I‘m back as an AI Startup & VC Advisor
…back to the wild world of startups, where my journey began 🌍
I have always had a special relationship with startups and solopreneurship.
Back in 1998, when I was 16, I built my first website for a paying client. That curiosity for creating products and services never left me. During university, I founded two startups: one selling CMS add-ons and templates, and another building an online taxi mediation platform that became the largest in my region and led to a small but successful exit.
I wasn’t a great entrepreneur back then. The local startup scene lacked mentors and structures, and I learned the hard way. But I stayed loyal to that world. I advised and supported local founders for years while studying computer science, majoring in AI. My thesis was on natural language processing, building a machine-learning model to analyze scientific papers on top of Stanford’s DeepDive technology.
Since 2014, I’ve focused entirely on building AI products for both startups and corporations. I helped a startup design and implement an ML-driven lead identification and sales process, increasing annual sales by 10% and contributing to a successful exit. I also built a fraud-detection AI solution deeply integrated into another startup’s sales processes, to name the two most successful ones in the startup world.
Today, I’m the co-founder of Vodafone’s first AI Center of Excellence, where I lead AI Product Management and Strategy. I develop AI product operating models, build internal AI Product Management methodologies and act as an in-house AIPM coach. I design methodologies for evaluating build-versus-buy investments, and advise senior leadership and the ExCo on AI strategy. Along the way, I’ve established corporate-wide standards for AI governance and AI product development.
My work is deeply rooted in B2B and internal AI product development. I understand the unique challenges of building AI solutions that must win adoption within complex organizations or serve enterprise clients with high expectations around trust, ROI, and scalability. This mix of startup and enterprise experience lets me bridge both worlds. I understand the scrappy reality of early-stage teams and the complex dynamics of scaling inside enterprises. Over the years, I’ve seen why AI products succeed - and more importantly why so many fail.
How I Can Help Founders and VCs
Startups and investors can reach out to me for:
AI Product Strategy & Roadmaps
Translating a vision into a realistic AI product plan, from 0→1 and through scale.
Go-to-Market for AI Products (B2B & Internal)
Shaping adoption strategies for enterprise clients and internal users, avoiding common “AI hype” traps.
Design Partner & Customer Access
Leveraging my corporate and industry networks to validate early products with real users.
AI Org Design & Hiring
Helping founders decide when to hire product managers, data scientists, other experts and how to structure lean AI teams.
Fundraising & Investor Readiness
Strengthening the AI narrative in pitch decks; answering tough viability and adoption questions.
Due Diligence Support
For VCs evaluating AI investments – assessing AI Products for enterprise readiness and organizational fit
Measuring Value & Adoption
Building frameworks for adoption metrics and ROI that resonate with both enterprise customers and investors.
My Role as an Advisor
I’m rarely the deep domain expert in your product’s specific market or industry - and I don’t need to be.
That expertise almost always exists within your founding team or among your early hires.
What I often see is that, in the chaos of building a company, obvious insights and good instincts can get buried. You’re busy fighting for relevance, juggling investors, and keeping the lights on. It’s only natural that the noise of daily struggles makes it harder to see the full set of options in front of you.
My role as an advisor is to help you surface the answers you already know and reconnect with what truly matters for your product and company. I ask the right questions, shine a light into the tunnel, and help you rediscover the paths you might have forgotten - for good reasons, but which can become critical for your next stage of growth.
Engagement Criteria
I’m available for flexible engagements:
sparring sessions,
short advisory sprints, or
deeper involvement when there’s a strong strategic fit.
Please understand that I only offer advisory support to teams where I believe in their product, their vision, and their people – and where there is a strong fit with my skills and expertise.
I want to be sure I can truly make a difference.
If you’re building an AI product or evaluating your AI strategy and see overlap with your needs, feel free to reach out.
JBK 🕊️
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaserbk
P.S. I joined a Venture Capital firm backing visionary teams that are building defensible AI solutions for the world’s hardest problems. More on this soon. 😉
Sounds awesome Jaser. Catch up soon