Founders Leverage AI to Compete and Grow

Small businesses use AI to automate tasks and free up time for higher-value work

Mar. 3, 2026 at 5:39am

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Small businesses are using AI to compete with larger enterprises by automating repetitive tasks like email, social media, and lead management. Founders discussed the appropriate use of AI, emphasizing the need for verified code, data ethics, and a focus on ROI. The panel also highlighted AI's potential for streamlining operations, recruiting, and supply chain optimization, while cautioning against over-reliance on unverified AI-generated code. The founders stressed the importance of maintaining a customer-centric approach and human values in the age of AI.

Why it matters

As AI becomes more accessible, small businesses can leverage the technology to level the playing field against larger competitors. However, founders must navigate the challenges of AI implementation, including data privacy, code reliability, and demonstrating tangible business value. This story highlights how entrepreneurial leaders are finding the right balance between AI automation and human judgment to drive growth.

The details

The panel discussion at the Imagination in Action event in Davis, California featured founders who are using AI to streamline their operations and gain a competitive edge. Anne Ouyang, CEO of performance optimization company Standard Kernel, discussed the need to carefully verify AI-generated code, especially in mission-critical applications like kernel programming. Oisin Hanrahan, CEO of platform design firm Keychain, explained how AI can optimize complex supply chain decisions by analyzing massive amounts of data. Guy Assad, CEO of debt management platform Clerkie, shared how his company uses AI for tasks like resume parsing, fraud detection, and client requirement gathering.

  • The Imagination in Action event took place last month in Davis, California.
  • The panel discussion on founders using AI was part of the conference program.

The players

Anne Ouyang

CEO of performance optimization company Standard Kernel.

Oisin Hanrahan

CEO and founder of Keychain, a firm that handles platform design.

Guy Assad

CEO of Clerkie, a firm that creates debt infrastructure to streamline and automate debt repayment.

Frazer Anderson

Managing Director at Link Ventures, who interviewed the founders.

Zach Lezberg

Founder who offered advice on automating repetitive tasks at Small Business Expo.

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What they’re saying

“Admin tasks eat into valuable time. AI tools … can schedule meetings, follow up with leads, and update records without manual effort. This reduces errors and frees up your team to focus on higher-value work.”

— Zach Lezberg, Founder

“We heavily rely on Cursor, for example, because it's been very helpful for our productivity for a lot of things. But on the flip side, we're also extremely careful about relying too much on generated code that are not verified. Because in kernel programming, a common pitfall is that the kernel could be correct if you run it a thousand times or even 10,000 times, but if you run it 100 times, it might fail once.”

— Anne Ouyang, CEO, Standard Kernel

“One of the things that we realized was that these tools are very powerful, and they can give you a lot of operational leverage naturally … a lot of the operational leverage that you can you do see tends to be on the engineering side.”

— Guy Assad, CEO, Clerkie

“It is an optimization problem that requires you to have massive amounts of information across 50,000 manufacturers globally. Figure out on any given product: what are the dimensions that that product requires to have it made successfully, and then figure out, in the future, what products you also want to make, and then say 'okay, well, how do we match up the probability of all those things happening in such a way that we pick the right vendor, we pick the right partners, and we manage the supply chain - every part of that is really expensive, so if you want to do it manually, you can absolutely do it manually, you can research 50,000 manufacturers manually, or you can do it using an AI assisted model.”

— Oisin Hanrahan, CEO and Founder, Keychain

What’s next

The panel discussion highlighted the need for founders to carefully evaluate the use of AI in their businesses, focusing on code reliability, data ethics, and demonstrating tangible ROI. As AI continues to evolve, small business leaders will need to stay vigilant in balancing the benefits of automation with the risks of over-reliance on unverified AI-generated outputs.

The takeaway

Small businesses can leverage AI to compete with larger enterprises by automating repetitive tasks and freeing up time for higher-value work. However, founders must approach AI implementation thoughtfully, ensuring code reliability, data privacy, and a customer-centric approach that aligns with their core values. The human element remains crucial in guiding the strategic use of AI to drive business growth.