Arun Agrahri
Where to Point AI First: The Function-Selection Playbook

AI 12 min read

Where to Point AI First: The Function-Selection Playbook

How Mid-Market Companies Choose the Right Workflow to Make AI-Native

Five live operator guides show how to build an AI-native system. None tells you where to aim it. This is the selection layer: the three vectors (industry × function × company size), the frequency × value grid, and the exact rubric I score a workflow with before I build it — drawn from running five AI-native companies with zero hired employees.

  • Why Do Most AI Pilots Fail?
  • The Three Vectors: Industry × Function × Size
  • Why Is Function Your First Cut?

In This Guide

  1. Why Do Most AI Pilots Fail?
  2. The Three Vectors: Industry × Function × Size
  3. Why Is Function Your First Cut?
  4. The Frequency × Value Grid
  5. How Do You Score a Workflow Before Building It?
  6. You Already Have the Context
  7. What 'Good' Looks Like Once You've Picked
  8. Where to Start in Your Company

Core Sections

  • Table of Contents
  • Why Most AI Pilots Fail (and It Isn't the Tech)
  • The Three Vectors: Industry × Function × Company Size
  • Why Function Is Your First Cut
  • The Frequency × Value Grid
  • How I Score a Workflow Before I Build It
  • You Already Have the Context
  • What "Good" Looks Like Once You've Picked

3

vectors: industry × function × size

95%

of AI pilots never reach production

5

companies, one selection method

0

hired employees behind it