I came to Brighton from the Czech Republic when I was 20. I’d just finished business school, but honestly, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I came here to learn English – I couldn’t speak a word of it at the time.

My parents gave me £200, which didn’t last long, so I had to find work straight away. Thanks to my new boyfriend, I found somewhere to stay – a single room shared with my new boyfriend (we slept on a single bed) and another Polish man! I got my first job at the Grand Hotel, hidden away in the back making tea, coffee, and toast – perfect, because I didn’t even understand what ‘thank you’ or ‘you’re welcome’ meant back then.

I worked in a few different hotels, then moved into restaurant work once my English improved. Eventually, I ended up working as a baker when a friend needed someone to take over her job. It was a healthy routine change after years of hospitality and the lifestyle that comes with it. From there, I got curious again: what else could I do? A friend, who was a dental technician, told me about apprenticeships. That’s how I became a dental nurse.

It just didn’t sit right with me. The more I learnt, the more disillusioned I became. I believe anything health-related should be a human right, not a business. But in dentistry – particularly under the NHS system – it’s all about hitting targets.

Dentists are paid per treatment point, regardless of whether the patient actually needs it. I saw healthy teeth being drilled and unnecessary treatments being pushed. Patients trust their dentist implicitly because they wear a white coat. It broke my soul. Even though they threatened to make me repay my training costs if I left early, I walked away.

I was depressed and lost, on benefits, and felt like I didn’t deserved help because I wasn’t British. But I started researching how to make money online – affiliate marketing, dropshipping, SEO, building websites, running ads – and just immersed myself in learning.

For a few years, I ran three dropshipping stores through Shopify, selling products from China and doing quite well. But when the pandemic hit, fulfilment became a nightmare, and I realised I didn’t enjoy the business model anyway. It paid the bills, but there was no fulfilment. I was scared to go all in, so I kept side jobs for security, even when the agency was doing well.

When I shut my online stores, a friend who runs a carpentry workshop in Lewes was struggling because they had no online presence. Customers didn’t know if they were even open. I had time on my hands, so I offered to help for free. I built them a website, set up social media, ran Google and Facebook ads. It worked. The business went from almost collapsing to doing £50k a month. That’s when I realised the value of the skills I’d learnt.

Next, I helped a dentist friend, then others. I built up a small team of four or five freelancers and two full-time virtual assistants, and focused mostly on paid ads and lead generation.

I focused on digital advertising. I never liked SEO as it’s a such long game. I was focused on fast results for clients who were often in crisis. But it got to a point where I was stretched too thin.

Yes. I started experimenting with ChatGPT last year to follow up on leads for my clients, and it worked surprisingly well. It wasn’t perfect at first, but better than nothing. The biggest problem in small businesses is the follow-up. They get leads but never call back quickly, or at all. So I built AI tools to follow up via text and email, book appointments, and qualify leads automatically.

Phynix AI revives “old” leads from businesses’ databases – sometimes going back two or three years. Let’s say you enquired about a roof repair in 2022, but never followed through. The AI sends a message like, “Hi, is this Ian who enquired about roof repair with us last year?” If you respond, it continues the conversation, qualifies you, and either books you into a calendar or triggers a sales call.

It works 24/7 and never forgets to follow up. And it’s all bespoke, tailored to each business’s tone and sales process. It can do exactly the same with all your “fresh” leads too and we are constantly working on growing Phynix AI Family for more solutions to business problems.

One of my first real success stories with Phynix AI was with Woodland Dry Cleaners in Hove. The owner David Fraser agreed to try out my new service. He’d been in business for 16 years but had never done any kind of marketing but he had a list of 6,000 phone numbers from past customers, with no names or emails. I offered to help him as a test case and set up an AI campaign to re-engage the list. The AI messaged people via text, asking for their email address and date of birth so we could send out birthday vouchers and offers.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how people would respond, but the results blew us both away. People started replying, giving their full details, and even calling the shop to check it was real – and then coming back in with clothes to clean.

He suddenly had so much business he could hardly keep up. That’s when I knew this worked!

Exactly. It’s not replacing human salespeople. People still buy from people but it’s there to do the heavy lifting of following up. I work on a performance basis too. I only get paid per appointment or as commission on successful sales. No setup fees. That way, it’s a win-win.

It’s a play on “Phoenix”, because the AI brings old leads back from the ashes and turns them into sales opportunities. That image just fit.

Hillary Russell from the US. She runs a digital agency and a mentorship programme that helped me shift from being a freelancer to running a proper agency. She’s still in the game herself, which I really value. I’ve probably spent close to £100,000 on courses since 2014 – some were worth it, others less so – but her guidance was a game-changer.

Definitely. I didn’t come from university. I started out making toast in hotels. That creates imposter syndrome. You don’t have anyone giving you permission or saying “you’re good to go” – you have to decide that for yourself. But it also makes you resilient. I’ve been broke more times than I can count. I’ve risked it all. But I wouldn’t change the journey.

Decide what you want. Be clear on your vision, and then find someone who’s already two steps ahead of you. Invest in mentorship. Don’t get distracted by all the shiny AI tools and trends. Focus. Follow someone you trust and stick with it. That’s how you make real progress in business, health, relationships, or anything.

The old leads offer is our entry point, effectively the trust-builder. But once a client sees the results, there’s so much more we can do. From automated social media replies to review collection, booking systems, WhatsApp agents – the possibilities are endless.

AI isn’t going anywhere. People who embrace it and get creative will thrive. The ones who resist it? They’ll get left behind.