120 Octane

120 Octane

Real AI implementations from the operators and builders who shipped them. No hype. No theory. Show us what you built. Each episode, hosts Avi Slavin and Alexandra Jacobo sit down with founders and operators who have deployed AI systems that actually work — automations, agents, and workflows that moved the needle on their business. We dig into what they built, how it works, and the measurable impact it had. Demos welcome. New episodes weekly. Apply to be a guest at 120octane.com

Episodes

  1. 2 days ago

    Building AI That Helps Nonprofits Win More Funding | Jake Butt, GxP Solutions

    Most AI builders point their tools at the biggest companies with the biggest budgets. Jake Butt points his at the opposite end — nonprofits with small teams, big missions, and tiny budgets.Jake is the President of GxP Solutions, an AI education, strategy, and implementation consultancy for small and midsized organizations based in Frederick, Maryland. He's built AI-powered tools that are quietly changing how nonprofits operate: grant writing assistants and auto-report generation apps that help nonprofit executive directors save serious time and apply for — and win — more funding.And he practices what he preaches. Jake runs his own consulting business on a stack of automations: Claude and Notion workflows, email consolidation systems, and integrations built on platforms like n8n, Zapier, and Make.In this episode, Jake walks us through:▸ Why he chose to focus on nonprofits when enterprise clients pay more▸ What grant writing actually looks like for a small nonprofit — and why it's such a brutal bottleneck▸ A walkthrough of the grant writing assistant and auto-report generator▸ How AI expands capacity for organizations that can't just hire more people▸ The Claude + Notion automations running his own business day to day▸ His unusual take on AI governance, shaped by a career in GxP and biotech compliance▸ Real results: time savings for executive directors and more funding won▸ Where a small business or nonprofit should start with AI this weekThe core message: AI isn't just for enterprises with big budgets. A small consulting firm can build tools that help a nonprofit win another grant — and that grant might be the one that keeps the lights on.If you run a small business or nonprofit and think AI is something happening to other people, this episode will change your mind.▸ ▸ ▸ABOUT 120 OCTANE120 Octane is the podcast where founders, operators, and builders show us the AI systems they actually built. No hype. No theory. Real builds. Real impact. Real numbers.Hosted by Avi Slavin and Alexandra Jacobo, every episode pulls back the curtain on a real AI system in production — and extracts the lessons, playbooks, and tactical advice listeners can use in their own work.▸ ▸ ▸WHERE TO FIND USWebsite: 120octane.comApply to be a guest: 120octane.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/120-octane▸ ▸ ▸GUEST LINKSJake Butt on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacobwbuttGxP Solutions: gxpsolutions.net▸ ▸ ▸If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with one operator who needs to hear it. Every subscribe matters when a show is just getting started.Until next time. Stay building.

  2. 14 Jun

    From Building 350-Unit Apartments to Cutting Estimating Time in Half with AI | Fernando Degwitz, TruBlue South Miami

    Most AI conversations are about Fortune 500 budgets and enterprise platforms. This one isn't. Fernando Degwitz spent 15 years building large-scale real estate developments across Venezuela and Panama. 356-unit apartment complexes. 30,000 square meter factories for global telecoms. Multi-million dollar projects with big teams and big capital. He's MIT-educated, with a background that could have taken him anywhere. Then he moved to Miami and bought a TruBlue handyman franchise. But here's what makes Fernando different from most franchise owners: he didn't just run the business. He looked at it the way a builder of large systems would. He found the biggest bottleneck in his operation — estimating — and partnered with an AI consultancy (NextGen Partners) to automate it. The result: estimating time cut by roughly half. In this episode, Fernando walks us through:▸ The unlikely path from building apartment towers in Latin America to running a handyman business in South Florida▸ Why estimating is the silent killer of margins in remodeling — and why templates and processes weren't enough▸ How he knew AI was the right tool when he isn't a technical builder himself▸ How he found NextGen Partners and what made the partnership work▸ What questions to ask a potential AI build partner if you've never bought AI before▸ A partial walkthrough of the system integrated into his workflow and CRM▸ What 50% time savings actually means for a small business — more estimates, more jobs won, more capacity▸ The lesson for every small business owner who thinks AI is only for big tech The core message: you don't have to be technical to be an AI operator. You have to know what to fix and have the conviction to find the right partner. If you run a small business and feel like AI is something happening to other people, this is the episode for you. ▸ ▸ ▸ABOUT 120 OCTANE120 Octane is the podcast where founders, operators, and builders show us the AI systems they actually built. No hype. No theory. Real builds. Real impact. Real numbers.Hosted by Avi Slavin and Alexandra Jacobo, every episode pulls back the curtain on a real AI system in production — and extracts the lessons, playbooks, and tactical advice listeners can use in their own work. ▸ ▸ ▸WHERE TO FIND USWebsite: 120octane.comApply to be a guest: 120octane.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/120-octane ▸ ▸ ▸GUEST LINKSFernando Degwitz on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fernando-degwitz-202227202TruBlue of South Miami: trublueally.com

  • 2 Episodes

About

Real AI implementations from the operators and builders who shipped them. No hype. No theory. Show us what you built. Each episode, hosts Avi Slavin and Alexandra Jacobo sit down with founders and operators who have deployed AI systems that actually work — automations, agents, and workflows that moved the needle on their business. We dig into what they built, how it works, and the measurable impact it had. Demos welcome. New episodes weekly. Apply to be a guest at 120octane.com

Information

  • Creator
    120 Octane
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 120 Octane
  • Show Website
    120 Octane