From Dread to Ahead of the Curve: The AI-Powered CEO

I. When AI Crushed My Dream

Seven years. That's how long I poured my heart and soul into business, setting rigorous standards in all areas of my life and sacrificing weekends and holidays to pursue my dream. I?accepted how volatile reality became, and I even started getting used to it.

And then the GPT-3 came.

From the first touch of the keyboard, it was profoundly clear to me that this technology would revolutionize knowledge work.

Even though I had access to AI developers through our Automation House , the potential disruption was unmistakable. Without a significant transformation, everything I’d created could become obsolete.

But here's the thing about challenges - they're potent motivators.

This story is based on my personal experience as the CEO of XXII Ventures , where I’ll share actionable insights on ROI-positive business moves.

II. The Early Struggles: From Nice-to-Haves to a Must-Have

We have been using simple automation scenarios in Make for a few years. It started with a few back-office automations: a rarely-used chatbot here and an automated report there. These nice-to-have tools made life a little easier, but let's be clear - automating administrative work isn't a business disruptor.

Using custom GPTs, the personalized assistants OpenAI released in November 2022, was also a nice productivity boost. But again - if you weren't able to produce great content without AI's help, you won't be able to do that with AI.

The sparks of bigger impact fired when we mixed automation with AI, and I will focus solely on that below.

Recognizing the potential, in late 2023, we formed specialized teams around our core processes: marketing, sales, customer success, people, and finance. Our goal was to rethink these areas through the lens of automation and AI capabilities.

As an owner and investor in several professional services companies, I decided to create standardized systems for sales, marketing, customer success, and people management across XXII Ventures. We called these "OS" by the name of the specific process: marketingOS, salesOS, etc.

The transformation started with our sales team.

Our CRM now partially self-fills, improving data quality and boosting salesperson productivity with different automations by 50%. This also led to a consistent drop in Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

Next, we turned our attention to the marketing team. Using notes from meetings and calls, combined with content guidelines and some automations, we create case study drafts without chasing our experts for information or a necessity to write an article.

• We increased our social media presence without new hires,
• And last month, we got the record number of leads in the history of both Tigers and Automation House .

The positive impact of AI extended to other departments. Customer Success automated feedback collection and churn prediction. HR automated feedback drafts, improving candidate experience and reducing hiring costs. Even our Sawicki Legal leveraged AI to review contracts and flag potential issues more efficiently.

Putting so much emphasis on a new shiny tech was a significant risk, and it required some initial adjustment as we explored new territory.

But now, AI has become an integral part of every conversation. I started to get many questions: how do you use Claude as a CEO? How can I use your content generator? How can we improve the prompt that analyzes our sales calls? Every day is filled with discussions and ideas like that, and it feels absolutely great.

And by the way, I will be sharing more valuable information about these on fbgeorgiew.com/newsletter , and you'll get three bonuses for a good start.

III. The Rise of AION

AION started as a simple chatbot connected to a company’s Notion wiki.

And then, with the rising curiosity of our early access team, we started to add more.

1. Instead of counting on people to prepare perfect prompts from day one, we asked Przemek Tryba?a , Julia Krzemień , and other developers to prepare some prompts for daily dilemmas for different roles.
2. We already had an advanced content generator, which we personalize for different clients' and departments' needs, so we just enabled people to use it directly from the same chat interface, where they have their custom prompts saved and can chat with the company wiki.
3. We integrated a research module to track competitors' actions, such as what talent they acquire, what changes are made on their websites, and how their pricing evolves. All automatically and within seconds, or in a recurring schedule.
4. Since the debut of Claude Projects, I have created a highly capable assistant there which helps me with everything. Now, I consult all my decisions inside AION, which is powered by our decision criteria and company values. You can use it as your strategic advisor, high-performance coach, or leadership trainer.
5. Currently, we are building an army of customized AI Assistants for every role in XXII Ventures holding, maximizing the outputs in every role, regardless of whether you are an accountant, salesperson, or a marketing strategist. All are available conveniently in #AION.

All of these functions are secure for our company data, and it won't be used to train AI models.

These are just the tip of the iceberg of things we want to implement in AION. It's not a generic one-size-fits-all SaaS. We customize it for every client or subsidiary company in the holding to ensure it meets specific needs and integrates seamlessly with existing systems and apps.

Imagine having a team member who never sleeps, never forgets, and can process information at superhuman speeds. That's AION.

IV. No Fairytales: The Impact on the Workforce

Many people sugarcoat things, saying AI won't take people's jobs. Well, I'm betting it will, and the impact will be significant. AI is sparking an industrial revolution for the digital world and knowledge work.

Even today, despite having a nice growth curve in XXII Ventures , we almost haven't hired anyone new this quarter. Guess why?

We are raising the capabilities of the current teams, and I prefer to pay tech-enabled people more than to build a big, slow company. And we are still early in the AI revolution.

SKILL 1. Tool Mastery

This skill is all about getting good at using the software and tools we rely on every day, including AI. Whenever we use tools like Slack for communication, ClickUp for managing tasks, or Google Meet for virtual meetings, we create valuable data to help us improve our work.

• Dedicate time each week to explore features in your tools
• Choose the company-wide standards and make sure that everyone adheres to them
• Reinforce people with effective prompts for AI tools – it's a skill that pays dividends

Skill 2. Interpersonal Intelligence and Adaptability

As AI takes over routine tasks, our ability to connect with others and adapt to new situations becomes even more important. This means understanding emotions, listening well, and staying flexible in changing environments.

• Train people in active listening in client meetings
• Cultivate a growth mindset in the team - being tech-enabled makes your future secure
• Support people in everything that builds resilience, as you're going to need it

Skill 3. Systems thinking

This skill is about seeing the big picture and understanding how different parts of the business are connected. It’s the ability to think about how changes in one area might affect others, something AI might not fully grasp.

• Make sure your team understands how different business processes are linked together
• Regularly ask "What if?" questions to anticipate potential ripple effects of decisions
• Identify bottlenecks and solve them... without hiring new people

This is a preliminary vision of our strategic advantage in XXII Ventures . The team, where mastery of AI prompts is as crucial as your empathy in client meetings.

While solutions from Automation House improve our unit economics, I review our future plans with #AION, reinforced with all the data about my companies, teams, and the technology we use. We're figuring it out together, one day at a time.

Welcome to the new era, where your next coworker might be an algorithm.

V. Implementing AI in Your Company: A Practical Approach

I can't emphasize how important it is to "catch a wave" in business.

I've experienced this firsthand, having surfed the digital marketing wave and doubled my business year over year for seven years. But now the tides are shifting, and the waves aren’t as strong as they used to be.

Ask yourself: Is your current wave still carrying you, or is it fading? What's your plan to stay ahead?

While the impending AI tsunami may seem daunting (and you already know that it has scared me at first, too!), I invite you to ride what could be the biggest wave of your lifetime.

The AI tsunami may look intimidating, but it’s your chance to catch the biggest wave yet. Instead of diving into deep waters with complex machine learning or big consulting projects, start small and ride the wave as it builds.

It will carry your business to new success.

Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Identify key processes: Look at the business processes you’re currently focusing on. Pick the most expensive, time-consuming, or ones where you have the most control to make changes.
2. Pinpoint your goals or problems: Think about what you want to achieve or fix in these processes. Consider how you measure success in these areas.
3. Reach out for help: Now you're ready for Automation House discovery call. Share this basic information with us, and we’ll suggest AI solutions that offer clear returns, within a small budget. We know that we'll get you hooked on AI! :)

As you add more AI features and train your team to use them well, you’ll see your business processes transform. Each new solution will build on the last, creating a smart, connected system.

While I could expand on the numerous benefits, it's theory. What you need is to see AI&Automation in action, on your specific case.

Take the first step towards AI integration today and book a call here .

VI. The Road Ahead: AI-Enabled CEO

When I first encountered AI, I was shocked and offended. After dedicating seven years to building Tigers , my first business, I felt threatened by its quickly rising capabilities.

But after two years of playing with automation and AI, I see this new megatrend as an exhilarating opportunity. It will transform my role from managing daily operations to overseeing a system and working on improving it.

During my last plane flight, which I use for deep work sessions described here , I cleaned my yearly backlog of notes and transformed it into a task list that could fill a yearly strategic plan for a serious medium-sized company.

Since then, I have spent 40 hours each week, for three weeks in a row, strategizing and innovating with AI. Almost without bothering anyone, I was able to review our compensation systems, pricing, product strategy for AION, prompts to review our managerial meeting transcripts, and the structure of our knowledge base, among a dozen others.

I also journaled with AI, which has made me a better human being. I improved my routines, reinforced good habits, and rethought some work patterns. I will share that knowledge too, so do not miss this material by following me and/or signing up to fbgeorgiew.com/newsletter .

Most excitingly, we’ve redesigned our business model around an AI-centric approach. The XXII Ventures Flywheel Concept illustrates how our AI-driven approach creates a self-reinforcing cycle of growth and improvement.

This flywheel effect creates a virtuous cycle where each component reinforces the others, driving continuous improvement and growth across the organization.

Success with AI isn't about using generative models generically. Untrained users will drown with their mediocre outputs, as we already see daily on LinkedIn with low-quality content flooding our feeds.

But for top talent, the high achievers, and organizations that strategically embrace AI, it’s a completely different game. The chance to build a significant competitive edge is right in front of us.

Will you grab it?