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.
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Just Curious: Applied AI for Value Creation
How Sunrun Found $80M in Hidden Costs by Finally Understanding Its Data
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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 operational inefficiencies block real transformation—and what leaders must measure to unlock durable AI-driven value.
You’ll Learn
- Why executives consistently misjudge how teams actually spend their time—and how that blind spot derails AI strategy
- How “keep-the-lights-on” work and operational debt quietly consume 50–70% of enterprise capacity
- Why data warehouses and dashboards lack the context required for effective AI agents and decision-making
- How mapping work at the activity level enables AI use cases to be prioritized by ROI, not intuition
- What Sunrun uncovered when it quantified technical and operational debt—and how that led to $80M+ in savings
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:33 Why leaders lack visibility into real work
05:12 The hidden cost of “keep the lights on” work
09:10 Why data warehouses fail at operational understanding
13:20 What a contextual work graph actually looks like
18:29 Measuring AI impact beyond adoption
23:46 Operational debt and resource allocation
30:01 Sunrun case study: uncovering $80M in inefficiencies
35:43 AI vs. process change—what to automate and why
41:57 The mindset shift leaders need for AI at scale
Links
- Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zDDspYqT_7o
- Connect with Adam Schwartz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgregoryschwartz/
- Explore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/articles/how-sunrun-found-80m-in-hidden-costs-by-finally-understanding-its-data
Just Curious is the content and podcast brand of Pluris, helping leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom AI-powered software, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value.
Explore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.checkpluris.com
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