Ex-Microsoft Marketer Used Free AI to Launch Her First Solo Venture

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kristin Ginn, founder of trnsfrmAItn, an AI adoption consulting company. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I have worked in corporate marketing for nearly a decade and have no experience running a business. That all changed when I came up with an idea for a consulting business while working in product marketing for AI at Microsoft.

I decided to explore a solo venture where I could help companies with their AI rollouts from a human perspective. At first, I wasn’t sure if that was something they would actually hire for, so I turned to AI to find out.

I thought it was going to tell me, “Good luck, this is never going to work.” Instead, it helped me rapidly build my business from the ground up. Training AI to be my “cofounder” helped me give it a shot as a solo operator, turning an idea into my first paying client in 60 days.

The AI-Powered Solopreneur series explores how solo business owners use AI to drive growth.

I first used AI to pressure test my business idea

First, I brain-dumped my entire idea — everything from a description of my business goal and concept to the more logistical and emotional aspects of leaving my job to work for myself — into the free version of Microsoft Copilot, and asked if it thought the idea was viable. It asked me some questions to clarify, but generally encouraged me to move forward.

Recognizing that AI can be fairly agreeable, I didn’t take this first answer on face value. I asked the same question in OpenAI’s ChatGPT to see if I got a similar response. I approached my question in different ways, such as, “Here’s my idea: What’s wrong with it?”

I also used an approach I call the “C-suite focus group mode” and asked the AI to think like my target audience, prompting: “You are the CEO of a midsize company. You want to bring AI to your people and somebody sends you this framework. What are your reactions? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? What is missing?”

I did that for multiple C-suite personas that I could encounter as decision makers.

The generative AI tools provided useful feedback that I used to sharpen my idea, such as a reminder that CFOs will want to understand the ROI of hiring me more than the qualitative human impact. At the same time, I couldn’t get either tool to tell me this was a bad idea, no matter how much I asked it to be critical — so I decided to keep developing my idea.

I asked both AI tools, “What are the 10 things that I should create to actually get this business out the door?” and each gave me a list of priorities.

AI became my creative partner

Next, I prompted these AI tools to help me create the assets I would need to start my business.

I told the tools, “You are a creative agency with 25 years of experience,” then explained my brand identity goals: “I want to convey that I’m trustworthy, professional, relatable, and approachable.”

Each tool would suggest a few ideas based on my goals, and I’d give it feedback until we landed on something I was happy with. I used this method to decide my color scheme, name, and logo.

Finally, I used AI tools to help create copy for my website, an ebook that I use to explain my approach, and an “AI readiness assessment” that I use to attract new customers. For the ebook, I brain-dumped everything I was thinking, then asked it to create an outline. Then, I had it draft chapters using my specific directions on what to cover in each. I had to make adjustments to ensure the writing sounded like me, but I would estimate that AI tools got me 70-80% of the way there.

I used AI to develop a quick monetization strategy

When discussing my sales strategy with Copilot and ChatGPT, each said that the sales cycle for mid- to large-sized companies could take months, but individuals often tend to hire you much faster.

With that information, I quickly pivoted to building out prompting workshops that I could sell to individuals in my network. Thanks to this change, I was able to take my initial idea from late July, and by early September, I had my first two customers.

As I’ve added more customers, I’ve used AI to help me map out pricing. For instance, I had absolutely no idea if a 90-minute workshop should cost $50 or $500. I described the offering to both Copilot and ChatGPT, asked for a price range with reasoning, then deleted the chat and repeated the process four times. Each tool returned the same number. It sounded like too much and I felt scared to submit that request to the client, but they said yes. I would have priced myself too low without AI.

For anyone with an idea, I think AI can open doors and give you access to resources you wouldn’t have otherwise.