I started out as a nurse in New Zealand before going travelling, as you do, and I haven’t made it back yet! I met my business partner and husband, Gareth, while working in pharmaceutical sales. The joke is that we met selling drugs on Brighton Beach (legally, of course).

For 20 years, we ran a business development and strategy consultancy in the U.S., working with large corporate clients, including Etsy. We built our network through referrals, for instance, one client in Sweden recommended us to a company in California, which led to another connection on the East Coast.

Gareth was always interested in AI, and when ChatGPT launched in late 2022, he started experimenting. We used to create detailed client profiles and avatars, a process that took four to six weeks and we charged five figures for. He managed to replicate that work in under an hour using ChatGPT. That was our wake-up call. We could either wait to be disrupted or embrace AI. We decided to lean in and start an AI consultancy, unaware of just how far ahead of the market we were at the time

We had trusted clients in the U.S. and assumed they’d be interested in AI, but we quickly realised they weren’t ready. The companies we worked with had AI adoption on their timelines, but one year, two years, even three years in the future. It turned out America was adopting AI much slower than we were in the UK.

There’s a misconception that the U.S. is leading on AI. While they are advanced in machine learning, spending millions on bespoke, closed-box solutions, the idea of employees using generative AI like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini is terrifying to them. Many companies have outright bans on using AI at work. I even know a senior executive at a major financial institution who sneakily uses ChatGPT at home because he isn’t allowed to at the office!

Fear. They don’t fully understand how AI works, and there are concerns around data security. Organisations worry that a junior employee might accidentally input sensitive information, exposing the entire company. Instead of mitigating the risks, their solution is to ban AI use altogether.

They’re concerned about brand reputation, because if employees don’t follow strict guidelines when using AI, it could lead to costly mistakes. So for now, many U.S. companies are playing it safe.

Absolutely. The first year was a wild ride! When you’re a husband-and-wife team, you don’t have the security of another income stream, and you live or die by your daily work. We often dipped into our savings war chest.

But I’m so glad we took the leap when we did as we didn’t realise how far ahead of the market we were.

It allowed us to learn quickly and develop a system to train businesses at scale. The Brighton and London business communities have been amazing, embracing us and offering recommendations. We probably undercharged in the beginning, but that was how we learned. The small entrepreneurial community in Brighton made this possible for us.

It really was. We were used to flying back and forth to the U.S., so our network was entirely based there. When we worked closer to home, we realised we were invisible in Brighton’s business scene. Gareth coined the term “Five Mile Famous”, meaning that for early-stage growth, everything you need is within five miles of your front door.

We applied this principle strictly, even turning down London meetings if they didn’t fit our focus. It was about building local trust first. If we could make our business thrive in our backyard, we could replicate the model elsewhere.

Probably, by osmosis! Gareth is more of the marketer, and I focus on business development, but I do love creative problem-solving. Coming from a pharma sales background gave me a strong foundation in marketing and strategy.

I see myself as an “accidental woman in AI.” I don’t come from a tech background, but that actually serves us well. We’re not just an AI training company; we focus on AI adoption and company culture.

Gareth had already gone all in, but I was still finishing a contract with a U.S. client, which wrapped up in October 2023. That was the last section of stable ground before we jumped entirely into AI. We had to learn fast - not just how to use large language models, but how to teach others to use them.

The biggest challenge for most businesses isn’t technical, it’s the overwhelming sense of “Where do I even start?” Our job is to help them feel comfortable enough to experiment.

Immense. We learned on the job. But the advantage of working with so many different businesses is that we saw AI’s impact across industries. Many companies saw productivity double when they implemented AI effectively.

We help businesses optimise their AI strategy, and they often save more than we cost. We never promise but it often happens because the efficiency gains are so significant.

We advocate for an “AI-first” mindset. Before starting any task, ask yourself: How can I do this faster, differently, or better with AI?

Most people only consider AI for emails, blogs, or social media. They don’t think about using it for operations, optimising their calendar, analysing sales calls, or even as a venting tool after a tough day.

A major mental shift is understanding that AI isn’t about having the right answers, it’s about asking the right questions. Many professionals are trained to be experts, but using AI effectively means learning how to prompt it properly. That’s a big adjustment.

It’s definitely a risk. AI will disrupt some roles, but it will also create new ones. The World Economic Forum predicts net job growth by 2030, with 78 million new roles emerging.

Many businesses will insource tasks they used to outsource. For example, companies might generate 80% of a project using AI, then bring in an expert to refine the final 20%. The best professionals will still thrive as cream rises to the top.

AI has been designated a GPT, which is stands for General Purpose Technology, and there's been about 50 in human history. The first one was fire, the last one was the internet, and it means it's going to touch every area of human existence.

AI is going to revolutionise industries we haven’t even considered yet. Just as no one could have predicted the internet would lead to companies like Uber or Airbnb, AI will create opportunities we can’t yet imagine. Whether it’s advancements in medicine, education, or even interspecies communication, we’re on the cusp of a transformation that will redefine human capabilities.

I’m excited by the potential to flip the 80/20 rule. Most people spend 80% of their time on repetitive tasks and only 20% on the meaningful, high value work they enjoy. AI can reverse that, allowing us to focus on creativity, strategy, and human interaction.

Soft skills such as communication, collaboration and emotional intelligence will become more valuable than ever because AI can’t replicate them. We’ll see a shift toward a world where human creativity and ingenuity take centre stage while AI handles the routine, making work more fulfilling and innovative.

I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from the tech communities in Brighton, particularly Silicon Brighton and Brighton AI. I believe in surrounding myself with people who challenge my thinking and offer diverse perspectives.

Beyond AI, I’ve been influenced by thought leaders like Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Dan Sullivan (founder of Strategic Coach), and Ryan Deiss. The game-changer is that AI now allows us to put their strategies into action more effectively than ever before.

AI has made the knowledge of these great minds more accessible. I can now "converse" with AI-generated versions of figures like Richard Branson, exploring their insights and applying their strategies in real time. It’s a powerful shift from merely consuming ideas to actively implementing them.

In many ways, AI has put unlimited expertise at our fingertips. It’s reminiscent of the early iPod era when Apple advertised having “1,000 songs in your pocket.” Now, we have thousands of experts in our pockets, ready to assist us at any time.

We’re merging AI with human expertise. Our goal is to create an interactive AI-driven platform containing our training knowledge, so businesses can access it 24/7. Imagine needing a refresher on AI strategy - you’d simply ask the platform, and it would give you an interactive, real-time response, in our voice and with our experience. It will feel like you're talking to me.

But we’ll always be human-first. AI is a tool to enhance human capability, not replace it.

One of AI’s most positive aspects is its potential to level the playing field.

Take gender diversity, for example. At the current rate, the UK is not expected to reach boardroom gender parity until 2076, which is shockingly slow. Globally, full gender parity in employment is projected to take until 2154, let alone achieving broader diversity and inclusion across other groups.

AI has the power to make a difference. Women often face a confidence gap and a shortage of high-quality mentors. AI can help bridge these gaps by providing accessible mentorship, guidance, and resources, allowing women to compete more equally. Similarly, AI has significant potential in supporting neurodiverse individuals, such as those with ADHD, by helping them engage more effectively in work and education.

Another groundbreaking area is interspecies communication. AI is already being developed to interpret the sounds and body language of animals, including whales, farm animals, and dogs. It may soon allow us to understand what animals are trying to express and be able to communicate with them. While it sounds like science fiction, researchers are making real progress in this field. The technology isn’t just analysing barks; it's also interpreting body language and behavioural cues, opening up entirely new possibilities for human-animal interaction.

AI will revolutionise healthcare. Just as mechanics repair individual parts of an old car, AI-driven medical advancements could allow us to "repair" parts of the human body with incredible precision. This could mean earlier diagnoses, personalised treatments, and even regenerative medicine. However, these innovations will bring their issues! Many things that once belonged in science fiction are becoming the reality.

It’s okay to be overwhelmed when learning AI. Comfortably uncomfortable is where I want people to be.

Find a trusted expert and stay curious, because AI isn’t going away. The sooner you embrace it, the more opportunities you’ll unlock.