Just Curious: Applied AI for Value Creation

Stuart Willson
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Just Curious helps investors and operators turn AI from buzzword to bottom line. Through sharp case studies and practical insights from the world's leading applied AI experts, we explore how to use AI to grow revenue, expand margins, build better products, and create value.

  1. 5D AGO

    How Smart AI Guardrails Unlock Faster Growth (Without Killing Innovation)

    Evan Glaser, Founder & CEO of Alongside AI, joins Just Curious to break down how middle-market companies can actually deploy AI, without blowing up risk, compliance, or trust. Drawing on a decade of Fortune 100 experience, Evan explains why governance isn’t a blocker to AI value creation, but the accelerator most operators are missing. You’ll Learn Why AI governance is the fastest way to unlock real productivity—not slow it down How to design practical AI guardrails that let teams innovate safely and move faster Where middle-market companies typically underestimate their AI risk exposure How to turn siloed institutional knowledge into a scalable, AI-powered asset A real-world case study showing how AI reduced onboarding time and unlocked new revenue Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:24 Why middle-market leaders struggle to start with AI 02:59 Governance as an accelerator, not a brake 04:41 Defining AI guardrails that actually work 06:47 Common governance gaps and blind spots 09:03 What “good” AI governance looks like in practice 14:02 Unlocking trapped institutional knowledge with AI 19:59 Case study: AI-powered onboarding and faster ramp times 30:23 Turning AI questions into a new advisory revenue stream 33:54 The risks of shadow AI 36:13 Lessons from regulated industries that apply everywhere Links Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OXYdxzPgPKgConnect with Evan Glaser: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glaserevan/Explore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/experts/evan-glaserJust Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    38 min

  2. 12/05/2025

    Alex Gruebele & Chandler Gonzalez - Tau9 Labs | How Tau9 Labs Helped a Manufacturer Cut Quoting Time from Hours to Seconds — and Double Win Rates

    Alex Gruebele and Chandler Gonzalez, co-founders of Tau9 Labs, build custom AI systems that solve the messy, high-value problems generic manufacturing software can’t touch. With roots in robotics, hyperscale software, and logistics, they focus on the workflows where context matters most—quoting, downtime, document analysis, and technician knowledge. Their work shows how applied AI can transform mid-market industrial operations in months, not years, by fitting the way factories actually run. You’ll Learn Why generic SaaS breaks in manufacturing—and how custom AI can match real-world workflows without forcing process changes.How decades of unstructured documents hide the root causes of downtime, warranty costs, and defects—and how AI can surface them.A practical approach to turning vague “AI requests” into solvable, ROI-positive operational problems using on-site discovery and the five whys.How AI-accelerated engineering compresses build cycles from quarters to weeks, enabling tools like instant quoting platforms.When to build vs. buy: the signals that indicate a custom solution will outperform configurable off-the-shelf tools. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:00 Backgrounds & the origin of Tau9 Labs 03:20 Why manufacturing lags in software adoption 05:10 Common operational problems & unstructured data 07:15 Downtime, tribal knowledge, and automation 08:50 Quoting workflows and workflow automation 09:50 How Tau9 diagnoses the “real” problem 12:20 On-site discovery and the five whys 15:20 Case study: injection molding quoting platform 18:10 Designing for speed and user behavior 20:15 Building the platform in four months 22:50 Results: conversion lift & revenue impact 25:10 Build vs. buy in industrial AI 28:45 Why on-site U.S. engineers outperform remote teams 31:20 How AI changes software design principles 33:50 Who Tau9 Labs is best suited to help 35:50 Closing Links Explore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/articles/how-tau9-labs-helped-a-manufacturer-cut-quoting-time-from-hours-to-seconds----and-double-win-ratesWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/njuUtQucqHUConnect with Alex Gruebele: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgruebele/Connect with Chandler Gonzalez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandlergonzales/Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    34 min

  3. 12/02/2025

    Felix Rösner - Marble AI | How Marble’s AI Clones Uncovered 40% Redundant Work. And Saved 250+ Hours/Month

    Felix Rösner, Co-founder of Marble AI, builds AI-driven workflow “clones” that reveal what really happens inside complex enterprise operations. His team helps private equity operators and middle-market leaders uncover hidden inefficiencies, quantify real ROI, and automate with precision instead of guesswork. In this episode, Felix shares why deep context—not tools—is the final moat in AI-enabled organizations. You’ll Learn How capturing keystrokes and screen activity uncovers the real workflow variations that break most automation efforts. Why PE roll-ups routinely misjudge operational reality—and how AI clones surface true time, cost, and redundancy patterns. How sharing internal best practices (revealed through data) can unlock major efficiency gains even before automation begins. How to translate thousands of workflow observations into programmatic specifications for reliable, end-to-end digital workers. The specific types of repetitive, customer-facing tasks where automation consistently returns 100–250 hours per month to teams. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:03 Felix’s background and Marble AI’s mission 03:12 Why context—not tools—is the last AI moat 05:06 What it means to instrument real workflows 07:30 The insight that sparked Marble’s approach 10:31 Why PE roll-ups struggle to see operational reality 12:24 AI clones vs. traditional process diagrams 13:34 Balancing workflow capture with privacy and compliance 15:21 Signals a company doesn’t understand its operations 17:03 Case study: diagnosing a PE-backed roll-up 20:40 Deploying the capture stack across teams 23:43 What Marble does with the collected data 26:27 Findings: redundancy, best practices, and ROI 34:05 The 40% redundancy insight 37:26 Practical advice for operations leaders Links • Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sc-A0MPiZxE • Connect with Felix Rösner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-roesner/ • Explore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/articles/how-marbles-ai-clones-uncovered-40-redundant-work-and-saved-250-hours-month Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    32 min

  4. 11/24/2025

    Jack Weissenberger - Ciridae | How AI Cut a 3-Hour Workflow to 10 Minutes for a Home Restoration Company

    Jack Weissenberger, Co-founder & CTO of Ciridae, shares how his team rebuilds core systems and deploys AI agents that remove bottlenecks across finance, operations, and project management. Ciridae works with private-equity-backed companies to identify the real constraints inside a business and replace slow, manual workflows with AI-native software built in days, not months. Jack’s perspective matters because he’s led AI teams at Apple and Salesforce-acquired 10X and now drives full-stack AI transformations in the middle market. You’ll Learn • How to identify high-leverage AI opportunities that sit behind the obvious pain point—like uncovering that insurance negotiations, not AR, were the true constraint in a restoration business. • Why unscoped, natural-language workflows (invoice routing, proposal comparisons, nuanced judgment tasks) are often the best candidates for AI agents. • How AI-native platforms shrink traditional timelines—enabling full-stack applications, including ERP components, to be rebuilt in days or weeks instead of quarters. • The operational impact of linking AI automation directly to key financial levers: cycle time, DSO, throughput, and leadership bandwidth. • Why data readiness—not model quality—is the silent blocker in most failed AI rollouts, and what companies must do before any automation can work. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:00 What Ciridae Does 02:48 Why the Middle Market Is Ripe for AI 03:44 Inside the Ciridae Platform 05:04 How Clients Engage & How Audits Work 07:03 Identifying Unscoped Problems for AI 08:44 Why AI Projects Fail 11:08 Rebuilding AI-Native Sources of Truth 12:39 How Fast Can You Rebuild an ERP? 14:13 Where Custom Software Is Heading 15:26 Why Finance & AP/AR Are Perfect for Automation 16:43 Why Home Services Companies Are a Strong Fit 18:29 What “Large Enough” Means for AI Transformation 19:02 Case Study: Uncovering the Real Bottleneck 20:21 Automating Insurance Rebuttals 21:31 Deploying a Production System in 48 Hours 22:42 How AI Cut a 3-Hour Workflow to 10 Minutes 24:18 How This Solution Could Double Enterprise Value 25:32 Staying Open-Minded in AI Audits 26:33 Data Readiness & Integrations 27:59 Who Should Reach Out to Ciridae 29:01 Practical First Steps for Leaders Links • Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2PXce31N3IY?si=5PCQaM6DcS9236aM • Connect with Jack Weissenberger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-weissenberger-9b8549144/ • Explore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/articles/how-ai-cut-a-3-hour-workflow-to-10-minutes-for-a-home-restoration-company Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    28 min

  5. 11/21/2025

    Jordan Gurrieri - BlueLabel | How to Turn AI Experiments into Enterprise Systems—Lessons from 300+ Deployments

    Jordan Gurrieri, Co-founder & CEO of BlueLabel, explains how mid-market and enterprise operators can finally escape pilot purgatory and deploy AI systems that scale reliably. Drawing on two decades of automation experience and hundreds of shipped products, he breaks down why AI initiatives fail, how to design for workflow fit from day one, and what it takes to turn tribal knowledge and inconsistent pilots into production-grade, agentic workflows. You’ll Learn: Why AI pilots break when more than a handful of people rely on them—and how to rebuild them for consistency, accuracy, and cost efficiency.How to identify high-friction workflows by mapping real user behavior, pain points, and dependency chains.How to convert tribal knowledge into durable, queryable agentic systems that support frontline teams in real time.Why agentic, workflow-embedded AI drives true competitive advantage while personal productivity tools do not.How a regional telecom automated dispatch operations and doubled field technician throughput with an AI-powered workflow system.Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:32 Jordan’s background & BlueLabel’s focus 02:09 How early automation shaped his AI worldview 03:31 Why pilots break when scaling AI 05:05 Common traps between pilot and production 07:15 What scaling AI actually requires 10:26 Personal productivity vs. organizational advantage 12:45 Telecom case study: the dispatch bottleneck 15:02 Agentic tools for field technicians 17:59 Change management inside legacy workflows 19:36 Rebuilding the pilot on a scalable API foundation 21:50 Lessons for future AI deployments 23:35 Identifying high-fit workflows 26:08 What makes a strong AI use case 28:05 A myth about AI implementation 30:15 Who should work with BlueLabel 31:52 Advice for leaders under AI pressure Links: Explore more interviews and Jordan Gurrieri's expert profile:  https://www.justcurious.io/experts/jordan-gurrieriConnect with Jordan Gurrieri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangurrieri/Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T7lhyDkZca0Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    31 min

  6. 11/20/2025

    Greg Shove - Section | How AI Is Redefining Leadership Roles

    Greg Shove, CEO of Section, breaks down why enterprise AI adoption remains stuck in low single digits—and what leaders must do to unlock meaningful productivity gains. With experience building six companies and training global workforces in applied AI, Greg explains how culture, workflows, and leadership behavior—not tools—determine whether AI becomes a competitive advantage. You'll Learn: Why only ~9% of knowledge workers are truly AI-proficient and how to move teams from anxious to confidentThe biggest mistakes enterprises make when rolling out tools like Copilot and ChatGPTHow workflow redesign unlocks real value and why “lighthouse” use cases accelerate adoptionHow executives can use AI as a strategic thought partner for better decisionsHow AI will reshape team structure, performance distribution, and talent development over the next five yearsChapters: 00:00 Intro 01:09 Why Greg pivoted Section to AI 03:29 Comparing AI to past tech waves 07:22 How AI changes cognitive work 09:14 The AI-proficient workforce 11:16 Why enterprise adoption is stalling 18:49 How to get from 8% to 50% adoption 25:19 Why AI isn’t “just software” 27:53 AI as a strategic advisor 33:40 Using AI to prep for board meetings 37:20 How AI will reshape teams 43:32 Who Section helps Links: Explore more interviews and Greg Shove's expert profile: https://www.justcurious.io/experts/greg-shoveConnect with Greg Shove: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregshove/Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4bXULTB9ySA Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    43 min

  7. 11/20/2025

    Jay Singh - Casper Studios | AI That Actually Gets Used: How Casper Studios Cut Hedge Fund Research Time by 80%

    Jay Singh, Co-founder & CEO of Casper Studios, breaks down how real organizations—hedge funds, PE-backed companies, and growth-stage startups—are actually deploying AI that gets used. Drawing on deep experience building modular, production-grade systems, he explains why small, workflow-anchored wins consistently outperform AI moonshots and how companies can integrate AI without chaos, panic, or overreach. You’ll Learn: Why modular, workflow-specific automation beats monolithic “AI platform” builds.How to assess whether an organization is truly ready for AI adoption—from data quality to executive behavior.How to identify the highest-leverage workflows by mapping real user behavior, not theoretical use cases.How applied AI cuts research and analysis time by 50–80% when integrated directly into existing systems.How voice-based agents can surface hidden workflow pain and accelerate discovery across large teams.Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:33 Jay’s background and what Casper Studios does 01:55 Why he left LinkedIn to build an AI implementation studio 03:23 Common AI mistakes across startups and enterprises 05:02 What “the middle ground” of AI adoption looks like 06:49 How company behavior around AI has shifted 08:40 Why clients come to Casper and what problems they bring 10:09 How clients identify workflows worth automating 11:26 Signals a company is (or isn’t) ready for real AI adoption 13:49 Hedge fund case study introduction 15:55 Why modular systems outperform monolithic builds 18:15 Module 2 and 3: transcription, synthesis, and decision support 20:13 How they ensure recommendations stay grounded in logic 22:24 Time savings and impact 23:29 How long it takes to get to production 24:42 Integrating with real enterprise stacks 27:02 Why ambitious projects often stall—and when moonshots make sense 30:18 How singles and doubles build momentum 32:15 The first question leaders should ask their teams 33:41 A high-leverage first AI project 35:41 Who should reach out to Casper Studios Links: Explore more interviews and Jay Singh's expert profile:  https://www.justcurious.io/experts/jay-singhConnect with Jay Singh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaysingh10125/Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/o7duyoDZUS4 Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    37 min

  8. 11/20/2025

    Chris Taylor - Fractional AI | 84% Cost Savings & 30-Second Turnarounds: The PE Playbook for Production-Grade AI

    Chris Taylor, Co-founder & CEO of Fractional AI, explains how private equity–backed companies are using applied AI to drive measurable operational impact—not experiments. Drawing from deep experience building AI-native services and deploying production systems across dozens of portcos, Chris breaks down how incumbents can move fast, automate real workflows, and turn AI into cost savings, productivity, and defensibility. You’ll Learn: How to identify the workflows where AI can actually deliver value—not wishful “AI ideas.”Why incumbents, not AI-first startups, are often best positioned to win with generative AI.How to evaluate feasibility, scope, and ROI so projects move quickly from idea to production.Why PE-owned companies are ideal AI adopters and how to navigate partnership with SMEs and engineering.How one portco achieved an 84% cost reduction by automating product-taxonomy mapping with an AI-first workflow.Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:32 What Fractional AI does 04:29 How companies identify real AI opportunities 06:37 Why PE-backed companies adopt AI differently 09:15 Partnering with SMEs and engineers 11:50 Common misconceptions and early mistakes 20:35 Case study: automating product-taxonomy mapping 26:30 Deployment and internal reaction 29:03 Cost savings and impact 31:02 What AI means in PE diligence 34:41 First 30-day steps for CEOs 36:54 Who Fractional AI works best with Links: Explore more interviews and Chris Taylor's expert profile: https://www.justcurious.io/experts/chris-taylorConnect with Chris Taylor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorcd/Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sVb3QmqucEg Just Curious helps the world’s leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom software powered by AI, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value. Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.justcurious.io Subscribe to the newsletter at https://just-curious-ai.beehiiv.com

    38 min
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Just Curious helps investors and operators turn AI from buzzword to bottom line. Through sharp case studies and practical insights from the world's leading applied AI experts, we explore how to use AI to grow revenue, expand margins, build better products, and create value.

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