Rapid AI Wins & Cute Marketplaces: Your Weekly AI Playbook

Rapid AI validation, embedding AI in daily tools, and practical playbooks from top experts.

Author

Stuart Willson
May 06, 2025

🔥 This week, we released over a dozen videos with AI leaders like Melanie Moeller, Brandon Gell, Denis Panjuta, Sean Wood, plus a fresh short-form video from Justin Massa. And our interview with Jeremy Utley got thousands of views on YouTube.

Today, you'll quickly learn:

  • How to validate AI ideas fast and affordably.

  • Simple ways to integrate AI into daily workflows.

  • Why 2025 will shift AI from experiments to real-world applications.

Also, don’t miss the latest My First Million podcast on the need for an AI marketplace with highly skilled practitioners and a “cute name”.

Let’s go!

🙋 What problems do you want us to explore solving with AI

Reply to this email, and I’ll do an expert interview or case study focused on what you share

🛠️ AI Expert Playbook

Last week was big for Just Curious: we released over a dozen new videos, featuring in-depth conversations with leading AI experts-including Melanie Moeller, Brandon Gell, Denis Panjuta, and Sean Wood. We also released our first short-form video with Justin Massa.

Below, we've distilled the very best insights into three clear sections:

  • Key Lessons (strategic takeaways)

  • Quotes & Insights (memorable wisdom)

  • Recommended Actions (practical steps you can implement today)

Lessons

  1. Begin with small, measurable experiments to quickly validate AI's potential value before large-scale investment. - Melanie Moeller, Chief AI Officer at GenFutures Lab

  2. Integrate AI directly into the tools and platforms your teams already use daily, rather than adding entirely new systems, to reduce friction and accelerate adoption.  – Brandon Gell, Head of Studio & Consulting at Every

  3. Start by teaching employees simple AI techniques and create low-cost prototypes ("jigs") to rapidly test ideas. - Justin Massa, Owner at Midwest Quality Consulting

  4. Use structured scorecards to evaluate AI use cases based on defined ROI and strategic business metrics. - Melanie Moeller, Chief AI Officer at GenFutures Lab

  5. Refine existing processes before automation, as automation magnifies underlying inefficiencies. - Denis Panjuta, CEO at Panjutorials GmbH

  6. Clearly articulate your organizational vision before adopting AI technologies to ensure alignment and effectiveness.  - Brandon Gell, Head of Studio & Consulting at Every

  7. Transition AI use from exploratory phases to tangible, production-level applications aligned directly with customer needs. - Sean Wood, Founder at Human Pilots AI

Quotes & Insights

  1. Golden Era of AI Jigs: “We are in a golden era of AI jigs... invest half a day, capture ROI in a week.”
    - Justin Massa, Owner at Midwest Quality Consulting

  2. Process Quality is Essential: “If you just take crap and paint it, it's still going to be crap. Ensure your processes are valuable before applying AI.” - Denis Panjuta, CEO at Panjutorials GmbH

  3. Early Validation is Crucial: “Realizing value early based on your value hypothesis prevents investing in solutions without tangible outcomes.”  - Melanie Moeller, Chief AI Officer at GenFutures Lab

  4. Repetitive Precision Tasks: “AI excels in tasks requiring repetitive decision-making, like filtering support tickets efficiently and accurately.” - Denis Panjuta, CEO at Panjutorials GmbH

  5. Dedicate Time for AI Competency: “You won't master AI in 15 minutes. Allocate larger time blocks for experimentation and learning.” - Justin Massa, Owner at Midwest Quality Consulting

  6. Vision-Driven AI Strategy: “True AI strategy starts with your vision. You can't outsource leadership responsibility.”  - Brandon Gell, Head of Studio & Consulting at Every

  7. Real-World Value: “2025 is the year companies transition from AI experiments to real-world applications that genuinely serve users.  - Sean Wood, Founder at Human Pilots AI

  1. Conduct Regular AI Retrospectives:  Hold periodic team retrospectives focused specifically on AI experiments. Identify what's working, what isn't, and adjust your strategy accordingly. – Brandon Gell, Head of Studio & Consulting at Every

  2. Empower Cross-Functional AI Champions: Designate individuals across different departments as "AI champions" who can help peers integrate AI into daily workflows, speeding up adoption and improving overall effectiveness. – Brandon Gell, Head of Studio & Consulting at Every

  3. Implement Prompt Libraries: Share effective AI prompts organization-wide to democratize practical AI knowledge and quickly level up teams. - Justin Massa, Owner at Midwest Quality Consulting

  4. Rapid AI Prototyping ("Jigs"): Limit prototype creation to a day or less to foster incremental, low-risk AI testing and learning. - Justin Massa, Owner at Midwest Quality Consulting

  5. Set Clear Success Criteria: Clearly define success metrics upfront for objective AI project evaluation and measurable outcomes. - Melanie Moeller, Chief AI Officer at GenFutures Lab

  6. Regular AI-Readiness Assessments: Evaluate your organization's data, infrastructure, and team skills regularly to adapt AI implementation effectively. - Melanie Moeller, Chief AI Officer at GenFutures Lab

  7. Automate Content Workflows: Use automation platforms like Airtable or Make.com to streamline AI-powered content creation efficiently. - Denis Panjuta, CEO at Panjutorials GmbH

  8. Define Strategic AI Goals: Clearly connect AI projects to user needs and measurable business outcomes to maintain strategic alignment and clarity. - Sean Wood, Founder at Human Pilots AI

📌 Just Curious Originals

Featured highlights from our original interviews & actionable insights you can apply today.

🎙️ Brandon Gell – Head of Studio & Consulting, Every

 Turning AI Curiosity into Real Adoption

  • Embed AI into daily workflows: Brandon shows how integrating AI directly into tools your teams already use makes adoption effortless, quick, and frictionless.

  •  Practical retrospectives: Introduces regular AI-focused retrospectives as a method to swiftly assess effectiveness and continuously improve adoption strategies.

  •  Empower your AI champions: Learn how designating internal advocates across your business drives smoother, faster AI integration.

🎙️ Melanie Moeller – Chief AI Officer, GenFutures Lab

 Turning AI Ambition into Tangible Results

  •  Rapid validation, clearer decisions: Mel explains how early validation helps teams avoid costly missteps, ensuring every AI investment counts.

  •  Metrics that matter: Learn how structured success criteria and clear scorecards help measure and achieve tangible AI outcomes.

  •  Get AI-ready: Discover the critical importance of regular assessments to align your teams, infrastructure, and data readiness for smooth AI adoption.

📌 Expert Signal: Distilled

Curated highlights from the Just Curious network.

✍️ Mel Moeller (Chief AI Officer, GenFutures Lab)

Why AI Evaluations Matter More Than Ever

 As AI tools proliferate, it's crucial to assess their performance rigorously. Mel emphasizes that structured evaluations—focusing on tone, accuracy, and creativity—are essential to ensure AI outputs align with brand standards and business goals.

✍️ Shadi Yazdan (AI & Business Growth Strategist, SY Strategy)

 An AI Strategy Is Not ChatGPT

Shadi argues that a genuine AI strategy transcends adopting tools like ChatGPT. It's about defining a clear vision for your organization's future and aligning AI initiatives to serve that vision, rather than chasing the latest tech trends.

✍️ Anna Tiomina (Founder, Blend2Balance)

How to Validate Your First AI Idea in 30 Minutes

 Anna provides a practical, time-efficient framework for identifying and testing AI opportunities within your workflows. This approach helps teams move from contemplation to action, achieving quick, tangible wins with AI.

🔍 My Favorite Thing Last Week

This past week’s My First Million pod discussed defensible AI businesses and the need for an AI marketplace for highly-skilled AI practitioners that can help businesses use AI to solve their problems.

And it needs to have a cute name.

Check. Check.

🚀 Next Week: AI as the new value lever for Private Equity, reducing windfarm downtime by 40% and more. (Btw, I said that last time but I shifted those two interviews back and they’re being released this week).

Curiosity is the spark-but momentum comes from small, strategic moves.

See you next week,

 -Stu

Ps. Please forward this to anyone curious about AI!