Matt Jenner is the founder of Coursensu, the learning design platform. Matt took part in the Techscaler Next Steps Spring ‘24 cohort, a practical course designed for founders and senior teams looking to scale their product which is already live in the market, with active users.
As part of the Techscaler Next Steps alumni, I applied for the opportunity to visit Silicon Valley in California. Initially, I was gutted as it clashed with an event I was attending in Manchester, UK. But managing logistics is key to running a business, so I scoffed my conference lunch and, conveniently, went from one side of Manchester airport to the other to catch my flight to the US and learn from the folk who invented the tech startup scene.
Outside City College of San Francisco
Before heading over, I had arranged meetings with edtech founders, tech enthusiasts, and potential investors. I’d also signed up for a series of events, mostly through Luma, all with a strong emphasis on AI. I went from a UK education conference, where AI was part of the agenda, to a city where AI isn’t just on the agenda, it’s on the billboards, in the streets, and in (nearly) every conversation!
Not usually influenced by billboards but after this I quite literally put speech AI on my roadmap
There are three, interconnected, reasons why AI remains a central topic of discussion:
1. Productivity
2. Economics
3. Technology
The standout reason AI dominates discussions is that it has shifted the baseline of expectations. A year ago, we might have been exploring AI as a potential tool for specific tasks. Now, it is becoming routine. This isn’t about FOMO; it’s more nuanced than that, driven by the three factors above. These factors have fundamentally changed how I view my business, how I position it, and what I must prioritise to stay relevant and valuable to my customers and the wider market.
Productivity
We’ve started with generative assistants - text-based prompts generating text-based responses. These generative assistants can aid in tasks, content creation, and automation across mediums such as text, images, video, code, audio, and even virtual environments. While this synthetic content is impressive, the true potential to significantly enhance productivity remains to be fully realised. This will likely come as we develop more advanced AI agents and systems, powered by the next wave of generative AI (GenAI) and the early stages of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Economics
Every founder I met had a vision centred around making workflows or processes more efficient through their products. Normal right? It was the foundation of every pitch. They all explained how their product could increase productivity and reduce costs, particularly in areas like sales, marketing, software development, or customer relationship management. Each had a solid rationale for how AI would speed things up and lower costs - driven by economic pressures, budget cuts, and the need for businesses to achieve more with less by raising productivity.
Technology
I attended several events, including two AI-focused hackathons. The chance to collaborate with teams, utilise new technologies, and learn from a variety of people was invaluable. AI is ubiquitous - it will literally drive you to your next AI event. The baseline has shifted because AI has become default, a signal of being a technological advancement. There may still be some "problems searching for solutions" here, but unlike blockchain or VR, AI is showing real promise early on. In one conversation with a potential investor, the discussion didn’t even need to mention AI - it’s assumed. A modern tech business now embeds AI as naturally as it does cloud, mobile, or infosec; it’s simply part of your core (or you have a legitimate reason why it is not).
Attending my first AI hackathon to build ‘useless fun’.
My trip to the US allowed me to attend events, meet forward-thinking individuals, and learn from experts I would have otherwise never had the chance to engage with. While I’m based in Scotland and always eager to attend similar events and connect with like-minded people, it’s difficult to compare the level of investment, advancement, and engagement found in a place like San Francisco. This doesn’t diminish the progress happening elsewhere, but San Francisco is one of the few truly global hubs that brings it all together.
My key takeaways for my business are still taking shape, but one is already clear: I need to invest further into the most valuable aspects of AI. I started Coursensu over a year ago, with AI as an optional assistant, integrated into the platform but not top priority. Since returning from the US, I’ve placed AI nearer to the centre of the business. My priority is still to enhance productivity and deliver customer value, but I’m also determined not to lose sight of the opportunities new technologies present, and to be at the intersection of productivity, economics, and technology.
One of my immediate actions following the trip was to integrate a voice assistant into Coursensu. This development came out of two hackathons and exposure to cutting-edge technology. The voice assistant is now live and available to all users.
A recent Coursensu AI-based release:
AI has become a more centralised part of the Coursensu product roadmap and provides opportunities to share related developments with my network.
In addition, the in-platform recommendation engine has been rebuilt and advanced will soon have the ability to customise their own co-pilot tools directly on the platform. Coursensu’s AI co-pilot has benefited immensely from this US trip, and as I look ahead to the roadmap, I can already see that the impact will be long-lasting.
As I look into the future, I can see a high potential for AI to help drive my business forward. This extends beyond the roadmap into operations, marketing and support. AI wasn’t my only takeaway from the US trip but it was the most visible, the most immediate and the one that I could put into immediate action. It’s reaffirmed that AI isn’t a feature, it’s part of my core.
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