The Problem With Off-the-Shelf AI
You're paying for tools built for the average user. But you're not average. Your workflows, your preferences, your edge cases. None of them fit the mould.
Book a Discovery CallThe Platform Problem
Every SaaS product faces the same challenge. They need to serve thousands of users, so they build for the middle.
Built for Everyone, Perfect for No One
Features designed by committee. Workflows that almost match yours. The frustration of "close but not right" every single day.
You Adapt to the Tool
Instead of the tool adapting to you, you change how you work. Your unique approach gets flattened into their standard process.
Features You Pay For, Never Use
The pricing tier that has what you need also includes ten things you don't. But you're paying for all of it.
Locked Into Their Roadmap
The feature you need most? It's on their roadmap. Maybe next quarter. Maybe next year. Maybe never.
The Hidden Costs
Switching Costs
Your data, your workflows, your team's habits. All locked into their ecosystem. Leaving feels impossible even when you want to.
Integration Gaps
It connects to some of your tools. Not all. So you have manual steps, copy-paste workarounds, things that should be automated but aren't.
Workflow Friction
Every day, small frustrations. A button in the wrong place. A feature that works slightly differently than you'd expect. Death by a thousand paper cuts.
Opportunity Cost
Time spent working around the tool's limitations is time not spent on what actually matters.
What About AI Tools for Non-Developers?
Tools like Claude's Cowork, ChatGPT's Canvas, and Copilot are genuinely impressive. They can connect to your files, remember context, and automate real tasks. For individual use, they're a great starting point. But when you try to scale beyond personal productivity, you hit walls:
Rate Limits
Try running multi-agent workflows across 50 prospects. Or processing a month of meeting transcripts. Consumer tools weren't built for that scale.
No Customisation
You can't modify the underlying prompts, build custom skills, or create data pipelines tailored to your exact workflow.
Vendor Lock-in
Your processes live in their ecosystem. When pricing changes, features disappear, or rate limits tighten, you adapt or start over.
Data Ownership
Where does your client data go? Can you prove compliance? Can you guarantee it's not training someone else's model?
Consumer AI tools are perfect for getting started. But when you need scale, customisation, and ownership, when AI becomes infrastructure, not just a tool, you need to build something yourself.
What "Building Your Own" Actually Means
Not Starting From Scratch
You're not coding an app. You're connecting building blocks that already exist. LLMs, automation platforms, databases.
Not Reinventing the Wheel
Use the best parts of existing tools. Skip the parts that don't fit. Combine them in ways no vendor would think to offer.
Not Going It Alone
You need guidance to see what's possible. Someone who's already mapped the territory. That's where I come in.
The Compound Advantage
One workflow automated. One pain point eliminated. Small win, but real.
Several workflows connected. Your system starts to feel like yours. The generic tools start to feel clunky by comparison.
A complete system built around how you actually work. Every improvement you've made compounds. You're not renting. You're building equity.
Every hour invested in your own system stays with you. Every hour spent learning a vendor's quirks is lost when you switch.
Stop Adapting. Start Building.
Let's talk about what you're currently tolerating, and what you could build instead.