'We're Growing Too Fast to Stop' – Inside Our AI Startup

Thursday morning, 08:12. I'm pedaling my cargo bike through the Westerpark in the capital of our country, water to my right, sunlight on the water.

Two worlds merge: home – where I just quickly built a tower with the kids – and work: in three hours I'm giving a workshop on AI Agents.

That duality captures life in our six-person AI startup.

Like the day before (Wednesday April 16):

At 09:00 I'm a consultant, at 11:00 a product owner, at 14:00 a founder-psychiatrist ("are we giving away too many pilot hours?") and at 17:00 I'm giving an online workshop.

In the evening, when the kids are just in bed, I check social media, and sure enough, I see Kevin Weil, CPO of OpenAI, announcing that o3 and o4-mini are live.

We can't stand still when it comes to AI so yes: LET'S GO!

Founder lesson #14: you can't grow without cracking sometimes – but decide for yourself where it cracks.

Late into the evening I'm still testing the new models. After which the next day I'm at the AI020 event giving a workshop on AI Agents and a pitch on stage about NinA AI.

I wonder, sitting there surrounded by people who are all very much into AI: "Who else has been testing and playing?"

I'll tell you: about 6 out of 200...

The early morning

Every workday for me doesn't start in traffic, but on a bike. The fresh wind wakes up my head and my vision. While the city awakens, quiet streets and brand new mornings, I make a mental sprint plan:

That routine provides much-needed calm – and shows how important rhythm is in a fast-growing startup.

Growing pains that gnaw

Honestly: last year we sometimes felt like a sailboat without a rudder.

Every founder knows it: you sprint ahead, but drift without a clear course. It cost me sleepless nights and doubts about every new hire.

The turning point: from chaos to cadence

Early this year I decided: there must be a plan.

Result: since February we consistently hit 95% of our planning, and the workload drops from "putting out fires" to "planned delivery".

That doesn't just feel better, it's the fuel for creativity and growth.

Market myths unmasked

Many companies say: "We want AI!", but in practice the wallet stays closed. Sales calls go like this:

Prospect: "Olaf, your rates scare us off. We want to set up something small to learn."

Why the reluctance?

Yet the numbers tell a different story:

Conclusion: the market is ready, but trust needs to grow. We tackle that by testing in public and delivering quick wins.

I notice it's important to make AI practical, while on the other hand you keep training the team in how they can best use AI in their work. Exactly the reason why I chose to become a total partner in AI for companies that can offer all of that.

Because while (we too) are very focused on the technical side, change management is really one of the most important topics when it comes to AI.

But also the elephant in the room, privacy of course.

By having our compliance and security very much in order, in fact our servers are within cycling distance in Amsterdam!

That convinces and builds momentum.

But I also notice that the growth of our company helps, we have increasingly more knowledge and expertise in-house to ensure we can truly guarantee everything is in order. That's much harder when you hire freelancers.

In fact, we're increasingly working with Open Source so data doesn't even need to go to the cloud anymore.

Your own AI Agent environment as a product

Last week I already posted about it: the possibility for organizations to set up their own environment. On a Dutch server or locally!

From now on I'll be sharing regularly about this new product.

Why? Because we believe in "testing in public".

What you get:

Pilot price: €1,250 all-in.

And the rest of the costs? Not that bad. Hosting costs start at €4 per month (on average clients are currently around €8). N8N doesn't charge per task, so not like Zapier or Make, where you're easily paying €100+ per month.

Result so far: from our LinkedIn tease, three companies have already signed up. I'm aiming for ten pilots this month.

Looking ahead: what's coming?

How you can join

Want to experience how quickly you can make an impact with AI agents? Claim one of the ten pilot spots of our AI Agent Launchpad. Email me directly or schedule an introductory call:

👉 tidycal.com/olaf/kennismaking-30-minuten-olaf

Until next time!

Olaf Lemmens
Founder | NinA AI Agency