20 years getting non-technical operators to adopt automation they didn't understand.
Founded AVPMi. Deployed across 12 countries. Sold 2016.
Now AI companies are stuck on the same problem—brilliant tech, zero operator adoption.
I'm solving it again.
Every AI platform fights over the same 5% of users—technical people who understand prompts, APIs, databases.
The other 95%?
Warehouse managers. Restaurant owners. Hotel operators. Hospital staff. People who desperately need automation but can't use what exists.
They know their operations better than any AI model. But there's a translation gap nobody's building.
I've built that bridge before.
Valet and parking automation for operators working in weather, wearing gloves, moving fast—where one mistake means the wrong person drives off with an $80,000 car.
Sold 2016.
The technical solution was standard. The operator adoption was not.
That's what made it valuable.
I'm documenting the operator adoption problem AI companies keep hitting—and why the obvious solutions don't work.
One month ago, half these tools didn't exist. Built apps before my coffee cooled. Couch. Heat game. Eyes wide. This is Day One of building enterprise systems with AI.
Read full episode →When I started AVPMi, every prospect asked the same question. AI is at that same stage right now.
Read full episode →A hospital hired me to fix their valet chaos. That wasn't the real problem.
Read full episode →More coming. Follow on LinkedIn to see where this goes.
2004: Founded AVPMi as a valet attendant who saw where automation kept failing
2004-2016: Built and deployed operator adoption systems globally—airports, hotels, hospitals across 12 countries
2016: Sold AVPMi
2018-2025: Spent 7 years sailing (boat: TIME OUT). Learned what it means when systems face hurricane force.
2020: Earned US Patent 10,580,098 B2 for validation systems architecture
2025: Founded 72knots.ai. Watching AI companies struggle with the exact operator adoption problem I solved 20 years ago.
Building the solution again.
At sea, 72 knots is hurricane force—Category 1 sustained winds that destroy unprepared vessels.
After selling AVPMi in 2016, I spent seven years at sea on my boat TIME OUT. I learned what it means to prepare for disaster.
At hurricane force, if your systems aren't validated—if you don't have proper protocols, human oversight, emergency procedures—you don't survive. The ocean doesn't care about your intentions. It only cares about your preparation.
AI deployments are the same. You can have the best models, the most advanced tools, the biggest budgets. But when AI fails—and it will—the only thing that matters is whether you built validation architecture.
The validation layer is what most companies skip.
They deploy AI tools without authentication systems. Without human verification checkpoints. Without audit trails. Without emergency overrides.
Then they face operational failure. And they're unprepared.
I spent 20 years building validation systems in valet and parking operations—where one AI mistake means the wrong person drives off with an $80,000 car. I learned every failure mode. I debugged every edge case. I built the architecture that survives operational reality.
The question isn't if your AI will fail. It's whether you'll be ready when it does.
If you're working on AI adoption with business operators, reach out.
Fort Lauderdale, FL USA
Direct: 📧 Show email | (954) 612-5464