The 6 automations I'd build on day one if I was starting over. Which tool, how long each takes, and what manual work it replaces permanently.
When I started building as a solo founder, I made the mistake every solo founder makes: I tried to do everything manually first and automate later. That sounds reasonable until you realise "later" never comes because you're buried in the manual work.
After building EDGE, shipping becomingscott, and advising companies on AI — all without a team — I've landed on 6 automations that should exist from day one. Not because they're the most sophisticated, but because they free up the most time relative to how long they take to build.
The order matters. Build them in this sequence. Each one compounds the value of the next.
Email is the single biggest time sink for solo founders because every message feels urgent and every response takes longer than it should. The automation here is straightforward: AI reads incoming email, categorises it by priority and type, drafts responses for anything that doesn't need deep thought, and flags the 2–3 things that actually need my brain.
I review drafts in a batch once a day, adjust tone where needed, and send. The shift from "process each email as it arrives" to "review a batch of pre-written responses" cut my email time from 90 minutes a day to about 20.
Every piece of content I publish starts as a raw journal capture — five minutes of whatever's on my mind, spoken or typed into the CTRL app. The automation takes that raw input and runs it through Claude with custom skill files for my brand voice, script formats, and hook patterns.
One capture becomes a reel script, a carousel outline, a caption, and an email subject line. The AI knows how I talk because the skill files are built from my actual voice patterns. First output is usually 80% there. I sharpen the hooks, cut anything that sounds too polished, and it's ready to film or schedule.
When someone takes the Weak Link Quiz or enters their email on the homepage, they need to hear from me — but I can't personally write an email every time someone signs up. The automation captures the lead through Netlify Forms, pipes it into Kit, and triggers a 5-email nurture sequence that's already written and loaded.
The sequence delivers standalone value in every email. By the time someone finishes it, they've got a clear picture of who I am, how I think, and whether working together makes sense. The warm leads book a call. The rest keep getting weekly content. No manual follow-up required.
Every Sunday I used to spend 90 minutes pulling numbers from different tools, writing a summary of the week, and figuring out what to prioritise for the next one. Now Claude does the first pass. I feed it the key metrics from the week — revenue, leads, content performance, outstanding tasks — and it produces a structured review with one recommended priority per business.
My job shifts from "compile and analyse" to "review and decide." The AI identifies patterns I'd miss because I'm too close to the data, and it's consistent in a way my Sunday-afternoon brain isn't.
When someone comments a keyword on an Instagram reel — things like AI, WORKFLOW, or PROMPT — ManyChat automatically sends them a DM with the relevant resource. The viewer gets immediate value, I capture a lead, and the whole interaction happens without me touching my phone.
The setup is simple: match each reel to the most relevant keyword, write the DM copy once, and let ManyChat handle the rest. The conversion rate on these is significantly higher than a generic "link in bio" because the person has already shown specific interest in the topic.
Before any advisory call or founder conversation, I paste the person's context into Claude and get back a one-page brief: who they are, what they've told me before, what's likely on their mind, and three questions I should ask. After the call, I dictate key takeaways and Claude drafts the follow-up email.
The entire before-and-after of a meeting that used to take 40 minutes of prep and follow-up now takes about 10. The quality is actually higher because the AI surfaces context I'd forgotten and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
Book a call. I'll either do the work myself, advise you through it, or connect you with the right person in my network. Every problem gets a path forward.
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