Key insights

• ⭐ Nicole started Head Start with AI in mind, using Chat GPT for coding and implementing AI solutions for clients
• 🤖 The company takes on diverse AI projects including chatbots, RAG implementations, unstructured to structured data, and web scraping
• 🔑 Emphasizes the importance of proprietary data structures, leveraging AI to normalize data and integrate multiple systems
• 🌱 Initially a solo operation, the team has grown to 4 employees through inbound referrals
• 🚀 AI coding allows scaling without hiring many employees
• ⚙️ The team has a unique skill set with complimentary technical and non-technical roles
• 💰 Charging mid six figures on short-term contracts and planning to 10X their revenue in 2025
• ☁️ Using cloud projects for sharing and managing codebase among team members

Q&A

• What values and growth plans does Head Start prioritize?

  Head Start has a tight feedback loop and uses a variety of tech tools for AI development. They take on hard technical projects and focus on values-driven business, planning to grow in an AI-native way and prioritize internal product development.

• What discussions does Head Start engage in regarding AI in coding and development tools?

  Head Start discusses using AI in coding, reliance on tools like CL projects, and the development of personalized AI solutions and evaluation tools. The company emphasizes the importance of file structure, human communication, and trust in using AI for coding.

• How does Head Start manage its codebase and development process?

  Head Start works with cloud projects and language models (LM) to streamline codebase management and development process, leveraging LM for code generation, file organization, and component extraction. They prefer LM over other tools for code generation and file management.

• What are Head Start's expansion plans and revenue goals?

  Head Start is expanding and planning to hire more employees, particularly new grads with computer science backgrounds. They charge mid six figures on short-term contracts and plan to 10X their revenue in 2025. The company prefers CLA projects over cursor for containing context explicitly.

• How does Head Start leverage AI for coding and project scaling?

  Head Start uses AI to code and scale its projects without hiring many employees. Communication, product scoping, and architecture are crucial alongside coding with AI. The company has a structured approach to learning from previous projects, using a Wiki in GitHub and an AI tool for prompts.

• How has Head Start grown from its initial solo operation?

  Initially a solo operation, Head Start has grown to a team of 4 employees through inbound referrals. The team has a unique skill set with complimentary technical and non-technical roles and focuses on short, premium client engagements while handling multiple projects concurrently.

• What type of projects does Head Start take on?

  Head Start takes on diverse AI projects, including chatbots, RAG implementations, unstructured to structured data, and web scraping. The company emphasizes the importance of proprietary data structures, leveraging AI to normalize data and integrate multiple systems.

• 00:00 Nicole, the founder of Head Start, shares how she started her AI services business, leverages Chat GPT for coding, and takes on diverse AI projects. Her company uses AI to write code and implements AI solutions for clients, emphasizing the importance of proprietary data structures. She started with AI in mind to bootstrap the business and has grown from a solo operation to a team of 4 through inbound referrals.
• 07:33 The company uses AI to code and scale its projects without hiring many employees. Communication, product scoping, and architecture are crucial in addition to coding with AI. The team has a unique skill set and focuses on short, premium client engagements. The business has grown to four employees and handles multiple projects concurrently.
• 14:35 The company is expanding and planning to hire more employees, particularly new grads with computer science backgrounds. They charge mid six figures on short-term contracts and plan to 10X their revenue in 2025. They have a structured approach to learning from previous projects, using a Wiki in GitHub and an AI tool for prompts. They prefer CLA projects over cursor for containing context explicitly.
• 21:15 Working with cloud projects and LM to streamline the codebase management and development process, including file organization, code generation, and component extraction.
• 28:59 Discussions about using AI in coding, reliance on tools like CL projects, and development of personalized AI solutions and evaluation tools.
• 36:21 The company has a tight feedback loop and uses a variety of tech tools for AI development. They take on hard technical projects and focus on values-driven business. They plan to grow in an AI-native way and prioritize internal product development.