If you want to become fully AI-native, join a startup. For years, I was fortunate to lead large teams with dedicated resources across data, engineering, product, and more. Need data? Ask the data team. Need something built? Get engineering resources. Have an idea? Find the right product partner. Those resources were an incredible advantage. But in this new era, it seems that they have become preventative to growth and innovation. Today, when I need something, my first option often isn’t to ask someone else. I’m forced to figure it out. In fact, the handbook of Dalton Mills demands it. Sometimes that means spending hours, or days learning something completely new. Other times, one prompt unlocks something I previously wouldn’t have known how to do or believed I was capable of. Either way, the result is the same: my capacity to do more keeps expanding. To be clear, this isn’t the only path to becoming AI-native. It is true nearly everywhere that the most driven people will push themselves no matter where they work. Some people will opt out entirely. Most will fall somewhere in the middle. And if you’re in that middle, surrounded by enough resources and comfort that you can always hand the problem to someone else, maybe it’s worth intentionally putting yourself in situations where you can’t because the ability to figure it out yourself has never been more valuable. The challenge I am working on this week is building an internal dashboard from scratch. That means mapping milestones, connecting the relevant BI events, and turning it all into a functioning internal data dashboard. A year ago, I wouldn’t have considered doing that myself. Wish me and Astra luck.

Most software companies wait until they have "enough" customers to justify a real CX function. We hired for it before we had a product to sell. If you wait until you've "scaled enough" to invest in your users experience, you've already missed the moment it mattered most, at first impression. There's also a belief baked into how we built Dalton Mills: customer experience and product experience aren't two different things. The first time an owner logs in and sees their price book already built, their data already migrated, nothing broken that's not "good support." That's the product (@connork26 🔥 ). I could fly to your shop and spend a week building your price book by hand. That used to be called white-glove service. We'd rather build a product that does this for you minutes, and a CX infrastructure that doesn't act as a safety net for when the product fails, but one that fuels you to reach new levels in your business. At @DaltonMillsAI we are committed to your customer experience from day one! Wrote up the full thinking in this month's Field Notes:

Last week was my first at @DaltonMillsAI, and I spent it doing my favorite thing: talking to users. I met with a dozen+ home services business owners across the country—HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more. One thing is already clear: this industry is full of builders who are ambitious, innovative, and eager to embrace AI. If you’re in the trades, I’d love to hear your story. Shoot me a DM and let’s chat.

4 days in at @DaltonMillsAI and already meeting many eager users who want a peek behind the curtain. Grateful to @toddsaunders and @seanokbave for the opportunity - launching this account to share the ride as we build!