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Intelligence Brief

Date
February 11, 2026
Duration
32 Minutes
Type
Exploratory / Capability Demo
Participants
Munir Haddad & Alan Raistrick
Scroll to explore
01 — Executive Overview

Setting the Stage

A 14-year partnership built on trust, now standing at the threshold of AI transformation.

Munir and Alan run a ~55-person agency — predominantly NorCal-based, now fully remote — with a partnership forged over 14 years dating back to Sony PlayStation. They've been watching the AI revolution with genuine interest and strategic attention, and have reached an inflection point: the moment where watching becomes doing.

Their team already has a developer using n8n for automation and tooling, but they recognize the gap between where they are and where the industry is moving. This call was about understanding that gap — and exploring whether a collaboration could help close it.

Three Questions That Framed the Conversation

1
"Are you still running the agency or have you shifted to building AI products?"
2
"What opportunities should we be thinking about for automation?"
3
"How can we work with you to assist our efforts?"
02 — By the Numbers

Quantifiable Markers

Key data points that emerged during our conversation.

0
Professionals
on the Team
0
Year
Partnership
0
Revenue from
Google Channels
0
Day Lead
Conversion Cycles
0
Higher Ed Program
Price Points
03 — Pattern Recognition

What We Heard

The explicit themes, aspirations, and realities that surfaced during our conversation.

★
Strengths & Achievements
  • 14-year partnership with proven durability and trust
  • Sony PlayStation / AAA gaming pedigree
  • Published thought leadership in AdAge on agent-to-agent negotiation
  • Successfully maintaining a 55-person remote team post-pandemic
  • Deep expertise in B2B, lead gen, and higher education verticals
☯
Current State
  • Developer on staff using n8n for basic automation and tooling
  • Watching AI developments with genuine strategic interest
  • Internal discussion about security and quality controls around AI
  • Google remains the dominant channel (~60% of revenue)
  • Automation projects already in flight for clients
⚡
Challenges to Solve
  • Higher Ed clients are particularly sensitive to AI-generated creative
  • B2B/lead gen world has longer cycles and scarcer signal than e-commerce
  • Attribution windows stretch beyond 90 days — Meta's frameworks don't fit
  • PII sensitivity heightened with healthcare clients
  • Sensing urgency to modernize but needing a clear starting point
✨
What They're Seeking
  • Understanding of what's truly possible for a B2B/lead gen agency
  • An honest assessment of readiness for AI integration
  • A potential engagement structure that respects everyone's time
  • Quick wins that demonstrate value without massive organizational upheaval
04 — Leadership Profiles

Communication & Decision-Making Styles

Understanding how each partner processes, evaluates, and acts — so we can build the right kind of collaboration.

The Deliberate Modernizer
Munir Haddad
"Tangible results, even if it starts small."

A seasoned operator who builds durable businesses through relationships, discipline, and careful decision-making. Intellectually engaged with the AI future — the AdAge piece on agent-to-agent commerce proves that — but wisely focused on translating vision into concrete, operational transformation.

  • ◆
    Communication: Strategic orchestrator. Asks structured, layered questions. Leads with frameworks and controls the room without being domineering.
  • ◆
    Processing: Sequential and evaluative. Wants to understand the full landscape before committing. Decision trees, not gut reactions.
  • ◆
    What drives him: Tangible, demonstrable outcomes with managed risk. Quick wins that build confidence across the team.
  • ◆
    Superpower: Can see the future clearly enough to act on it, while maintaining the discipline to act wisely.
The Inspired Builder
Alan Raistrick
"What's next in six months?"

A systems thinker with a PlayStation-era background in building complex experiences under pressure. Drawn to action over theory, Alan processes through possibility rather than risk assessment — his questions are forward-looking, and his instinct is to build.

  • ◆
    Communication: Observer-contributor. Speaks less frequently but with higher signal. When he affirms something, it's genuine.
  • ◆
    Processing: Visionary and conceptual. Thinks in systems, trajectories, and possibilities. Looking for where to jump on.
  • ◆
    What drives him: Operational transformation that elevates capabilities and excites clients. The thrill of building something new.
  • ◆
    Superpower: Values action — "it's inspiring to hear that you're using it, you know? Just doing it." Champions by doing.
05 — Need Analysis

How Success Gets Measured

Different partners, different lenses — but complementary definitions of success.

Munir's Lens
Tangible, demonstrable ROI with low risk.
"Tangible results when we start to put some effort into something, even if it's small quick wins."
Alan's Lens
Operational transformation that elevates capability.
Drawn to the "just do it" energy — wants to see the agency's capabilities expand in ways that excite both the team and clients.
The energy on this call was genuinely warm — a relationship-first engagement built on existing trust. There was no guardedness or skepticism, just a healthy, wise caution about readiness. The felt sense: "We want this, we just need to know it will work for us."
06 — The Translation Opportunity

From E-Commerce Principles to Your World

The underlying methodology — customer intelligence, strategic insight, automated execution — is universal. Here's how it maps to B2B, higher ed, and lead gen.

E-Commerce Native
Customer review analysis and sentiment mining
→
Your World
Student testimonials, alumni stories, and program review analysis
E-Commerce Native
Buyer persona development from purchase data
→
Your World
Prospective student personas from inquiry data and enrollment patterns
E-Commerce Native
Automated creative pipeline from product data
→
Your World
Enrollment campaign creative from program differentiators
E-Commerce Native
Rapid-cycle performance signal and attribution
→
Your World
AI-enhanced lead scoring and long-cycle attribution modeling
E-Commerce Native
Brand voice extraction from social content
→
Your World
Institutional voice calibration — academic tone that still converts
07 — Deeper Currents

What's Underneath the Conversation

The most valuable insights often live beneath the surface. Here's what the patterns suggest about the real dynamics at play.

⚔
The Urgency to Lead
This isn't casual curiosity about AI — it's strategic awareness. The AdAge piece on agent-to-agent commerce, the active monitoring of industry shifts, the framing of "getting left behind" — these signal a leader who sees the transformation clearly. The gap between intellectual engagement and operational implementation is exactly where the highest-leverage work happens, and the awareness itself is a significant asset.
⚙
The Team Alignment Opportunity
Every organization navigating AI adoption encounters tension between innovation and caution. This tension is healthy — it means the team is thinking critically about security, quality, and sustainability. The key is channeling that energy productively: giving the whole team visible, tangible wins that build confidence across all stakeholders, from the developers to the client-facing teams.
⚖
Building on Strength
14 years of expertise and 55 professionals represent enormous institutional knowledge — in B2B strategy, higher ed dynamics, lead gen mechanics, and client relationships. The most successful AI transformations don't replace this kind of depth; they amplify it. Your team's understanding of long-cycle B2B and academic audiences IS the competitive advantage that AI-enabled tools supercharge.
♥
Relationship-First, Always
The warmth on this call was unmistakable. The best business transformations are built on trust, not transactions. Munir's closing — "I'm excited by what we're doing, regardless" — speaks volumes about the kind of partnership this could be. The relationship is the foundation; everything else builds from there.
🌎
The Translation Is the Opportunity
The biggest unspoken question is whether e-commerce-native AI capabilities can translate to B2B, higher ed, and lead gen. This is the right question to ask — and the answer is that the principles absolutely transfer, even where specific tools need adaptation. Customer intelligence, strategic insight, and automated execution are universal. The channel-specific implementation is the work, and it's the most exciting part.
08 — Proposed Path Forward

A Practical First Step

Not a science experiment. Not an open-ended engagement. A scoped, practical collaboration designed to deliver real insight and demonstrate real value — fast.

"You are 10 steps down the field and we need to get one step further."
— Munir, during our conversation

That one step is what the Discovery Sprint is built for. Not ten steps. Not a wholesale transformation. One meaningful, visible step that proves the concept and lays the foundation for everything that follows — at whatever pace feels right.