by dayAgree the number, build on your systems, measure honestly, hand it off. The whole pilot, with no reveal at the end you can't check.
8 min
Start a conversation
Have a time-sink in mind?
Tell us the one task your team dreads. We'll reply within one business day with the number we'd aim to move.