Triangle Digital Product and Technology Meetup

The numbers don't lie: about 95% of AI initiatives either fizzle out, deliver squat, or become expensive shelfware. The other 5%? They're quietly printing money: faster revenue, real cost cuts, actual competitive moats.

With our combined experience, Lucid, Mattis&Co., and AI-Native by SAI will break down exactly why most teams fail and what the winners do differently.

Here's what we'll hit:

1. Strategy First, or Don't Bother. Most people grab a tool and pray. The 5% start with "What does winning actually look like here?" Tied to revenue, margins, speed—measurable, not vague.

2. Don't Turbocharge a Broken Engine.
   AI amplifies whatever mess you've already got. Bolt it on brittle processes, bad data, or clunky handoffs? You're just making the pain louder and more expensive. Winners fix the system first—clean data, streamlined flows, feedback loops, smart vendor plays (which win ~2x more often than going full internal, per MIT).

3. People Win This or Nobody Does: Tech is table stakes.
   Without buy-in, skills, and room to experiment (and fail fast without getting crucified), adoption tanks. The 5% treat it like a team sport: cross-functional literacy, continuous upskilling, psychological safety, light governance that rewards small wins. Shadow IT "prosumers" often lead the charge if you let them.

If you're tired of AI proof-of-concepts that go nowhere, or you're leading transformation and need to stop the bleeding, this is for you. Bring your real challenges, war stories, frustrations. We'll swap notes and leave with stuff you can actually use.

Agenda:

• 6:00p to 6:45: Open Networking
• 6:45 to 7:30: Focused Discussion
• 7:30 to 8:00: Open Networking