Embedded AI for scaling companies

Everyone's adopting AI.
Nobody's transforming with it.

I help founders and CEOs deliver on AI securely in weeks — by turning up, and building it with you.

See engagements
The problem · 01

Your teams use AI.
But most are stuck at Level 1–2.

AI-native companies aren't 20% more productive — they're unlocking 100× more capabilities.

Level 01
Thought partner
Individuals ask AI for ideas and answers. One-off prompts, no workflow change.
Tool: ChatGPT tab
Most teams are here
Level 02
Personal assistant
Individuals complete tasks faster. Time saved, but the org still runs the same way.
Tool: Copilot · 30% adoption
Where to aim
Level 03
Teammate
Agents run inside team workflows. Real work gets automated, not just accelerated.
Tool: Team agents · workflows
The destination
Level 04
The Operating System
AI is the system running the org. Company / Team / Individual / Project – all connected, always current.
Tool: AI Chief-of-Staff OS
Not a team failure — a structure problem. The path from Level 2 to Level 3 is crossable in weeks, one function at a time.
Level 1–2, in one line

We deployed AI. We bought subscriptions.

30% ChatGPT & Copilot adoption 0 workflows changed 0 proven ROI Monthly committee, nothing shipped
Who I am · 02

I've operated at Level 3–4 for years.

I'm the ex-CEO of Depict (YC). The team went on to found Lovable, Legora, and Tandem Health. I run all work and my personal life on agents by default.

I'm not a strategist who read a blog post and made a deck. I'm an operator who embeds inside your team, has been living this for years, and knows exactly what it takes to get there. Not remote. In your office, with you and your team.

Lovable
Legora
Tandem Health
+ Y Combinator network
John Tan
John Tan
Founder · nativefirst.ai
Background
Ex-CEO, Depict (Y Combinator) · Operator
Source library
18 AI-native company playbooks
Daily stack
Claude Codex Lovable Cursor Granola
Engagements · 03

The diagnostic is the door.
Everything starts there.

1 slot open. If this reads like your company, reach out.

Proof · 04

Two live clients.
Eighteen company playbooks.

Live clients · 2026

2 clients live.

Embedded Chief of AI · 6 months · Series B/C EU tech
  • First agent live in days; adopted by the entire team within weeks
  • Strategy decisions that took hours now take under 10 minutes
  • Phased rollout: primary user → full project and team. Measurable adoption at each step.
The source library · what I install from

18 company playbooks.

Agents, workflows, and operating patterns from the best AI-native companies
  • Anthropic · OpenAI · Google · Perplexity · Block · Shopify · Klarna
  • Cursor · Cognition · Harvey · Sierra · Zapier · Midjourney · Notion · xAI
  • Ramp · Coinbase · Box – patterns that transfer to non-AI-native orgs

1 slot open.
The diagnostic is where it starts.

If this reads like your company, reach out.