AI can accelerate growth. But how far it can take you depends on the bounce you give it before you ask it the really juicy questions.

Picture a diving board. How far you fly is directly related to the bounce you give at take-off. When working with AI, only humans determine the magnitude of the leap.

When I started this business in April, my goal was to be an AI-native company. (Essentially, creating every process and structure with AI at its core.)

So I handed AI every job (but not every access).

That's how I found out (the hard way) about the bounce.

My professional expertise is helping companies build new growth. New products. New services. New businesses.

Now I was running an AI startup.

So I began pushing the boundaries on my own company, asking myself: How do I meet business leaders' growth needs in new ways? Obviously, I asked AI to help me create a plan.

It did.

It was a very... ordinary plan. (Read: dull, uninspiring, generic.)

That's when I remembered: AI is essentially backward looking.

It's going to look at how consulting businesses have succeeded in the past, put a light AI filter on top, and create a staid website that is cream colored with a bold serif font on top (like every other AI website in 2026).

So I trashed what AI told me (goodbye, precious tokens) and I went back to core principles of growth.

I started building with AI, so I could understand what it was good at and meh at. I made a pickleball strength app (that is so cool and still did not get me stretching before matches, nor did it prevent the inevitable tennis elbow that came from ignoring stretching before matches).

I made a NASA good morning app, with a thought-provoking message with which to start my day (or yours).

I made a daily reflection app, where I take 5 minutes to reflect on what moved the needle for my business that day, and what are the three most important things for the next day. (This is the dark horse of the first trifecta of builds... I love how it can help me reflect on how I'm working and shine a mirror on my blind spots.)

And I created a bunch of productivity tools.

And instead of going out of the gates shouting about what my company was in the business of, I went on an inspiration tour. I asked for time with leaders of all kinds of companies to hear how they were using AI, where it shone, where the friction lived.

These activities were the bounce I gave AI.

And this is where the magic happened. It helped me see something I couldn't see before. It sussed out from my call transcripts and my daily reflection tracker something that was harder to see for myself: where my energy was highest and the fit was most natural.

Armed with my bounce, it gave me a solid hypothesis of who this business serves and how.

I'd like to tie this up with a neat bow, but the reality is, I'm still on that inspiration tour, pressure-testing that hypothesis. I'm currently talking with privately-held and family-run businesses about their AI experiences. If that's you or someone you know, I'd love a thirty minute conversation. I'm sharing insights and opportunities with all who participate.

But in place of a bow, I offer you a simple knot: For growth, the bounce happens with the curiosities and provocations you give AI. Build something. Talk to people. Keep notes. Then bring the whole pile to AI and ask: Here's what I've done and what I'm seeing. What am I missing? How far you fly from there... that part was always yours.