Build Your AI Co-founder: The AI Native Canvas®
Build Your AI Co-founder — A Skill/Share Workshop for Small Business Owners
Note: This is based on my civic tech nonprofit work that I've been doing with QEDC Entrepreneurs for ~3 years for over 200 small business owners.
Personal Video from Jai (organizer):
This workshop is for you if you already run a business (or are seriously building one) and want to take your AI depth up a notch across your entire operation in a single day.
You are probably already being marketed AI classes that hand you prompts, then send you home to spend hours wrestling with inconsistent results. This is different. We are going to work out your brain, give you applied challenges, and send you home with a printed workbook titled "Your Wisdom is Better than Cheap AI" so you can keep building long after the room clears.
The how: your Business Model Canvas. If you already have one, you are ready. If you don't, generate one online in about 15 minutes and you are good to go. We will use each box of the canvas to holistically identify where AI plugs into your business — so you walk out with personalized tools, not generic prompts.
About Your Instructor
Jai has been teaching AI for economic empowerment since October 2023, with the goal of preparing communities for the shift toward Artificial General Intelligence. Through his work with the Queens Economic Development Corporation and his portfolio of companies, Jai has helped founders build differentiated messaging, marketing systems, and AI-grounded workflows that actually hold up in real businesses. He brings a practical, applied teaching style — less theory, more "do this, here's the result."
Run of the Program
Before the Event (up to 10 days prior)
You'll get access to an email series and a Slack community so you can bring your pressing problems into the room already warmed up.
9:30 AM — Doors Open: Chai with Jai
Come early to network, vibe out, and bring your pressing questions. My name is Jai, there will be chai — put it together.
11:00 AM — Kickoff: Ice Breakers & Intros
We start as a community. You'll meet your peers and get oriented.
Live Lecture: Business Model Canvas, Applied
We will walk through live, filled-out business case studies from QEDC entrepreneurs in the room. Each section of the canvas — customer segments, early adopters, channels, revenue streams — gets contextualized so you can see exactly how to apply it to your own business.
Community Q&A
Ask your peers what they're keeping, what they tried that isn't working, and trade notes.
Class Case Studies: The Three Things Every QEDC Entrepreneur Needs
Strong video presence
Strong email marketing for warm traffic
Strong Facebook ads and funnel strategy
You will leave with the steps to produce differentiated marketing messaging (the foundation for all your output), an email marketing approach with automation helpers, and a Facebook ads strategy designed to validate ideas without throwing money into a pit.
4:30 PM — Wrap
The AI Stack You'll Learn
Free path: Google AI Studio and Gemini — I'll show you how to take these far.
Power path: Codex (~$100/month). If you want to add an extra $50K–$100K to your business this year, this is the most important AI tool since ChatGPT launched. I'll show you why.
You'll also get my grounding framework so your AI output stays consistent — that is the whole point of the day.
After the Event
Featured case study participants receive a printed handout and special access to my business advisory chat (the same level of access my portfolio companies get). Everyone else will have the option to purchase the next workshop, which keeps you in the community chat going forward.
Requirements
A filled-out Business Model Canvas (15 minutes online if you don't have one yet).
A laptop with at least 32 GB of RAM recommended (16–64 GB range; aim for 32 GB to run a business, 64 GB if you're doing content marketing and media).
You can be from anywhere, but you must appreciate the land. This is about stewardship, not heritage.
Event Details
Sunday, June 7th
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM — Networking (Chai with Jai)
11:00 AM – 4:30 PM — Workshop
KVibe Studios, Jersey City, NJ
This is a free, donation-based event.
Can't make it but want in? Email [email protected] to join the email series.