She Built a University Because the Old One Couldn't Keep Up, with Sasha Thackaberry, Ph.D.

The AI Readiness Project Series Finale

This week, Kyle Shannon and Anne Murphy bring past guests back to close out The AI Readiness Project together. No new topic, no single focus — just the people who shaped the show, in the same space one more time. A few guests will share where they are now and what has shifted since we last talked. The rest will be the kind of conversation that happens when people who've been paying attention finally get to compare notes. This is our last episode.

Your AI Business Analyst Is Already Waiting, with Alice Bazdikian

"𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘐 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 — 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩: 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘐-𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵." — Alice Bazdikian 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Most small business owners think AI is for big companies with big budgets. Alice Bazdikian has spent 20 years — and the last several of them training hundreds of entrepreneurs — proving that wrong. The real barrier isn't technology. It's mindset. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Alice Bazdikian built Small Business AI Coach on one core conviction: entrepreneurs deserve to reclaim their time. With 20 years of cross-functional experience and a track record training 300+ people on SaaS tools — including 100+ participants in Ontario small business accelerator programs — she's watched firsthand what happens when someone stops fighting AI and starts using it as their personal business strategist. A published author, self-described multipassionate, digital nomad who's traveled to 45 countries and speaks five languages, Alice brings a global perspective to a very local problem: too many entrepreneurs are buried in "make work" that AI could handle in minutes. Her current focus is showing small businesses exactly how Claude can function as their on-demand analyst and strategic advisor — and why that levels the playing field in ways that weren't possible even two years ago. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹-𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗿 — Alice's framework starts with mindset, not software, because the right mental model determines whether AI saves you hours or wastes them. • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 "𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸" 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜 — Not all tasks are created equal; learn to spot the ones eating your time and build simple AI workflows to eliminate them. • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 — Alice walks through how small businesses can leverage Claude to get strategic insights without hiring a consultant. • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 — AI tools like Cowork and Claude Code are changing what's possible for solo entrepreneurs and small teams. • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 — Practical steps for rewiring how you approach decisions, workflows, and growth using AI as a thinking partner. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁 • 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: smallbusinessaicoach.com • 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲'𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿: smallbusinessaicoach.com/webinar.html • 𝙎𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝘼𝙁 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 + 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼: https://a.co/d/05tywzAm • 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻: linkedin.com/in/alice-bazdikian • 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 / 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰: anthropic.com • 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗜: https://she-leads-ai.mn.co/ • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻: https://thesalon.ai/ • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: https://ruready4ai.com/ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 Catch a new episode of The AI Readiness Project Wednesdays at 3pm (PST), co-hosted by Anne Murphy of She Leads AI and Kyle Shannon of The AI Salon. Want to meet others navigating this new terrain with humor and humanity? Visit The AI Salon or She Leads AI to find your people.

How AI is Changing Design Thinking, with Sumin Chou

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘼𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: We're going live with Sumin Chou, Managing Partner at Schema — a research and design firm working at the intersection of data, technology, and human experience. Sumin has spent decades shaping digital products for The New York Times, Neiman Marcus, Victoria's Secret, CBS Interactive, and more. Now he's turning his attention to one of the most important questions in tech: as AI takes over execution, what becomes of design thinking? In this conversation, Kyle Shannon and Anne Murphy dig into how AI is reshaping the role and value of design — and where designers have the greatest impact right now. Expect a grounded, thoughtful take from someone who's been at the forefront of digital product design for 25+ years. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲: • How AI is changing what "design work" actually means • Where human design judgment is irreplaceable • What organizations get wrong about AI and UX • The difference between AI-generated interfaces and AI-augmented thinking • What Sumin's current work at Schema reveals about where this is all heading 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝘂 is a Managing Partner at Schema, a research and design firm that transforms complex information into clear, intelligent digital experiences. He previously co-founded Concentric, a creative studio whose clients included Neiman Marcus, West Elm, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Before that, Sumin served as Digital Design Director at The New York Times, leading creative for all of the company's online properties, and held senior roles at Time Inc. and multiple agencies. His work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, the Webby Awards, Communication Arts, and the Society of Publication Designers. He currently serves as an executive judge for the Webby Awards and is focused on how AI can augment human decision-making through thoughtful interface design, data visualization, and responsible product strategy. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽: • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 — without losing the human judgment that drives results • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗫 in a way that goes beyond "it generates images fast" • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜-𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 that keeps strategy, not tools, at the center • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 — what makes one responsible, useful, and actually human-centered • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 when generative tools are changing the baseline for execution 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁: • 🔗 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: https://www.schemadesign.com/ • 🔗 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻: / sumin-chou • 📄 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁, 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝘂: / designing-what-comes-next-schemadesign-ajhqe • 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗜: https://she-leads-ai.mn.co/ • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻: https://thesalon.ai/ • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: https://ruready4ai.com/ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 Catch a new episode of The AI Readiness Project Wednesdays at 3pm (PDT), co-hosted by Anne Murphy of She Leads AI and Kyle Shannon of The AI Salon. Want to meet others navigating this new terrain with humor and humanity? Visit The AI Salon or She Leads AI to find your people.

From Tool Sprawl to One System for Small Business with Eugina Jordan

> "AI is not going to be built by Big Tech or Silicon Valley, it's going to be built by people like us." — Eugina Jordan Why This Matters: Small businesses drown in disconnected tools — QuickBooks here, HubSpot there, Gmail somewhere else — and waste hours toggling between tabs instead of growing. Eugina Jordan built a patented platform to end that chaos and put real-time business intelligence into the hands of non-technical founders. The Story: After 24 years in telecom — where she created a new market category called Open RAN and rose to Chief Marketing Officer — Eugina Jordan became an empty nester and decided she had one more startup in her. She co-founded YOUnifiedAI with her former colleague, combining enterprise-grade integration patterns with a conversational AI layer so small business owners can simply ask their business how it's doing. The platform, built on five patented integration patterns, launches at Startup Grind this spring. Your Readiness Roadmap: • How to stop drowning in tabs by unifying your business tools into a single conversational interface • How to assess your own AI readiness by starting with curiosity rather than credentials • How to build a company in three months by leveraging AI tools and trusted relationships • How to hire for the AI era by prioritizing curiosity over technical checklists • How to turn telecom-grade thinking into small business advantage by abstracting complexity the way carriers unify 2G through 5G Inside the Conversation: • [00:00] Open — The AI adoption gap and why now is the second-best time to start • [00:10] The content overload problem and why human connection beats artifacts • [00:17] Multiple businesses, one orchestration layer — the future of solopreneurship • [00:28] Meet Eugina Jordan — from telecom veteran to AI startup CEO • [00:33] How YOUnifiedAI unifies disconnected business tools with patented tech • [00:39] Eugina's AI journey — from predictive AI in telecom to generative AI startup • [00:45] Launching at Startup Grind, pitching at Venture Summit, and listening to users • [00:49] Eugina's TEDx talk — technology giving ordinary people superpowers • [00:57] AI Readiness = being curious, not being afraid, and just starting The Toolkit: • YOUnifiedAI [https://www.younifiedai.com] — Eugina's patented platform unifying business tools for SMBs • Eugina Jordan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/euginajordan] • Claude Code — terminal-based AI development environment • Google Gemini / NotebookLM — AI workspace and research tools • The AI Salon [https://thesalon.ai] — community of 4,000+ exploring AI • She Leads AI [https://sheleadsai.com] — women's AI education and community Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrT7MsGbUKA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrT7MsGbUKA] Connect with the AI Readiness Project: • The AI Salon [https://thesalon.ai] • She Leads AI [https://sheleadsai.com] • Wednesday LIVE — 3pm PT / 6pm ET

She Built a University Because the Old One Couldn't Keep Up, with Sasha Thackaberry, Ph.D.

Most conversations about AI and education ask how traditional institutions can adapt. Sasha Thackaberry asked a different question: what if you didn't start with the old system at all? As Founder and President of Newstate University — the nation's first AI-founded, AI-focused university — she's not retrofitting a legacy model. She built something new from the ground up, and the architecture itself is the argument. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Sasha spent decades inside some of higher education's most respected institutions — LSU, SNHU — leading digital transformation and watching the same patterns repeat: slow curriculum cycles, credential debt that outpaced career payoff, and a growing gap between what learners needed and what institutions could deliver in time to matter. When AI started reshaping the job market faster than any traditional university could respond, she stopped trying to fix the old system and started building a new one. Newstate University launched as a fully competency-based, self-paced, stackable institution where learners can apply, enroll, and start a credit-bearing course the same day — for $300 a month, no textbook fees, no waiting for "next semester." 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆: Why stackable certificates let you solve an immediate career problem now and build toward a full degree when you're ready • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁: The skills and frameworks Newstate builds around so learners stay relevant through multiple role shifts • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: From AI coaches inside courses to LinkedIn-based communities replacing traditional discussion boards • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: What the "New State" of education looks like for the professional who feels behind • 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: Why competency-based, no-elective, prescribed progressions reduce friction for learners who need outcomes, not options 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁 • 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆: https://newstateu.com/ • 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨: https://newstateu.com/about-the-professional-development-studio-at-newstate-university • 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗜: https://she-leads-ai.mn.co/ • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻: https://thesalon.ai/ • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: https://ruready4ai.com/ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 Catch a new episode of The AI Readiness Project every Wednesday at 3pm (PST), co-hosted by Anne Murphy of She Leads AI and Kyle Shannon of The AI Salon. Want to meet others navigating this new terrain with humor and humanity? Visit The AI Salon or She Leads AI to find your people.