The Value Engine

Nico Hartwell

Most business leaders are burning cash on AI tools that deliver zero ROI. They buy the hype, implement random automation, and wonder why their bottom line isn't moving. Meanwhile, a small group of companies are quietly using AI to cut costs by 40% and boost productivity by 200%. Nico Hartwell spent years building machine learning models for healthcare startups before launching his own AI consultancy. He's seen what works and what's just expensive theater. On The Value Engine, he breaks down exactly how real companies are using artificial intelligence to generate measurable returns. Each episode focuses on one specific AI implementation with actual numbers. You'll hear about the warehouse that cut labor costs by $2 million, the marketing team that automated 80% of their workflows, and the consultant who 10x'd her client capacity using custom AI tools. Nico explains the tech without the jargon and shows you the spreadsheets that prove ROI. No theoretical discussions or vendor pitches. Just real automation strategies that pay for themselves within 90 days. If you're tired of AI promises and want proven playbooks, this is your show. Follow now for multiple new episodes daily.

  1. Make.com + Slack: The Free Order System Nobody's Talking About

    10h ago

    Make.com + Slack: The Free Order System Nobody's Talking About

    Most businesses throw thousands at order management software when they already have the perfect platform sitting in their Slack workspace. Make.com just hit 8 billion operations per month with 400,000+ users automating everything from lead capture to inventory tracking. The real opportunity? Turning Slack into your command center for order processing without touching your budget for new tools. Here's what most teams miss: 77% of Fortune 100 companies use Slack, but they're barely scratching the surface. While you're manually copying order details between systems, smart operators are building entire workflows that handle everything from customer requests to fulfillment tracking. In This Episode: > How Make.com connects Slack to your existing tools (no coding required) > Building automated order forms that customers can submit directly in Slack > Setting up approval workflows that route orders to the right team members > Creating real-time inventory updates that prevent overselling > Why this beats expensive order management platforms for most small businesses The numbers are clear: companies automating their order management see 25% faster processing and 40% fewer errors. When the average business uses 87 different software tools but only 29% talk to each other, integration becomes your biggest competitive advantage. Nico walks through the entire build process, showing exactly how to set up each automation step. No theoretical frameworks or vendor pitches, just a working system you can implement today. Timestamps: 00:00 Why Slack beats dedicated order management tools 02:30 Setting up your Make.com account and first automation 04:15 Building the Slack order form interface 06:45 Creating approval workflows and notifications 09:20 Adding inventory tracking and customer updates 11:10 Testing and troubleshooting common issues Follow The Value Engine for daily episodes on AI automation that actually moves your bottom line. Next episode: building a customer support bot that handles 80% of common questions. More episodes available at The Value Engine ------ Keywords: process optimization, make.com, automation agency, ai productivity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    18 min
  2. Stop Manual Data Collection. Apify + Make Changed Everything.

    22h ago

    Stop Manual Data Collection. Apify + Make Changed Everything.

    Manual data collection is killing your productivity. While you're copying and pasting information for hours, smart businesses are pulling thousands of data points automatically using Apify and Make.com. Nico breaks down the exact system he uses to scrape data from any website without touching a single spreadsheet. We're talking LinkedIn profiles, competitor pricing, market research, customer data - all flowing into your systems while you sleep. This isn't theoretical automation. It's the specific two-tool stack that processes millions of operations monthly. Here's what makes this combination so powerful: Apify has over 1,500 pre-built actors that can scrape major platforms. Make.com connects to thousands of apps and handles the data processing. Together, they can run scraping tasks automatically, pulling 1,000-10,000 data points for under $5. That's cheaper than paying someone minimum wage for an hour. In This Episode: > Why most web scraping tools fail at scale > How to use Apify actors without writing code > Setting up Make.com workflows that run automatically > Real examples: scraping competitor pricing, lead data, and market research > Cost breakdown: what 100,000 scraped data points actually costs Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to automated data collection 02:30 Apify platform walkthrough 05:15 Make.com integration setup 08:45 Live scraping demonstration 11:20 Pricing and ROI calculations This system handles the data collection grunt work so you can focus on analysis and decision-making. Stop wasting hours on manual tasks that a $20/month tool stack can eliminate. 🚀 Follow The Value Engine for daily AI automation strategies that actually save money. Nico drops new episodes showing real implementations with actual ROI numbers. More episodes available at The Value Engine --------- Keywords: automation tools, ai tools, automation roi, automation strategies, business automation, ai productivity, zapier alternatives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    15 min
  3. Why Top Agencies Quit Using Cold Email (Their New Weapon)

    1d ago

    Why Top Agencies Quit Using Cold Email (Their New Weapon)

    Cold email is dead. At least that's what the most successful automation agencies figured out last year when their open rates tanked to 2%. So what replaced it? A completely different approach that's pulling in 40% more qualified leads with zero spam folder issues. The switch isn't just working, it's reshaping how agencies think about client acquisition entirely. The numbers tell the story. Agencies using this new method are closing deals 3x faster than traditional cold outreach. Their average project values jumped from $5,000 to $18,000. And here's the kicker: they're spending 60% less time on prospecting. Nico breaks down the exact framework these agencies discovered, including the specific tools they're using and why this approach works so much better than email blasts. You'll see the real data from agencies making this transition and what it means for anyone building an automation business. In This Episode: > Why cold email response rates collapsed in 2024 > The 4-step system that replaced traditional outreach > How to identify high-value prospects using automation tools > The psychological triggers that get clients to reach out first > Real conversion numbers from agencies using this method This isn't theory. These are the actual playbooks from agencies billing $50K+ per month. Nico walks through each step with specific examples and shows you the metrics that prove ROI. Timestamps: 00:00 Why cold email stopped working 02:30 The new client acquisition framework 05:15 Tool stack breakdown and costs 08:20 Real agency case studies 11:45 Implementation timeline If you're building an automation agency or thinking about it, this episode could save you months of wasted effort. Follow The Value Engine for daily breakdowns of what's actually working in AI business right now. More episodes available at The Value Engine -------- Keywords: ai consulting, automation strategies, workflow automation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    16 min
  4. The AI Resume Trick Costing Job Seekers Interviews

    1d ago

    The AI Resume Trick Costing Job Seekers Interviews

    What if the AI resume trick everyone's raving about is actually killing your chances of landing interviews? Job seekers are flooding job boards with AI-generated applications, thinking automation gives them an edge. But here's what's really happening: companies are getting smarter about filtering out generic, bot-created resumes. The result? Your perfectly crafted AI resume might be getting tossed before a human ever sees it. Nico Hartwell breaks down the real numbers behind automated job applications and shows you what's working versus what's backfiring. You'll see exactly how tools like LazyApply and JobCopilot promise to send hundreds of applications per day, but why that volume approach might be costing you the interviews you actually want. In This Episode: > Why ATS systems now flag AI-generated content and how to avoid detection > The specific prompts that create resumes humans actually want to read > Real data on application-to-interview ratios for automated vs manual applications > Cost breakdown: when $299/month automation tools actually pay for themselves Nico walks through a live demo, showing how he built a custom Indeed scraper that tailors applications without triggering spam filters. You'll learn which parts of the process to automate and which require the human touch. Plus, the three resume mistakes that instantly reveal AI authorship to hiring managers. Timestamps: 00:00 The automation trap most job seekers fall into 02:15 ATS systems vs AI content: what's really happening 04:30 Live demo: building a smarter application bot 07:45 The three resume red flags that scream "AI wrote this" 09:20 Manual vs automated: actual success rate data 11:10 When to use AI tools and when to go human Ready to automate smarter, not harder? Follow The Value Engine for daily breakdowns of AI tools that actually move the needle. More episodes available at The Value Engine ------------ Keywords: ai workflows, ai automation, workflow automation, ai productivity, ai tools, automation mistakes, ai transformation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    18 min
  5. Watch Me Build A Social Media Tracker In 30 Mins (+ Community)

    2d ago

    Watch Me Build A Social Media Tracker In 30 Mins (+ Community)

    What if you could build a social media tracker in just 30 minutes? Sounds impossible, right? Well, Nico Hartwell is here to show you it’s not only doable but also a game-changer for your productivity. Social media managers typically waste 3-4 hours daily jumping between platforms to gather data. That’s a lot of time that could be spent on strategy instead. In this episode of The Value Engine, you’ll see a live build of a social media tracking system that cuts through the chaos. Here’s what’s coming up: > You’ll watch Nico code an efficient tracker from scratch. > He’ll explain how this project can boost your skills and open new career doors. > Plus, you'll discover the power of building in public, a method that's gaining traction among developers. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:15 Why social media tracking matters 03:30 Coding the tracker live 06:45 Benefits of public projects 09:20 Wrap-up and next steps Join the growing community of listeners who are transforming their AI strategies. If you’re tired of wasting time on tools that don’t deliver, hit follow on The Value Engine for daily insights. Next episode, we’ll tackle another real-world application of AI that could save you thousands. Don’t miss it! More episodes available at The Value Engine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    11 min
  6. The $12K Mistake: AI SEO Parasites on High-Authority Platforms

    2d ago

    The $12K Mistake: AI SEO Parasites on High-Authority Platforms

    Picture this: a marketer spent $12,000 on an "AI SEO course" that promised first-page Google rankings in 30 days. The course taught one strategy: publishing AI-generated articles on Medium. The results? Zero traffic, zero conversions, and one very expensive lesson. But here's what the course didn't teach: Medium's domain authority of 96 makes it one of Google's most trusted sites. A single optimized Medium article can pull 10,000+ monthly views without paid ads. The difference between success and that $12K failure? Knowing exactly which keywords to target and how to structure content that Medium's algorithm actually promotes. Most marketers are pumping out generic AI content that gets buried. Meanwhile, smart operators are using specific AI prompts to create articles that rank on Google's first page within 48 hours. In This Episode: > Why Medium's 96 domain authority beats most company websites > The exact AI prompt structure that generates rankable content in 2 minutes > How to find keywords that Medium articles actually rank for > Real traffic numbers from live Medium experiments > The automation workflow that scales this to 100+ articles per month You'll see Nico build a complete AI parasite SEO system from scratch, including the specific ChatGPT prompts, keyword research tools, and publishing schedule that turns Medium into a traffic-generating machine. Timestamps: 00:00 The $12K Medium mistake breakdown 02:30 Why domain authority matters for AI content 04:45 Live AI article creation using specific prompts 07:15 Keyword research that actually works on Medium 09:30 Automation tools and scaling strategies 11:45 Real traffic results and ROI calculations Ready to build AI systems that actually generate measurable returns? Follow The Value Engine for daily episodes that show you exactly how it's done. More episodes available at The Value Engine ----- Keywords: ai implementation, machine learning business, ai workflows, automation tools, zapier alternatives, ai marketing, ai productivity, business ai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    15 min
  7. You're Making Videos the Hard Way (Do This Instead)

    3d ago

    You're Making Videos the Hard Way (Do This Instead)

    You're spending $500 per video when you could be making the same content for $5. While most creators are stuck in Premiere Pro for hours, smart marketers are using Bannerbear to pump out hundreds of personalized videos automatically. Nico breaks down exactly how a simple Google Sheets setup can generate over 1,000 video variations per hour. No coding required. No expensive agencies. Just a $49/month tool that most people have never heard of. This isn't about replacing human creativity. It's about automating the repetitive stuff so you can focus on strategy. One e-commerce brand used this exact system to create 500 product videos in a single afternoon. Another consultant automated their entire client onboarding video sequence and saved 20 hours per week. In This Episode: > How Bannerbear's API connects to Google Sheets for zero-touch video production > The exact template setup that generates videos with dynamic text, images, and QR codes > Real case study: 95% time reduction in video content creation > Why Zapier makes this accessible to non-technical marketers The best part? You can start testing this today with their free tier. Nico walks through the entire setup process and shows you the Google Sheets formula that triggers everything. Timestamps: 00:00 The $10k video problem 02:15 Bannerbear walkthrough and setup 04:30 Google Sheets integration tutorial 07:45 Advanced features: charts and QR codes 09:20 Real ROI numbers and case studies 11:10 Getting started checklist If you're tired of manual video creation eating your time and budget, this episode will change how you think about content production. Follow The Value Engine for daily AI automation strategies that actually move the needle. More episodes available at The Value Engine ----- Keywords: automation agency, automation consulting, ai marketing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    14 min
  8. The Onboarding Mistake Costing You 40 Hours Monthly

    3d ago

    The Onboarding Mistake Costing You 40 Hours Monthly

    Your new hire's first week doesn't have to cost you 40 hours of admin work. Most teams still create Trello boards manually, assign permissions by hand, and watch productivity crawl while everyone figures out the workflow. Meanwhile, companies like Buffer and Hootsuite are spinning up complete project environments in under 5 minutes using automated onboarding systems. The math is pretty stark. A typical company spends 3-5 hours per new employee just setting up basic administrative access. Multiply that by your headcount growth and you're looking at serious productivity drain. But here's what most managers miss: Trello's API handles over 50 million automation requests daily, and 80% of that setup work can disappear with the right system. In This Episode: > How to build a 25-minute Trello automation that eliminates manual board creation > The specific API calls that copy templates, assign permissions, and populate cards automatically > Why Zapier integration beats custom coding for most small teams (and when it doesn't) > Real numbers from three companies that cut onboarding admin by 75% This isn't about fancy AI or complex workflows. It's about using tools that already exist to stop wasting time on repetitive tasks. Nico breaks down the exact automation setup that took his last client from 8 hours of Trello prep per new hire to completely hands-off onboarding. Timestamps: 00:00 The hidden cost of manual onboarding 02:30 Trello API basics and authentication setup 05:15 Template copying and permission automation 07:45 Integration options: Zapier vs custom scripts 10:20 Three real implementation case studies If you're tired of spending your week on admin tasks that could run themselves, hit follow. The Value Engine drops new automation breakdowns every day. More episodes available at The Value Engine -------------- Keywords: make.com, ai revenue, ai productivity, ai entrepreneurship, zapier alternatives, ai implementation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    16 min
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About

Most business leaders are burning cash on AI tools that deliver zero ROI. They buy the hype, implement random automation, and wonder why their bottom line isn't moving. Meanwhile, a small group of companies are quietly using AI to cut costs by 40% and boost productivity by 200%. Nico Hartwell spent years building machine learning models for healthcare startups before launching his own AI consultancy. He's seen what works and what's just expensive theater. On The Value Engine, he breaks down exactly how real companies are using artificial intelligence to generate measurable returns. Each episode focuses on one specific AI implementation with actual numbers. You'll hear about the warehouse that cut labor costs by $2 million, the marketing team that automated 80% of their workflows, and the consultant who 10x'd her client capacity using custom AI tools. Nico explains the tech without the jargon and shows you the spreadsheets that prove ROI. No theoretical discussions or vendor pitches. Just real automation strategies that pay for themselves within 90 days. If you're tired of AI promises and want proven playbooks, this is your show. Follow now for multiple new episodes daily.

Information

  • Creator
    Nico Hartwell
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    239
  • Rating
    Clean