How AI is Reshaping Business: Lessons from an Expert Panel

Navigating the AI Revolution: Insights for Founders, Innovators, and Industry Leaders

When I stepped onto the stage to moderate a panel on AI’s impact on business, I knew we were in for an exciting conversation. The room was packed with founders, investors, and tech professionals—all eager to explore how AI is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace. Over the course of our discussion, it became clear that AI isn't just a tool—it’s a revolution, one that demands a new way of thinking, building, and operating.

Meet the Experts

To unpack the impact of AI, I was joined by three incredible panelists, each with deep expertise in different facets of AI-driven innovation:

• David Bradford – A seasoned tech leader and entrepreneur, David has led multiple fast-growing tech companies, including Fusion-io and HireVue, and is currently the CEO of FluentWorlds, where he is pioneering AI-driven immersive learning in EdTech.

• Kathy Slowinski – A turnaround specialist and AI-driven executive, Kathy is CEO at Trilogy has scaled $100M+ revenue SaaS businesses and revitalized struggling companies by integrating AI into their operations.

• Jeff Barson – A behavioral AI expert and serial entrepreneur, Jeff is the CEO of Storyline Health and a Board Member of Depo IQ, where he is using AI to decode human behavior, predict outcomes, and transform industries like healthcare, legal tech, and customer intelligence.

Each of these leaders has not only embraced AI but has actively leveraged it to build and scale companies, making them the perfect voices for this conversation.

AI: A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity

I opened the session by framing the moment we’re living in. AI isn’t just another wave of innovation—it’s a paradigm shift, comparable to the rise of the internet or the mobile revolution. The panelists agreed: those who embrace AI today will define the future of business, while those who hesitate risk getting left behind.

Our discussion covered everything from AI’s role in business automation to its implications for jobs, education, and entrepreneurship. What stood out was the sheer speed of change. AI is moving so fast that the old way of launching startups—carefully iterating before scaling—might no longer apply.

Kathy put it best: "Don’t wait for the perfect AI product. Just start. Test, iterate, and move faster than you think is possible."

How AI is Driving Business Growth

A recurring theme was AI’s ability to accelerate business growth in ways we’ve never seen before. Several founders on the panel shared stories of launching AI-powered services and landing paying customers in a matter of weeks.

Kathy, for example, challenged her team to start an AI services agency. Within two weeks, they had built an AI agent, signed their first client, and closed multiple deals. The message was clear: AI is not just an opportunity—it’s a forcing function for speed, creativity, and execution.

We also heard from leaders who have used AI to drive revenue growth in software and SaaS businesses, turning struggling companies into thriving, highly efficient operations. The idea of AI as a turnaround tool was particularly compelling—companies that adopt AI-driven workflows can unlock massive efficiency gains, redirecting resources toward higher-value work.

AI’s Role in Entrepreneurship: Find the Pain, Solve the Problem

One of the most practical takeaways came from a conversation about AI’s role in entrepreneurship. The best AI businesses, the panelists agreed, don’t just apply AI for the sake of it—they solve real pain points.

Kathy shared a powerful analogy: "People don’t always remember to take their vitamins, but they never forget their painkillers." The key is to build AI solutions that act as painkillers—addressing urgent, high-value problems that businesses are desperate to solve.

We explored industries where AI is already proving to be transformative. In education technology (EdTech), AI-powered immersive learning tools are helping students learn faster and more effectively. In behavioral science, AI is being used to analyze human decision-making, predict behaviors, and improve outcomes in industries like healthcare, law, and customer experience.

AI and the Future of Work

Of course, with all the excitement about AI’s potential, we had to address the elephant in the room: what does this mean for jobs?

The consensus was clear—AI will change the nature of work, but it won’t eliminate the need for human talent. Instead of replacing employees, AI will augment their capabilities, making them more efficient, more productive, and more valuable.

Our the panelists are already leading companies where AI is embedded into the daily operations of employees, with some aiming for as much as 75% AI integration in workplace tasks. This shift means companies need to rethink hiring, training, and workforce optimization. Those who can blend AI into their workflows will have a major competitive advantage.

Kathy shared how her company transitioned from a 200-person customer support team to a 30-person AI-powered operation. Instead of layoffs, they redeployed employees into AI-driven roles, using them to build new products, expand into new markets, and unlock even greater efficiencies.

Key Practical AI Learnings for Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, and Professionals

1. Move Fast and Experiment

• Don’t wait for a perfect product – The best way to learn how AI fits into your business is by launching something and iterating.

• “Within a week, we had an AI agent, a seller, and two deals in two weeks. Tiny deals, but we were solving problems people were willing to pay for.”

• Actionable takeaway: Identify a small problem, create a quick AI-driven solution, and test it in the market.

2. AI is About Solving Pain Points, Not Just Technology

• “Find a pain point. When people are in pain, they will pay to have it removed.”

• AI should be positioned as a painkiller rather than a vitamin. If you can demonstrate tangible benefits—saving time, making money, or reducing effort—you have a business case.

• Actionable takeaway: Before implementing AI, ask: What’s the problem that businesses or individuals are desperate to solve?

3. Start Small but Think Big

• "You don’t need a perfect solution—just one that solves a problem well enough to start charging for it.”

• Even if you’re bootstrapping, start by solving one problem in your domain and refine as you go.

• Actionable takeaway: Instead of trying to build a large-scale AI solution, start with a microservice or AI-powered feature that delivers immediate value.

4. Use AI to Free Up Time for High-Value Work

• AI is best used to automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on strategic or revenue-generating work.

• "Your team doesn’t want AI replacing them—they want AI to take over the work they hate so they can do what they’re best at."

• Actionable takeaway: Identify the tasks that drain the most time but don’t require creativity or strategy—email sorting, scheduling, research—and use AI tools to handle them.

5. AI Can Augment, Not Replace, Customer-Facing Roles

• AI-powered virtual assistants and agents can reduce workloads while improving efficiency.

• Example: A company reduced its 200-person customer support team to 30 by using AI—but redeployed 170 employees to higher-value tasks.

• Actionable takeaway: Implement AI assistants to scale your customer interactions, but maintain human oversight to ensure quality and trust.

6. AI Adoption is an Unfair Advantage

• "If you're not using AI yet, it's like being in the 1990s and not using the internet."

• AI is still in an early adoption phase, meaning those who integrate it now will gain a significant head start.

• Actionable takeaway: Start incorporating AI into your work before your competitors do, whether for automation, analytics, or customer engagement.

7. No-Code AI Tools Make AI Accessible to Everyone

• AI is no longer just for engineers—many powerful no-code and low-code AI platforms allow business owners to build solutions without deep technical knowledge.

• "We built an entire AI sales agent using just a few low-code tools, and it worked within weeks."

• Actionable takeaway: Explore tools like Zapier, ChatGPT, and AI-driven automation software to build solutions without needing a developer.

8. Learn by Doing

• "You don’t need to be a software engineer to use AI effectively. Just start playing with it."

• Learning AI is not about technical expertise, but about understanding how to integrate it into workflows.

• Actionable takeaway: Spend 10-15 minutes a day testing AI tools in your workflow—whether it’s automating emails, analyzing customer data, or generating content.

9. AI-Driven Personalization is the Future

• AI allows businesses to provide hyper-personalized experiences to customers, leading to higher engagement and conversion.

• Example: AI-powered coaches, tutors, and advisors are being used in industries from education to wellness, offering tailored, always-available assistance.

• Actionable takeaway: Look for ways to personalize your product/service with AI—whether it’s chatbots, recommendation engines, or AI-driven insights.

10. AI in Sales and Lead Generation

• AI agents can handle outbound sales and prospecting, reducing reliance on human sales reps for repetitive tasks.

• "We built an AI SDR that does cold outreach and books meetings—our team no longer needs to do it manually."

• Actionable takeaway: Use AI to automate initial customer outreach, freeing up time for human sales reps to close deals.

11. The Best AI Opportunities Exist in Niche, Specialized Data

• Generic AI models (like ChatGPT) are widely available, so differentiation will come from unique, hard-to-get data that powers your AI.

• "If you can collect proprietary data—customer behavior, niche industry insights—you have a competitive edge."

• Actionable takeaway: Find a niche dataset or unique problem your business understands deeply, and train AI on that specialized data.

12. AI is a Multiplier, Not a Silver Bullet

• AI will make efficient teams more efficient but won’t fix a broken business model.

• "AI won’t save a bad product or business—it will just make you fail faster if your fundamentals aren’t right."

• Actionable takeaway: Ensure your core business model is solid before investing in AI—then use AI to scale and optimize.

AI is an Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon

AI levels the playing field for entrepreneurs / solopreneurs and small businesses by automating what used to take entire teams. The key is to focus on solving real problems, move quickly, and iterate based on results.

Where Do We Go from Here?

As we wrapped up the panel, I asked each expert to share one piece of advice for founders and professionals looking to navigate this AI-driven world. The responses were practical and inspiring:

• Move fast. AI is evolving rapidly—don’t overthink it, just start experimenting.

• Find the pain. The best AI businesses solve urgent, high-value problems.

• Learn how to use AI. You don’t need to be an engineer, but you do need to know how to integrate AI into your work.

• Leverage AI for speed and scale. Use AI to automate the things you hate doing so you can focus on high-impact work.

As we concluded the panel, I could feel the energy in the room. AI isn’t some distant future—it’s here, now, reshaping the way we build companies, create products, and even think about work itself. The biggest question isn’t whether AI will change the game—it’s whether we’ll move fast enough to take advantage of it.

For those of us willing to dive in, test ideas, and execute relentlessly, the opportunities are endless.

The AI revolution isn’t coming. It’s already here. Jump in the water’s fine!

-Eric Sullano
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericsullano/

Connect with our panelists on LinkedIn:

David Bradford - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbradford/
Kathy Slowinski - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kslowinski/
Jeff Barson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbarson/