Just Curious: Applied AI for Value Creation
Just Curious is the podcast of Pluris, a platform connecting investors and operators with the world’s leading applied AI experts. Each episode turns AI from buzzword to bottom line through sharp case studies and practical conversations. We explore how AI is used to grow revenue, expand margins, improve operations, and create measurable value inside real businesses.
Learn more at checkpluris.com
Episodes
22 episodes
Jonathan Hansing — Wallabi | How to Go AI-Native: The J-Curve, 10,000 Prompts, and What "Sprinkling AI" Really Signals
Jonathan Hansing is the co-founder of Wallabi, a data, technology, and AI strategy firm helping growth-oriented mid-market companies go AI-native. His team works with CEOs, COOs, and CIOs who feel the pressure to do something with AI — but need...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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36:19
Justin Massa & Jason Rubinstein - Remix Partners | How to Operationalize AI: 32 Kickstarts, One Consistent Pattern
Justin Massa and Jason Rubinstein are the co-founders of Remix Partners, an AI strategy consultancy that has now run 32+ kickstarts with small and medium-sized businesses across sectors and geographies. Their perspective is grounded in what act...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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57:53
Kris Krisco - Synopsis | Why 97% of AI Projects Fail in the Middle Market (And How to Fix It in 1 Week)
Kris Krisco, Co-founder of Synopsis, is building AI-native data infrastructure designed specifically for the middle market. After scaling and selling a company under private equity, he saw firsthand why most AI initiatives fail — not because of...
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38:57
AI for Non-Technical Leaders: Turn One Meeting Into 10 Revenue-Generating Assets
Mollie Amkraut Mueller, Founder of Watch Me AI and former strategist at IDEO and EY, helps non-technical leaders turn AI into a chief of staff, analyst, and revenue engine. In this episode, she breaks down a practical, business-first approach t...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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27:14
How AI Caught What Bonuses, Training, and Pay Raises Couldn't Fix
Ryan Kurt, CEO & Founder of The AI Lab, advises middle-market CEOs on how to turn AI from hype into measurable operational advantage. A 13-year veteran of generative AI, he’s helped leaders move beyond “AI strategy decks” to real workflow t...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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32:55
How Sunrun Found $80M in Hidden Costs by Finally Understanding Its Data
Adam Schwartz, Co-founder and CEO of Parable, explains why most enterprise AI initiatives fail before they ever touch the P&L. Drawing on firsthand work with Fortune 500 and private equity–backed companies, he breaks down how hidden operati...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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38:20
Stop Buying AI Slop: How Mid-Market Companies Actually Get ROI from AI
Arman Hezarkhani is the Co-founder & Managing Partner of Tenex, an AI transformation firm helping middle-market and growth companies turn AI from hype into real P&L impact. Drawing from experience scaling Google’s cloud AI tools and bui...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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34:44
How Smart AI Guardrails Unlock Faster Growth (Without Killing Innovation)
Evan Glaser, Founder & CEO of Alongside AI, joins Just Curious to break down how middle-market companies can actually deploy AI, without blowing up risk, compliance, or trust. Drawing on a decade of Fortune 100 experience, Evan explains why...
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38:04
Alex Gruebele & Chandler Gonzalez - Tau9 Labs | How Tau9 Labs Helped a Manufacturer Cut Quoting Time from Hours to Seconds — and Double Win Rates
Alex Gruebele and Chandler Gonzalez, co-founders of Tau9 Labs, build custom AI systems that solve the messy, high-value problems generic manufacturing software can’t touch. With roots in robotics, hyperscale software, and logistics, they focus ...
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34:02
Felix Rösner - Marble AI | How Marble’s AI Clones Uncovered 40% Redundant Work. And Saved 250+ Hours/Month
Felix Rösner, Co-founder of Marble AI, builds AI-driven workflow “clones” that reveal what really happens inside complex enterprise operations. His team helps private equity operators and middle-market leaders uncover hidden inefficiencies, qua...
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32:03
Jack Weissenberger - Ciridae | How AI Cut a 3-Hour Workflow to 10 Minutes for a Home Restoration Company
Jack Weissenberger, Co-founder & CTO of Ciridae, shares how his team rebuilds core systems and deploys AI agents that remove bottlenecks across finance, operations, and project management. Ciridae works with private-equity-backed companies ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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28:26
Jordan Gurrieri - BlueLabel | How to Turn AI Experiments into Enterprise Systems—Lessons from 300+ Deployments
Jordan Gurrieri, Co-founder & CEO of BlueLabel, explains how mid-market and enterprise operators can finally escape pilot purgatory and deploy AI systems that scale reliably. Drawing on two decades of automation experience and hundreds of s...
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31:10
Greg Shove - Section | How AI Is Redefining Leadership Roles
Greg Shove, CEO of Section, breaks down why enterprise AI adoption remains stuck in low single digits—and what leaders must do to unlock meaningful productivity gains. With experience building six companies and training global workforces in ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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43:17
Jay Singh - Casper Studios | AI That Actually Gets Used: How Casper Studios Cut Hedge Fund Research Time by 80%
Jay Singh, Co-founder & CEO of Casper Studios, breaks down how real organizations—hedge funds, PE-backed companies, and growth-stage startups—are actually deploying AI that gets used. Drawing on deep experience building modular, producti...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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36:46
Chris Taylor - Fractional AI | 84% Cost Savings & 30-Second Turnarounds: The PE Playbook for Production-Grade AI
Chris Taylor, Co-founder & CEO of Fractional AI, explains how private equity–backed companies are using applied AI to drive measurable operational impact—not experiments. Drawing from deep experience building AI-native services and deplo...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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37:43
Csongor Barabasi - Bonsai Labs | From POC to 7-Figure ARR in 6 Months: Bonsai Labs’ AI Playbook for PE-Backed Companies
Csongor Barabasi, CEO of Bonsai Labs, helps private equity–backed B2B software companies ship AI products that generate real EBITDA impact. Working with top global PE funds, his team has repeatedly taken companies from idea to paying custome...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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34:08
Osman Ghandour - Soal Labs | How AI Gave a Private Credit Firm 50% More Deal Capacity — Without Hiring
Osman Ghandour, Co-founder & CEO of Soal Labs, helps private equity and private credit firms turn chaotic, spreadsheet-driven processes into unified, AI-powered workflows. Working with middle-market teams drowning in SIMs, fragmented sys...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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25:53
Brandon Gell - Every | Turning AI Curiosity into Real Adoption
Brandon Gell, Head of Studio at Every, shares how companies move from AI experimentation to true adoption by creating the “magic moments” that make AI indispensable. Drawing from his experience building and selling companies, shipping AI-nat...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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45:07
Ross Hale - Artium | Enterprise-Grade AI Software That Scales
Ross Hale, CEO of Artium, and Mike McCormick, Artium’s CTO, share how leading organizations are moving from AI experimentation to real production-grade systems. They explain what it takes to build reliable, high-impact AI software in environ...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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39:43
Amrit Saxena - SaxeCap | The New AI Playbook for Private Equity
Amrit Saxena, CEO of SaxeCap, shares how he and his team have led more than 100 AI transformations and advised over 40 private equity funds on using AI to expand margins, accelerate growth, and reshape value creation. His perspective matters...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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31:30
Justin Massa - Remix Partners | Building an AI Strategy for SMB Leaders
Justin Massa, Partner & Co-Founder of Remix Partners, helps SMB and mid-market teams translate rapidly evolving AI capabilities into practical workflows that unlock real business value. His perspective matters because he has spent a deca...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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27:05
Jeremy Utley - Stanford, Beyond the Prompt | AI as Your New Strategic Thought Partner
Jeremy Utley, adjunct professor at Stanford and host of Beyond the Prompt, shares how executives and operators can use AI to unlock creativity, accelerate decision-making, and drive transformational change. His work sits at the intersection ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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30:50