Are we too small (or too big) for this?
No. We work with teams from 1 to around 500 people. For a small PR team, the work was taking out hours of repetitive tasks. At an IT services company with over 100 people, it was getting the whole team working in the same system.
Do we have to change the tools we already use?
In most cases, no. We start with what the team already pays for and already knows. At an IT services company, the first big change was moving all the work into the management tool they already had, with filters, tasks and alerts. At an engineering firm, the quoting spreadsheet in Excel stayed, because that is where the people who prepare quotes do the maths and they want to keep it that way. The ERP now stores the proposals, their status and the history. We only suggest a new tool when the current one isn’t enough, and we explain why.
Do we need someone technical on the team?
No. We build it and train the people who will use it, with one-page guides for each process. The more complex systems may need us for maintenance or to add things as they come up, but everything stays on your side.
How much of our team’s time will it take?
Not much, and it is agreed up front. In the diagnosis, that means short interviews with the people who do the work and observing one real day. After that, testing is done with real work (a real proposal, a real bill of materials), so the testing time also counts as work done.
How long until we see results?
It depends on the size of the problem. A small automation can be up and running the same day: in one of the teams we work with, an AI extension was identified in an interview, tested and put to use in less than a day. An ERP goes in in phases and takes months. In an 8-month project, the warehouse is the first block, and proposals and purchasing come later. We agree up front on how the result will be measured. At that engineering firm it is the time to produce a quote: a month today, with a goal of two weeks.
What if the team doesn’t adopt it?
It is the risk we worry about most, so time with the people is in the plan from day one. In one of our proposals we wrote "tools are 30%, people are 70%". In practice that means one-to-one sessions every week, training with the team’s real cases and one-page guides for each process instead of manuals. When the person who will use the system has little time, we test with that person’s real work (a real proposal, a real bill of materials), and the testing time also counts as work done.
How do you handle our data? Do you sign an NDA?
Yes. The confidentiality agreement is signed before we receive any document. Accounts and infrastructure are in the company’s name (licences, AI credits, databases), so everything stays yours if we stop working together. When we audit a system, we start in read-only mode, without changing any records. Access keys are never kept in the code. And if you would rather approve each change before the system writes to your database, we set it up that way.
What happens if we stop working with you?
You keep everything. Licences, AI accounts and databases are in the company’s name from the start, and each process is documented in a one-page guide. Whoever comes next, from your team or from outside, can pick up what is there.
Do you work with companies outside Portugal, or in English?
Yes. We work remotely with teams in any country and have had clients both inside and outside Europe. Much of the communication happens by email and messages, with each person working in their own time. With some clients everything is done in English: emails, automatic reports and proposals.
Does the solution always involve AI?
No. First we sort out the process and use what your tools already do. AI comes in when it pays off, and a person always makes the decision. In an expense system, fixed rules handle most of the lines and AI only sees what is left. We have also proposed automations that the client turned down for good reasons, and those were left out.
How does the first conversation work?
It is a 30-minute call with Marta, free, with no obligation. The aim is to understand where your team loses time and whether there is a way forward. If there is, we give you a first idea of what it could look like and agree on the format.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the project, and we discuss it in the first conversation. The price is put in writing before we start, and any work outside the scope is quoted separately.
