Why I Went All-In on AI After 25 Years in IT
The Moment Everything Changed
It was late 2022, and I was sitting in yet another enterprise architecture review meeting. The slide deck was 47 pages long. The decision we were discussing would take six months to implement. And I knew — with absolute certainty — that the world was about to move at a completely different speed.
I'd spent over 25 years in IT. From managing hotel infrastructure at Scandic across Scandinavia, to building trading systems at NasdaqOMX, to designing enterprise solutions at Tieto. I'd seen every technology wave come and go: the dot-com boom, cloud computing, mobile-first, microservices. Each one was important. None of them compared to what was happening with AI.
The Enterprise Paradox
Here's what 25 years in enterprise IT teaches you: large organizations are incredibly good at optimizing what already exists, and incredibly bad at embracing what's fundamentally new.
I watched companies spend millions on "AI strategies" that were really just rebranded data analytics. I saw innovation teams that produced beautiful PowerPoint decks but never shipped a product. The gap between what AI could actually do and what enterprises were willing to try was enormous — and growing every day.
Meanwhile, individual developers and small teams were building things in weeks that would take enterprise teams months. The tools were getting better exponentially. And I realized something uncomfortable: I was on the wrong side of that gap.
The Decision
In early 2023, I took the leap. No grand business plan. No venture funding. Just a conviction that AI was going to change everything, and I wanted to be building, not watching from the sidelines.
The first few months were terrifying. After 25 years of steady paychecks, going independent is like jumping off a cliff and building the parachute on the way down. But something amazing happened: I started shipping faster than I ever had in my entire career.
What I'm Building Now
Today, I'm working on multiple AI-powered products simultaneously — something that would have been impossible just a few years ago. From real estate platforms to AI security scanners to hotel management systems, each project leverages AI in a different way to solve real problems. You can see what I'm working on over at the projects page.
What I've Learned
The transition from enterprise employee to AI entrepreneur has taught me more in three years than the previous decade:
Speed Beats Perfection
In enterprise IT, we spent months on requirements documents before writing a single line of code. Now I ship MVPs in days. The feedback loop is incredibly fast, and real users teach you more than any requirements workshop ever will.
AI Amplifies, It Doesn't Replace
The best AI products I've built aren't ones where AI does everything. They're ones where AI handles the tedious parts and humans handle the judgment calls. The magic is in the handoff between human and machine.
The Best Time to Start Was Yesterday
Every week I waited would have been a week wasted. The AI landscape moves so fast that the only way to stay current is to be building. Reading about AI is not the same as using it to solve real problems every day.
You Don't Need Permission
In enterprise, every decision needs approval from three committees and a steering group. As an independent builder, I can try a new approach before lunch and know if it works by dinner. That speed of experimentation is addictive.
Looking Forward
We're still in the early innings of the AI revolution. The tools available today will look primitive in two years. But the fundamentals won't change: understanding real problems, building thoughtful solutions, and shipping relentlessly.
If you're sitting in an enterprise job wondering whether to make the leap — I can't make that decision for you. But I can tell you this: the world needs more builders right now. People who understand both the enterprise world and the AI frontier. People who can bridge the gap between what's possible and what's practical.
That's what I'm trying to do every day. And honestly? I've never been happier in my career.
The Takeaway
Twenty-five years in IT wasn't wasted time. It gave me the foundation — understanding of systems, architecture, business processes, and what enterprises actually need. AI gave me the leverage to turn that knowledge into products at a pace I never thought possible.
The combination of deep experience and new technology is incredibly powerful. If you have that combination, don't waste it sitting in meetings about meetings. Go build something.
If you're on a similar journey, I'd love to connect. Find me on LinkedIn or subscribe to my newsletter for regular updates on AI, automation, and building products.