Where do we start with AI?
You START.
It is the most common question business owners ask about AI. This page is the full answer: the framework, the five stages, and how each one pays for the next.
One framework. A path, and a score to walk it by.
The Centaur Transformation Framework™ is how we take a business from "we should probably do something with AI" to running on it.
START
Five stages: See, Target, Automate, Refine, Transform. Each stage is small enough to decide on quickly and complete in weeks. You never face a giant transformation project, only the next stage.
The Centaur Index
A 0 to 100 score across six pillars of your business, measured in the See stage and re-measured as you progress. Rule-based and repeatable: the same answers always produce the same score. It is how you know the path is working, in a number instead of a feeling.
What the Centaur Index measures.
Workflow Clarity
How well-defined and documented your core processes are.
Data Readiness
Whether your data is reliable, accessible, and trustworthy.
Sales & Follow-Up
How systematic your lead and pipeline management is.
Operations Efficiency
Where friction and manual work slow you down.
Customer Experience
Whether your customer journey is predictable and consistent.
AI Opportunity
Where AI would actually return money in your specific business.
The five stages of START.
See
You cannot automate what you cannot describe.
Most AI projects fail before they begin, because nobody mapped how the business actually works. See fixes that. We learn your goals, your handoffs, and where your data lives, then score you across the six pillars. The output is your Centaur Index and a shortlist of candidate AI opportunities, specific to you.
Humans decide what matters. AI maps the terrain.Target
One use case at a time. The right one first.
This is the stage most businesses skip, and the reason their AI spend goes nowhere. Target ranks your shortlist against a fixed scorecard and picks exactly one first win. The winner gets a full build spec: scope boundaries, integrations, run costs, and the KPI we will measure, with its baseline captured now so results are provable later.
- Measurable within 30 days of going live
- Multiple outputs from one build
- The data and SOPs it needs exist today
- Low blast radius if it stumbles
Automate
Your first win, live in weeks.
We build what the spec says, test it on your real data, and explain our choices in plain language. The price is fixed by the spec, so there are no surprise invoices: anything beyond scope is a written change order you approve first. You own every account, license, and key. Run costs are listed in the spec before you commit, as a separate line from the build.
AI does the repetitive work. Your people stay in charge of it.Refine
Continuous improvement, not a one-off project.
A system nobody maintains decays, and trust in it decays faster. Refine keeps your first win earning: we monitor it against the KPI from Target, report monthly, collect feedback from your team, and keep improving the logic as your business changes.
Humans steer. AI learns.Transform
People on strategy. Systems on execution.
Each completed win pulls the next candidate off your shelf. Over time the routine work runs itself and your team's hours move to customers, judgment, and growth. That end state has a name: a centaur business. Human judgment in front, AI horsepower behind. We run our own operations this way, on a platform we built, so we are not selling a theory.
The business runs like a centaur. That is the point of our name.Why a path beats a pile of tools.
You only ever face one decision. Not "transform the company." Just: take the next stage, or don't. Each stage de-risks the one after it.
Every stage produces something you keep. A score, a spec, a working system, a monthly number. Walk away at any point and you still own the output.
Results are measured, not claimed. The KPI and its baseline are set before we build, so nobody grades their own homework afterward.
It compounds. The shelf of ranked opportunities from Target means win two starts faster than win one, and win three faster still.
Asked before starting.
Where should a business start with AI?
Start by understanding your own workflows, not by buying tools. Map how work actually flows, find where time and money leak, then automate one high-return use case and measure it within 30 days. That is the See and Target sequence of START. Tools chosen before diagnosis usually become unused subscriptions.
How much does it cost to get started?
$1,200, fixed. The START Sprint covers the See and Target stages: your Centaur Index score, a ranked opportunity list, and a complete build spec for your first win. Builds are priced individually from that spec, so you see the full number before committing to anything.
What if our processes are a mess and nothing is documented?
Then the diagnosis just found its first finding. A low Centaur Index score does not disqualify you. It tells us your first win should include capturing the SOPs as we go, and the framework recommends foundation work before heavy automation. Knowing that before spending is the point.
Can we take the Sprint results and build it ourselves?
Yes. The spec is written to be executable, and some teams do exactly that. If you proceed with us within 60 days, the Sprint fee credits toward the build. If you build it internally and want a second pair of eyes later, the spec is the re-entry point.
Do we get locked into your platform?
No. You own every account, license, and API key from day one. Run costs pass through to you at cost, itemized in the spec. We manage the systems under a Refine retainer because that is convenient for you, not because anything is locked to us.
What does "Centaur" mean?
It comes from chess. A human paired with a computer, called a centaur, beat both grandmasters playing alone and computers playing alone. We build businesses the same way: human judgment on strategy and relationships, AI on the repetitive execution underneath.
See where you stand.
The START Sprint runs the See and Target stages for your business in two weeks, for a fixed $1,200. You leave with your score, your ranked opportunities, and a build spec you own either way.