I'm Building a Fully AI-Powered Company. Here's the Plan.

A year ago, I had one employee, a spreadsheet, and not enough sleep.

Today I have 16 AI agents working for me around the clock. They answer emails, maintain my CRM, review code, post on social media, create proposals, and coordinate with each other — without me lifting a finger.

Last week I was at a political event in Emden, Germany. Moderated a panel, met people, out all day. My phone? Didn't touch it once. Yet 847 tasks were completed. Emails answered. Appointments confirmed. An Instagram post published. Pull requests reviewed.

This isn't a future scenario. That was my Friday.

The Goal: A Fully AI-Powered Company

I've set out to have every operational task in my company handled by AI agents by the end of 2026. Not "supported." Not "assisted." Taken over.

And I'm going to document the entire journey. Here on this blog. In my newsletter. Publicly.

Why? Because I believe this is the future for small businesses. And because I can't find an honest documentation anywhere of what this actually looks like — with all the wins, failures, and lessons.

Where I Stand Today

My company — KoBra Dataworks — automates AI processes for businesses. We work with logistics companies, manufacturers, retailers, and medical firms. We have projects with the largest employer association in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Internally, I run 16 specialized AI agents:

• Emma — Executive Assistant. Emails, calendar, CRM, client communications.
• X — CTO. Code reviews, deployments, technical architecture.
• Donna — Operations. Processes, monitoring, quality assurance.
• Don Draper — Marketing. Content creation, social media, campaigns.
• Plus 12 more agents for development, accounting, project management, and customer support.

Together they handle over 50,000 tasks per week. The API costs? Under €30 per month.

What Already Works

Email Management: Emma checks my inbox every 30 minutes, prioritizes, drafts replies, and only asks me about important decisions.

CRM Maintenance: Deals are updated automatically, follow-ups scheduled, contacts synced. My Pipedrive has never been this current.

Code Reviews: Every pull request is automatically reviewed by an AI agent — style, bugs, performance. Only then does a human look at it.

Content Creation: This blog post wasn't written by AI. But the image? Generated. Today's Instagram post? Automatically created and published. The newsletter? Draft by AI, final polish by me.

What Doesn't Work Yet

I want to be honest. Not everything runs perfectly.

The Calendar Disaster: My calendar agent entered appointments in the wrong timezone for weeks. The Outlook API returns times in UTC, not German time. I showed up an hour late to several calls before I found the bug.

Too Much Autonomy, Too Soon: Early on, my email agent had full access. It sent a "creative" reply to a client. Since then, there's a permission system — agents earn trust over time.

Accounting: Invoice reconciliation and payment tracking aren't fully automated yet. That's the next big milestone.

Why 90% Fail

I talk to entrepreneurs every week who "tried AI" and were disappointed. The pattern is always the same:

1. No clear process. If you don't know how you do a task yourself, AI certainly can't take it over.
2. Wrong expectations. AI isn't a magic wand. It needs clear instructions, context, and guardrails.
3. No guardrails. An agent without rules is like a new employee without onboarding. The result is predictable.

The truth is: building AI agents isn't hard. But configuring them right — with the right permissions, context, and boundaries — that's what makes the difference.

The Skeptic Who Changed His Mind

Last week, a marketing professional from my region said: "I've never seen a good website built with AI."

I showed him one.

His response: "Fair enough. You have to admit when you're wrong."

That's the moment something changes. Not when you understand the technology. But when you see it.

Why I'm Doing This Publicly

I have two kids. Five and two years old. Last Tuesday I programmed a children's game with my older one — using AI as a tool. She's learning to use AI like other kids learn to use scissors. As a tool. Not as magic.

I wouldn't have that time without my agents. Period.

I'm documenting this journey because I believe every entrepreneur should have the chance to build their business this way. Not just tech companies in Silicon Valley. But the logistics company in rural Germany. The craftsman in a small town. The retailer around the corner.

Every week I'll share here:

• What I automated
• What went wrong
• Which numbers changed
• What I learned

Want to Join?

If you don't just want to read about this but try it yourself: I've recorded a crash course. 90 minutes. 6 modules. From zero to a working AI agent team.

→ AI Agent Crash Course — €29.99 (Presale)

Or just subscribe to the newsletter and follow the journey. An update every Tuesday.

The question isn't whether AI will change your business. The question is whether you'll be ahead of the curve or playing catch-up.

I've made my choice.

— Jan