Let’s put AI to work in your business

Me + agents. A whole business.

I’m Doug. I build and run businesses with a team of me plus AI agents. Product, design, sales, support and growth. I’ve found what works, and I’ll help you put it to work in yours.

How I can help
Doug SilkstoneDoug Silkstone// Founder, builder & operator

100+ engagements over ten years, for teams including these.

  • The Motley Fool
  • Groupon
  • Contra
  • NOW TV
  • Topman
  • STRV
  • Theory11
  • The Collective
  • The Donkey Sanctuary
  • Rightcharge
  • Foundry
  • W Series
  • Photologo

Track record

I know what it takes to build a business. Now I can do more of it.

I’ve built products, found customers and run the operation myself, alongside work for Groupon, The Motley Fool, Framer and Contra. That experience is what I bring to building with agents.

Monthly sessions through Benson’s attribution, across 500+ stores
Client engagements over ten years
Software businesses founded and sold
On Contra, with a 5.0 client rating
Top

  • 5.0 on Contra

    Doug was incredible to work with. He operated quickly & efficiently, and even proposed ways to improve the feature to exceed our expectations. 10/10!
    Allison NultyHead of Product, Contra

  • 5.0 on Clutch

    Doug is a pro. I'd hire him again for any future marketing & technology initiatives.
    Brian TigheHead of Technology, The Motley Fool

  • 5.0 on Clutch

    Smart, fast, and trustworthy.
    Shelby StevensFounder, Snacker.ai — Techstars alumni

Where to start

What would you do with a team of agents?

Learn how I work, build something with me, or get the daily work off your plate. We’ll choose a useful place to start.

  1. 01

    I want to use AI properly in my business.

    You’ve tried the tools. Now you want to use them for the work that fills your week: finding customers, answering questions, making things and keeping the business moving.

    I’ll show you how I work, then we’ll build a useful setup around your business. You’ll learn how to brief agents, connect your tools and check the results by doing the work with me.

    See how the hands-on sessions work

  2. 02

    I’ve got a business to build. Let’s get it launched.

    You’ve got the idea and you’re ready to move. There’s a product to build, a brand to design, a site to launch and customers to find.

    I can take on that work with you. We’ll choose a first version, give it a clear identity, build it and get it in front of people. I’ll show you how I use agents through the process so you can keep moving after launch.

    See what we can build

  3. 03

    Too much of the business still depends on me doing it all.

    Prospect research, partner outreach, follow-ups, content and customer support all need doing. You want the business to grow, but the daily work keeps taking the time you need to do it.

    We’ll put agents on the repeatable work and connect them to the tools you already use. Start with one process, see how it performs, then build out the rest. You keep the judgement and the relationships; the setup takes more of the work off your hands.

    See how we can take work off your plate

Selected work

I’m building on years of doing the whole job.

I’ve founded and sold three software businesses. Here’s work from my own companies and the teams I’ve helped along the way.

Read my story

One man. A team of agents.

I’ve found what works for me. A small team of me plus agents, doing a lot more.

I’ve spent years building products and running businesses. Now I’ve got a way of working that brings AI into the whole job: the code, the brand, finding customers and looking after them. I’m going all in, and I’ll show you how I do it.

The person you hire ships it. “You think the agency is the danger? Another kickoff, another handover, another invoice. No. I build it, I sell it, and I’m the one who ships.”

  • Products, brands and websites, from the first idea to launch.

  • Agents for prospect research, outreach, sales and partnerships.

  • Customer support, follow-up and the work that keeps a business running.

  • Marketing, growth experiments and the numbers behind the decisions.

Bring your business, your tools and the work you’re tired of doing by hand. I’ll open up my setup, build with you and teach you how to run it. No bullshit.

Let’s put it to work

How it works

Start with one useful thing. Build from there.

We use your actual work. You see how I build it, learn how to run it and decide what we tackle next.

  1. 01Talk

    Show me your business

    Tell me what you’re building and where your time goes. We’ll spend 30 minutes finding a useful place for AI to help. The call is free.

  2. 02Choose

    Pick the first job

    A product to launch, a sales process, a support queue or a workflow you want to learn. We agree the result, the scope and the price before starting.

  3. 03Build

    Get it working together

    I build with your tools and real work, and walk you through the decisions. You see the setup, the checks and what it takes to get a useful result.

  4. 04Run

    Make it part of the day job

    You get the workflow, the instructions and time to practise. Run it yourself, bring your team in, or keep me involved as we build out the next part.

Pricing

Learn the setup. Build it with me. Keep going.

Start with a free 30-minute call. We’ll agree what you need and put the scope and price in writing before paid work begins.

  • Learn the setup

    £2,500a day

    For you or your team, using your actual business

    A hands-on day putting AI to work on something you actually do.

    Together, we’ll

    • Find the work worth handing to agents
    • Set up and practise one useful workflow
    • Go through my tools and how I use them
    • Leave you with the setup and next steps

  • Build it with me

    Build together

    £20,000fixed

    Ten business days, one agreed outcome

    Ten days to build and launch one agreed product or business workflow.

    Choose a focus

    • A product, brand or website ready to launch
    • Agents for outreach, sales or customer support
    • Your tools, data and daily work connected
    • Working sessions, testing and a full handover

  • Keep building

    £35,000a month

    Four days a week, three-month minimum

    Work directly with me across the business, with a clear roadmap and priorities we review each week.

    Ongoing help with

    • Product, brand and new launches
    • Sales, partnerships and growth experiments
    • Support and day-to-day automation
    • Teaching your team to build and run it

Common questions

Everything you need to know before we talk.

What we can build, how you’ll learn to use it and what the help costs.

Contact me

  • Nothing. It’s 30 minutes to talk about your business, what you want to do and whether I can help. Bring a rough idea or a job you’re tired of doing by hand.

  • A hands-on day is £2,500. A ten-day build is a fixed £20,000 for one agreed outcome. Ongoing help is £35,000 a month for four days a week, with a three-month minimum. We agree the scope and price in writing before paid work starts.

  • You can draw on my work across product, brand, sales, growth and operations. We choose the priorities together: one useful workflow for a day, one agreed build for a sprint, or a roadmap delivered over the ongoing engagement. We agree what I’ll own, what gets delivered and how we’ll check it before starting.

  • Both. I can walk you through my setup, build alongside you or take on the implementation. Every engagement includes showing you how the work runs. You can bring your team into the sessions too.

  • No. Start with the business and the job you need done. I’ll explain the tools as we use them and handle the code where it’s needed. If you already build with agents, we can get straight into the parts you want to improve.

  • Building products, designing brands and websites, researching prospects, partner outreach, sales follow-up, marketing, customer support and internal operations. We start with a specific job and check the output before making it part of your routine.

  • I still choose what to build, make the calls and take responsibility for the result. The agents do a lot of the work. I’ll show you how I brief them, check what comes back and decide which jobs can run on their own.

  • The code, workflows, prompts and instructions we build for you, in accounts you control. We agree any software, hosting and AI usage costs before starting. You’ll know how to run the setup and what it costs to keep it running.

  • I’m running my own businesses with these methods. Before that, I founded and sold three software businesses and worked on more than 100 client engagements, including Framer, The Motley Fool, Groupon and Contra. The case studies show the work.

Writing

Here’s how I’m doing it.

The builds, the experiments and what I’ve learned running businesses with AI agents.

All articles