I'm not a developer. I built an AI app anyway.

A case study on solving your own problems with modern tools, and why the "builder's mindset" is your new superpower.

Author

Pallas Advisory
July 09, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Welcome, AI Strategists

💫 Current thoughts: I’ve spent years optimizing workflows, but I never considered myself a "developer." That changed when I hit a wall trying to learn Dutch after moving to the Netherlands. The off-the-shelf language apps weren't cutting it for my specific problem. So, I built my own. I wanted to see if using all the advancements in AI, that I could challenge myself to do it.

That project, a personal AI language coach, taught me the most important lesson in business today: you no longer need to be a developer to be a builder. The power to solve your own most frustrating problems—the ones no SaaS company will ever fix for you—is now in your hands. In this week's post, I break down the "builder's mindset" and show you how to get started (and give you a preview of my app, Double Dutch Dare Ya).

This Week's Breakdown

Weekly Blog

How I Built a Custom VOICE AI App to Fix My Terrible Dutch

In this case study, I show you how I built my own AI language app with Gemini and Replit to solve a real-world problem. Read how you, as a non-developer, can become a "builder" and create custom solutions for your unique business challenges.

pallasadvisory.com/2025/07/08/i-built-an-ai-app

AI News Roundup for SMB Decision-Makers and Marketing Professionals

Why marketing must reclaim GTM design in the age of AI

The real issue isn't AI automation—it's that sales-driven GTM strategies optimize for Wall Street. Marketing must reclaim strategic ownership by designing systems where AI serves buyer journeys, not inbox quotas.

martech.org/why-marketing-must-reclaim-gtm-design-in-the-age-of-ai

AI still isn't living up to its full potential for many business

The real story here isn't AI failure—it's infrastructure reality. Companies that succeed understand AI requires foundational data architecture first, then strategic implementation. The 11% seeing real gains didn't skip the boring stuff; they built proper measurement frameworks and cross-departmental alignment before chasing the shiny objects.

www.techradar.com/pro/ai-still-isnt-living-up-to-its-full-potential-for-many-business

5 ways AI can save MOps hours every week

Use AI tools to streamline data, workflows and task management so you can focus on MOps strategy instead of busywork.

martech.org/5-ways-ai-can-save-mops-hours-every-week

How business leaders can manage integration of AI

Smart leaders use AI for data analysis while doubling down on emotional intelligence training. The companies winning long-term will invest in both AI tools and leadership development simultaneously.

www.techradar.com/pro/how-business-leaders-can-manage-integration-of-ai

How AI Revolutionizes Real-Time Marketing: 18 Success Stories

What strikes me most isn't the 40% CTR boosts or 50% cost reductions—it's the shift from reactive to proactive marketing. These teams moved from weekly reports to hourly optimizations, from broad demographics to behavioral patterns. The real win? AI freed marketers from manual tasks to focus on strategy and creative thinking where humans actually add value.

techbullion.com/how-ai-revolutionizes-real-time-marketing-18-success-stories

What Workers Really Want from Artificial Intelligence | Stanford HAI

A Stanford study captures the gap between worker desires and AI’s abilities, and highlights areas ripe for research and development.

hai.stanford.edu/news/what-workers-really-want-from-artificial-intelligence?utm_source=thedeepview&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=fight-to-make-frontier-ai-less-secretive&_bhlid=8c8a34b67d5874213156890e4608c9e09069d017

Behind Microsoft’s layoffs: A new attitude shaped by AI

More tech workers feel the pain as Microsoft pivots. Suddenly, the world's most valuable company is going on without them.

www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/behind-microsofts-layoffs-a-new-attitude-shaped-by-ai

Prompt of the Week:

This prompt helps you brainstorm a practical, AI-powered micro-solution for a specific business problem, turning your frustration into a real plan.

 

Act as an expert operations consultant and a creative technologist. I am going to describe a nagging business problem or inefficient workflow that off-the-shelf software doesn't solve well. Your task is to brainstorm 3 simple, distinct "micro-app" or automation ideas to solve it.

For each idea, specify:

1.  The Core Function: What is the one key thing the app/automation does?

2.  The Key Tool: What is the central tool you would use to build it (e.g., Gemini for intelligence, Airtable for data, Zapier for connections)?

3.  The 'One-Sentence Pitch': A simple sentence explaining the value.

Here is my nagging problem:

[List the steps of your workflow or describe your nagging problem here.]

 

Unlock the Power of AI With the Complete Marketing Automation Playbook

Discover how to scale smarter with AI-driven workflows that actually work. This playbook delivers:

  • A detailed audit framework for your current marketing workflows

  • Step-by-step guidance for choosing the right AI-powered automations

  • Pro tips for improving personalization without losing the human touch

Built to help you automate the busy work and focus on work that actually makes an impact.

Just Because

  • 📼 Someone spent 4 hours creating a recap of the 1980s.

  • 🍿 Bad day? Just watch a movie where someone has it worse—it's cheaper than therapy and comes with popcorn.

  • 🤖 Chinese students paying AI to beat AI detectors—it's like hiring one twin to fool the other.

  • 🤨 Well This Sucks: Job search survival kit 🎉 

  • 🆒 Sharing is caring, and it makes you look cooler too! Share this newsletter

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