AI integration for small to mid-size businesses

Elevate Your Team

AI set up and put to work inside your business, one measured workflow at a time, so the people who know the business spend more time driving it forward. For owner-led and PE-backed companies.

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Past results

  • 87%

    less time per month pulling information for reports: 32 hours down to 4 hours

  • $300k

    in projected annual EBITDA recovered through pricing-plan consolidation

  • 180 days

    cut from the time to deployment by using an AI-driven HDLC

Every business starts somewhere different. We begin at the step that fits where you are today.

Getting set up

The right AI, set up the right way.

Before AI can lift the work, your team needs the right tool, set up for how you run, with clear rules and people who know how to use it.

  • Choose the right provider

    We match the AI to the workspace you already run on, whether that's Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or something else, so it fits from day one.

  • Configure it for your business

    Accounts, permissions, data connections, and the settings that keep company information where it belongs.

  • Set the ground rules

    A short, practical AI policy: what it's for, what's off-limits, and who signs off.

  • Train the people who lead

    A focused session for managers and key users, so everyone starts from the same playbook.

Then it's time to pick the first workflow.

Putting AI to work

Start small. Stay focused. Drive results.

  1. Capture the work

    We spend time with your team and see how the work really gets done. We capture that workflow and outline where AI can and should be leveraged.

  2. Pick one workflow

    One job that costs the team hours every week and has a number we can move.

  3. Build it together

    We develop the solution with your team to solve your specific problems.

  4. Hand it off

    We train the team to monitor the solution and make sure they have what they need.

  5. Follow up

    We always check in to make sure the process is running as expected and to gauge progress. We drive value, and that means following through on what we deliver.

Where it pays off

Examples you'll recognize.

These are examples of projects where AI can earn its keep, and chances are your business has one just like them. For each: what AI takes on, what your team still owns, and the number we track at 30 days.

Business operations

Give your team hours back every week.

Pulling Data from Documents

Teams spend hours a week searching through invoices, spec sheets, or POs to key-in to company systems. AI does the work automatically,

We track time spent per document.

Data System Separation

Data exists in multiple systems and the team spends hours working to find it. AI connects those systems, fetches the appropriate data, and provides aggregated data ready to be used in the format they need

We track hours a week spent tracking data.

Cross-team follow-through

AI pulls action items from meetings and email, gives each one an owner and a date, and flags what slips. Your managers spend their time clearing the blocks.

We track commitments closed on time.

Revenue operations

Keep your reps selling, not typing.

CRM updates from every call

AI turns each call and meeting into proposed CRM updates. The rep confirms them in seconds, and your ops lead decides what each field means.

We track rep hours spent on CRM entry.

Pipeline check-ups

AI flags deals that have gone quiet or at risk of churning. It then drafts a nudge to the rep who can schedule outreach to those customers.

We track open deals with no activity in 14 days.

Lead qualifying and routing

AI checks each new lead against your best-fit customer and sends it to the right rep within minutes. Someone on your team reviews the turned-away leads every week.

We track minutes from inquiry to first reply.

Product development

Ship faster without skipping the checks.

Code review before merge

AI runs the security, test and style checks on every change and summarizes the risk. A senior engineer signs off on the design before anything merges.

We track changes that need a fix after release.

Engineering change impact

AI traces every drawing, BOM and open order a change touches and routes it to the right reviewers. Your change board makes the call.

We track days from change request to approved change.

Engineering-to-floor handoff

AI checks the released BOM and drawings against ERP and the shop floor, and flags any part or revision that doesn't match. Your manufacturing engineer releases the build.

We track build errors traced to a wrong part or revision.

See yourself in one of these?

Let's talk about it

For sponsors and operating partners

AI that adds value to the business, not just the pitch deck.

We help you find where AI belongs in the plan, then put it to work.

  • Pre-close diligence

    Where AI fits in the target's operations, what it takes to get there, and what that success is worth.

  • The operating plan

    We work side by side with the business to build out the solutions that will drive the most value.

  • Across the portfolio

    We provide experience and expertise across the entire portfolio, focusing on each company's specific pain points, never a blanket solution.

Tim Watts

Who you work with

Tim Watts

Tim pairs an engineer's depth with an operator's commercial sense. He has built complex automation systems and led revenue operations, so he sees how what happens on the floor shows up in the financials.

He began his career at Dematic, the world's leading intralogistics automation firm, designing and commissioning some of its most challenging deployments across Germany, Belgium, Spain and the United States. These were high-stakes projects where systems had to perform under real operating conditions. He later moved into product management as part of a hand-picked team that launched Dematic's micro-fulfillment solution for grocery and urban retail.

His recent AI work spans marketplaces and industrial technology. At OPENLANE, a leading digital marketplace for wholesale used vehicles in North America and Europe, he used AI to automate business analytics and surface hidden trends and anomalies across the company's operating units, giving the commercial organization sharper focus. Through Tandem AI Advisors, he partnered with Burke Porter Group, the global leader in end-of-line and ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) calibration and test technology, to build AI-driven solutions for the launch of its aftermarket ADAS calibration business.

Raised in a family of small-business owners, Tim knows that every dollar and every hour counts, and he has always felt at home working alongside owners and CEOs. At Tandem, he helps small and mid-size companies cut through the hype and put AI to work in ways that fit their business.

He holds a B.S.E. in computer engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA in entrepreneurship from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, one of the world's foremost institutions for applying AI in industry. At Tepper, he founded the school's first Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) conference, bringing together searchers, investors and operators focused on acquiring and growing small businesses.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

— Proverb

“If you want to go far, fast — go together with AI.”

— Tim Watts

Next steps

Here's how we start.

  1. Intro call

    30 minutes, free. We find the one workflow worth starting with.

  2. Assessment

    A fixed scope and timeline. You get the plan, the expected value and the price.

  3. First workflow

    Built with your team and measured at 30 days.

  4. Ongoing

    More workflows, each one earning its keep before the next begins.

Engagements are a flat fee for the project. Cost is scoped after our first conversation.

Questions

What owners ask first.

Is our data safe? Where does it go?

It stays in your own ecosystem. We set AI up inside the workspace you already use and make sure your data doesn't leave it, including to train AI models. We also help you put governance policies in place that protect your customers' data.

Will AI replace my people?

No. AI takes the repetitive part of the work, and your people keep the judgment calls. The point is to give the team that knows your business more time to run it.

How long until we see results?

We start with one workflow and measure it at 30 days against the baseline we take on day one, so you see the impact in your own numbers.

Do we need technical staff?

No. We handle the setup and the build, and train the people who'll run it day to day.

Which AI tools do you work with?

Whatever fits the workspace you already run on, including Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. We recommend tools based on fit, not a one-size-fits-all package.

What does it cost?

Every engagement is a flat fee for the project, so you know the full cost before any work begins. It's scoped after our first conversation, once we understand the workflow and what it's worth to your business.

Let's talk.

Bring an issue that's burying your team. We'll scope the work together.

Schedule a conversation

Or reach out by email with any questions