Building in Public
Notes on what we're creating at 'Andus Labs'
In an investor pitch a few weeks ago, I thought I'd covered everything—the market potential, our proposition, growth plans. The conversation had been smooth, but then it took a turn. I hadn’t anticipated the fundamental question. He asked:
“Why are you doing this?”
Why trade the comforts of tenure—advisory roles, retainers, board seats—for the pain of building something new?
At fifty-five, starting over was a fair question. I said:
“The clock is speeding up. Adapting to AI is unavoidable—and essential.”
It wasn’t pre-planned. It was reflex.
“AI isn’t coming. It’s here. If we don’t collectively reorient to it, it will reorient us—reprogram us—without knowing.”
The discussion ventured into what's really at stake—empowerment, agency, and identity.
Look around. Leadership teams frozen by overwhelm. Educators displaced by ChatGPT. Workers worried they’re the last generation with a career.
When the ground shifts fast, a new equilibrium starts with sensing what’s happening.
There’s a need to broaden the view of AI, not just as a tool, but as a force quietly reshaping life. We’re building the capacity to help people land on the right side of that shift. It’s a new model fusing hands-on education, working labs, and practical tools to help brace for impact.
Start-Up Life
Starting a business is humbling.
You go from being a known quantity to a walking question mark. You swap polish for conviction. You trade big titles for total responsibility.
I’ve had scores of investor conversations. Most were fast and constructive. They confirmed our thesis:
Clear perspectives and convictions on deploying AI are in short supply.
One investor offered to lead our round—until I mentioned that space was central to the offering. He said, “That doesn’t sound like a business.”
It was our last conversation.
What we’re up to doesn’t sound like a typical business. It’s designed for a new world, not one fading before our eyes.
We accepted funding only from those who recognized that the real disruption isn’t technical but human. At this stage, progress hinges less on compute and more on how quickly people can adapt.
An incredible group of investors brought in more than capital. They add signal, sanity, and skin in the game.
Agency Reimagined
The word agency extends to advertising agencies, PR firms, talent agencies, and management consultancies. We think of the term agency differently.
We’re not selling answers or expertise. We’re agents who help people with perspectives and tools to build new things. Our focus is personal agency—the ability to see clearly, adapt quickly, and act decisively in an AI-saturated world.
We named the company Andus Labs.
AI and us. Not one over the other—but side by side, deeply entangled.
Our first ‘lab’ is grounded in education, but not another AI course. There are enough of those in the market, most of them sterile, superficial, and outdated the moment they publish.
The “lab’ is a three-week residency for leaders to reset their assumptions, upgrade their frameworks, and learn to think together with machines.
The first will run in July. Mornings start with disorientation: provocations from pioneering thinkers and builders, virtual field trips into new worlds, and case studies. The goal is to knock participants off autopilot.
Afternoons shift to exploration: interpretive dialogues, idea prototyping, and decision-mapping with AI copilots. We treat AI as a second language—something to think and build with.
Through previous lab work, I’ve seen what happens when people are given space to reset. It leads to better decisions, clearer strategies, and more decisive leadership.
When participants are done, they won’t walk away with a certificate—they join a living network of peers, provocateurs, and builders navigating the AI transition together.
Team and Space
I didn’t recruit the founding team. We found each other.
Independently, we reached the same conclusion.
AI will either amplify or diminish human potential. But not both. It won’t be a neutral force.
Douglas Rushkoff was first in. He asked me the defining question about our direction: “Where does personal agency fit into this?” Suddenly, the model became a mission. He literally wrote the book Team Human; his philosophy became our core.
Amar Bakshi came next. A journalist, artist, and diplomat, he builds spaces that turn dialogue into shared experiences. He has a gift for making complex things feel clear, engaging, and meaningful.
Jennifer McTiernan then joined. A lawyer, founder, and operator, Jennifer ties a mission to execution. She translates human values—equity, privacy, trust—into contracts, specs, and strategy that can scale.
We became a hybrid team for a human business model: part strategy firm, learning lab, and experience builder.
Naturally, we’ve set up shop in spaces designed for exploration and experimentation.
Andus Labs was born inside Betaworks, the legendary product studio and incubator behind some of the most original internet-era inventions—and now, a launchpad for a new wave of AI companies.
Thanks to the generosity of John Borthwick and his team, we had an ideal launchpad: a New York City attractor that draws in pioneering minds intent on shaping a new kind of future with AI.
We also have virtual presence inside Roam, an AI office of the future. It’s a workspace where our team and AI agents work side by side. It’s our testbed for how collaboration feels, fails, and evolves when machines are part of the team.
Personal Impact
People tend to buy certainty—frameworks, playbooks, and “experts” who think for them. AI punctures that illusion.
There’s a different, more urgent path to pursue: co-creating new capacity.
We aren’t in a position to tell people what to think. We’re positioned to prompt teams to think with machines and use them responsibly and creatively.
This know-how remains scarce. Our impact won’t be assessed solely by seats filled or retainers won. We need to sense the impact on those who join us.
“I’m seeing things I couldn’t see before.”
“This isn’t just helping my company. It’s helping me.”
“I feel more empowered, not less, in this process.”
There are no shortcuts when shifting course with AI—only the space to plan, build, and learn. Breathless claims of “mastering AI in days” or offering ready-made answer keys are noise, at best.
We’re not launching a new company. We’re collectively building a new capability.
If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, consider joining our first residency in July. Bring your unease, your half-baked hunches, your need to see more clearly.
We'll bring the oxygen, the space, and the spark to turn uncertainty into excitement.
If this sounds interesting to you, contact me to learn more.
cperry@anduslabs.com
Over the past few weeks, I’ve posted on why the AI moment differs from prior technological waves. There’s urgency in the moment. Check out the Borrowed Time series to see why investing in your future is one of the best investments you can make right now.
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