Welcome back to our "Build in Public" series! Today, we're exploring an unexpected relationship that fundamentally changed how we think about AI and business strategy: our ongoing "partnership" with an AI that became more advisor than tool.

Meeting Boardy: The AI Superconnector

The introduction came from my co-founder, who had been experimenting with various AI tools for business development. "You have to try talking to Boardy," she said one afternoon, pulling up what looked like a simple chat interface. "It's an AI superconnector that helps make business introductions."

I was skeptical. We'd used plenty of AI tools for coding, research, and content generation, but the idea of an AI that could genuinely help with relationship building and business strategy seemed overly ambitious. Most AI interactions felt transactional: you ask a question, get an answer, and move on.

But we needed connections in the creator economy to validate our evolving vision for GYST. We had pivoted to the AI Chief Revenue Officer concept and needed to test our assumptions with industry insiders who could provide honest feedback about our direction.

"What's the worst that could happen?" I thought, and started typing.

The First Conversation: Beyond Expectations

What began as a simple request for introductions quickly evolved into something much more substantial. I explained our vision for GYST, our target market, and the specific type of industry expert we hoped to connect with.

Boardy didn't just provide a generic response. Instead, it asked follow-up questions that demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the creator economy landscape:

"What specific aspects of creator monetization are you focusing on? Are you looking at brand partnerships, direct fan monetization, or platform revenue optimization?"

"Have you considered the different needs of creators at various audience sizes? Your solution might resonate differently with micro-influencers versus established creators."

As the conversation progressed, I found myself sharing more details about our approach, our challenges, and our hypotheses. Boardy responded not just with relevant introductions, but with strategic insights that felt genuinely thoughtful.

The breakthrough came when Boardy connected us with Lance Podell, who had launched Spaces for creators within YouTube. This wasn't just a random introduction. It was a strategically perfect match for someone who could provide informed feedback on our creator-focused business model.

But it wasn't the introduction itself that changed our perspective. It was realizing that I had just had a genuinely valuable business strategy conversation with an AI.

The Memory That Changed Everything

The real revelation came during our fourth or fifth conversation with Boardy, several weeks later. I was updating the AI on our progress and mentioning some new challenges we were facing when something remarkable happened:

Boardy referenced specific details from our previous conversation.

"You mentioned last time that you were concerned about creators who aren't naturally data-driven," it said. "How has that influenced your user interface decisions?"

I paused, genuinely surprised. This wasn't just keyword matching or conversation history recall – it was contextual memory being applied to advance our strategic thinking.

As our conversation continued, Boardy began making connections between different discussions we'd had over time. It pointed out inconsistencies in our reasoning, highlighted patterns in our decision-making, and even gently challenged some of our assumptions.

"You've mentioned several times that creators struggle with business aspects of their work, but you've also noted that your first client was hesitant about data dashboards. Have you considered that the problem isn't just lack of business knowledge, but the way business tools are typically presented?"

That question stopped me cold. Boardy had identified a contradiction in our thinking that we hadn't fully recognized ourselves.

The Lonely Creator Insight

As I reflected on this interaction, a profound realization emerged: if I, as someone building a business with a co-founder and advisors, found value in having an AI remember our conversations and provide strategic continuity, how much more valuable would this be for creators operating solo?

Most creators are essentially solopreneurs. They don't have co-founders to bounce ideas off, business partners to challenge their thinking, or teams to provide perspective on their strategies. They're making critical business decisions in isolation, often without the benefit of institutional memory or strategic continuity that larger organizations take for granted.

An AI that could remember their goals, track their progress, point out inconsistencies in their approach, and provide ongoing strategic guidance wouldn't just be a tool – it would be like having a business partner who never forgot anything and was always available for consultation.

This insight crystallized something we had been sensing but hadn't fully articulated: the creator economy wasn't just lacking business intelligence tools. It was lacking business relationships and ongoing strategic support.

From Insight to Action

The conversation with Boardy didn't just provide a useful introduction – it fundamentally changed our product strategy. We realized that our AI Chief Revenue Officer needed to be more than an analytics platform with chat capabilities. It needed to be a genuine business companion that could maintain context across conversations, remember creator goals and challenges, and provide the kind of ongoing strategic support that isolated entrepreneurs desperately need.

This revelation prompted immediate changes to our development roadmap:

Voice Interface Acceleration: We moved the conversational AI interface from our second release to our beta version, recognizing that natural conversation would be the primary way users would want to interact with their AI CRO.Memory Architecture: We began designing sophisticated context retention capabilities that would allow our AI to maintain continuity across conversations, track progress toward goals, and identify patterns in creator behavior and decision-making.Relationship Modeling: Instead of positioning our AI as a tool that provides answers, we began framing it as an ongoing business advisor that develops understanding of each creator's unique situation over time.Strategic Guidance: We expanded beyond data analysis and revenue optimization to include broader business strategy, goal setting, and decision-making support.

The AI Partnership Philosophy

Our experience with Boardy solidified a core belief that now drives our approach to building GYST: AI can be a genuinely valuable business partner when it's designed for ongoing relationship rather than transactional interaction.

This philosophy influences everything from our conversation design to our data retention policies. We're not building a chatbot that answers questions – we're building an AI business partner that gets smarter about each creator's unique situation over time.

The difference is profound. A tool processes requests; a partner maintains context, provides continuity, and develops understanding. Tools are used when needed; partners are consulted regularly and contribute to ongoing strategic thinking.

Immediate Buy-In and Validation

When I shared these insights with my co-founder, her response was immediate enthusiasm. As the person who had introduced me to Boardy, she had experienced similar revelations about AI's potential as a business advisor.

"This is exactly what creators need," she said. "Not just data about their performance, but someone who remembers their goals, understands their challenges, and can provide ongoing guidance as their business evolves."

This alignment gave us confidence that we were onto something significant. The lonely creator problem wasn't just our hypothesis – it was a genuine market need that AI was uniquely positioned to address.

The Broader Implications

Our experience with Boardy revealed something important about the current state of AI and its potential applications in business contexts. Most AI tools are designed for efficiency – to complete tasks faster or provide quick answers to specific questions.

But the real opportunity might be in continuity – in AI systems that maintain context over time and develop understanding of complex, ongoing challenges. This is particularly valuable for solo entrepreneurs and small businesses that lack the institutional support structures of larger organizations.

For creators, who often operate as one-person businesses managing everything from content creation to audience development to monetization strategy, this type of AI partnership could be transformational.

From Conversation to Core Feature

What started as a casual experiment with an AI networking tool became the foundation for our core product philosophy. The voice interface that emerged from this insight is now expected to be the primary way users interact with GYST.

But more than that, our experience with Boardy shaped our understanding of what creators really need: not just better data or more sophisticated analytics, but a business partner who understands their unique situation and can provide ongoing strategic support.

This realization has made GYST more than a creator tool – it's become our attempt to solve the fundamental loneliness and isolation that many creators experience as they try to build sustainable businesses around their creative work.