Wednesdays @ 1 PM CT — Launch & Learn

I build AI products.
Then I show operators how to turn AI into something real.

Self-taught builder. In 2025, I built the AI for Business platform solo, supporting 1,600+ users and powering a business that reached $1.2M ARR in 9 months. Now building LaunchBox and speaking for rooms that want to see how real people can use AI to build platforms, funnels, communities, and businesses — without waiting for permission.

Bring Ian to your event Check my calendar

Keynotes, panels, and live builds. Based in Houston, available to travel.

1,600+

platform users

$1.2M

ARR in 9 months

500+

largest room

For organizers

Best fit for

Rooms where the audience doesn't just want to hear about AI — they want to leave believing they can build something Monday morning. Founder groups, employer networks, chambers, workforce boards, and operator conferences.

If your audience wants a polished futurist, I'm probably not your guy. If they want someone who's shipping AI products and showing the messy middle — that's where I'm useful.

AI and innovation conferences
Founder and startup communities
Chambers of commerce and business councils
Workforce boards and employer networks
Coach, consultant, and creator communities
Community-led businesses and membership groups

Free weekly open call

Launch and Learn with Ian

A recurring Google Meet for practical AI building, founder Q&A, and real-time walkthroughs. Drop in live on Wednesdays at 1 PM CT.

Join the open call

Google Meet · Wednesdays · 1:00-2:00 PM CT

Track record

Upcoming and recent stage

From Houston AI Club to 500+ person keynotes - a mix of room sizes, same through-line: shipping beats slides.

Small & Diverse Business Inclusion Summit
June 26, 2026 · Upcoming
Speaking at the Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis' Small & Diverse Business Inclusion Summit in Houston — a full day of networking and resource sharing for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. Ian's session covers core business fundamentals: leveraging AI and automation to improve marketing and operations. 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m. at 1010 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77002.
Houston AI Club — AI Lightning Lesson
May 21, 2026
30-minute virtual session for Houston AI Club: From AI Consumer to AI Builder. Live demo of LaunchBox building a community from scratch. 50+ attendees, active Q&A throughout — covered practical AI, the consumer-to-builder gap, and a live build on screen.
AIXP Houston 2026
April 2026
4 speaking slots including the Founder Stories panel. Shared the LaunchBox build story with an operator audience and was referenced during the event's keynote.
Chase pitch event
2026
Pitched LaunchBox to a room of bankers and operators. Measurable follow-through into partner conversations.
Orlando keynote
May 2025
Spoke to a room of 500+ people on building AI products as a self-taught operator.
Jacksonville keynote
March 2025
Spoke to a room of 250+ people on practical AI for non-technical founders.

Proof, not B-roll

On stage

Real rooms. Real audiences. No green screen.

AIXP Houston

April 2026

Ian McDonald speaking in Orlando, May 2025

Orlando keynote

May 2025 · 500+ audience

Ian McDonald speaking in Jacksonville, March 2025

Jacksonville keynote

March 2025 · 250+ audience

Keynote

Watch a talk

Orlando, May 2025 — 500+ in the room. Same energy I bring to your stage.

Pick the talk

Talks I can bring to your audience

Each one mapped to the room it’s built for — clear outcomes, not abstract trends.

Session 01

If I Can Build This, You Can Build Yours

Best for: Founder events, AI conferences, small business communities, workforce groups, operator audiences
Outcome: Audiences leave believing AI can help them build real business assets now, even without a technical background.

Ian's signature keynote blends founder story, practical AI lessons, and live show-and-tell. He shares how he went from healthcare with no coding background to building AI products as a solo founder — including the AI for Business platform and now LaunchBox. Then he shows the audience how LaunchBox and LaunchKit turn an idea, audience, and offer into a platform brief, waitlist page, sales page, lead magnets, and launch plan. The message is simple: you don't need to become a software company to start building like one.

Session 02

AI for Employers

Best for: Workforce boards, chambers, employer networks
Outcome: Practical ways small teams can use AI in marketing, operations, content, and customer workflows — starting Monday.

What AI adoption actually looks like inside a 5–50 person business right now. Tools, workflows, what fails, what sticks. Zero hype.

Session 03

From Idea to Platform in 30 Minutes — Live

Best for: Workshops, founder meetups, business communities, coach and consultant groups
Outcome: A live example of turning a real idea from the room into a platform concept, launch page, lead magnet, and first invite path.

A working build session. Ian takes a business or community idea from the audience and uses LaunchBox to show how quickly AI can turn it into a real launch plan. The point isn't to watch another demo — it's to see the path from vague idea to something people can actually join.

Session 04

Turn Your Expertise Into a Platform

Best for: Coaches, consultants, creators, membership groups, community-led businesses
Outcome: A practical model for turning knowledge, audience, and lived experience into a branded AI-powered platform people can join.

Most experts don't need more content — they need a clearer way to package what they already know. This session shows how coaches, consultants, and community hosts can use AI to create a launchable offer, build a branded experience, and start with their first 10 members instead of getting stuck building a giant course.

Available formats

20–30 minute keynote
45–60 minute workshop
Live build session
Panel guest
Founder / operator fireside chat
Custom — ask

Every session can include a soft next step into Launch & Learn, a private workshop, or LaunchBox for audiences who want to keep building after the event.

Operators

What people have said

Pull quotes from stages, inboxes, and the messy middle of real work.

Video testimonial

A quick word from someone who saw Ian speak

Event attendee · Live speaking event

Short clip from an attendee at a live event — hear the reaction without leaving this page.

Read transcript

0:11GO FORWARD

If these tools would have been available 10 years ago, I already would have been doing millions of dollars a year. People like Ian are gonna help you attract that with your marketing.
Pat Hilton — Headlining keynote · introducing Ian on stage, Orlando May 2025

“I enjoyed your speech, the hands-on coding presentation, your honesty and humble attitude, and your drive.”
Monika Mielnik — Director, UX/UI Design & Development · AIXP Houston

“Great story buddy! I wish my son joined this call. Your story is inspiring.”
Frank Huang — Houston AI Club · May 2026

“Amazing story! Thank you for sharing, Ian.”
Aya Takase — Houston AI Club · May 2026

“Ian is doing something that I have yet to accomplish with NextShiftIQ. He is doing this with a fraction of the experience I have as a developer.”
Joseph Bankole — Senior Data Engineer · via LinkedIn, public post

“I'm going to put you in as our expert AI.”
Nancy Smith — Workforce Solutions East End

“I loved your presentation and can't wait to implement it.”
Debbie H Page — Orlando keynote attendee

Builder record

What I’ve actually built

I don’t talk about AI in theory. I talk from the build.

2025 — AI for Business platform, built solo

9 months

Built the platform supporting 1,600+ users — the business reached $1.2M ARR in 9 months.

1,600+

active users

$1.2M

ARR powered

9 mo

self-taught, zero team

Now — LaunchBox

Shipping

$1,250

MRR, still solo

subscribers · 14 hosting communities

80%+

margin per partner

LaunchBox is the live example in Ian's talks: a working platform that helps people turn an idea into a branded AI-powered community, launch pages, content, and first invites.

Positioning

Who I speak for

I speak for rooms where the audience doesn't just want to hear about AI — they want to leave believing they can build something with it Monday morning. Founder groups, employer networks, chambers, workforce boards, community hosts, coach and consultant communities, operator conferences.

If your audience wants a polished futurist, I'm probably not your guy. If they want someone who's actually shipping AI products, showing the messy middle, and making the path feel possible — that's where I'm useful.

The story

About Ian

Pensacola native. Moved to Colorado at nineteen looking for a different life — stayed eleven years, eight of them working in addiction and recovery treatment.

After years of moving between Colorado and Pensacola while his dad battled cancer, Ian went all-in on building in December 2023 with $5,000 and no safety net. He now lives in Houston.

No CS degree. No bootcamp. No co-founder. He'd been teaching himself on FreeCodeCamp before ChatGPT — then accelerated when it dropped. By 2025 he'd built the AI for Business platform solo, supporting 1,600+ users and powering $1.2M ARR in 9 months.

That experience pointed at a bigger gap: most coaches, consultants, and community-led businesses don't need more AI features — they need an easier way to launch a branded experience and own their audience without stitching together five tools. That became LaunchBox.

He talks from the builder's seat, not from theory.

Partnership

Ways to structure a session

Every event is different. Pick the format that fits your room — or just tell me what you have in mind in the inquiry below.

Standard speaking fee

Keynotes, panels, and practical AI sessions. The default for most events.

Workshop / training fee

Deeper hands-on sessions where the audience builds during the event. Right for cohort kickoffs, founder meetups, and small-group trainings.

Community activation partnership

For groups that want attendees to keep building after the session — through LaunchBox, Launch & Learn, or a private First 10 Challenge tailored to the audience.

Revenue-share option

For select communities, I'm open to partnership structures where the host shares in revenue from LaunchBox activations that come from the event. That can include a custom landing page, event-specific code, or a follow-up workshop so the audience has a clear path to keep building.

The goal is simple: your audience leaves with a practical path to keep building, and the host has upside if the session turns into real implementation. If that's the kind of partnership you're exploring, mention it in the inquiry.

Next step

Bring Ian to your event

Tell me about your event or what you have in mind. I'll reply personally within a day or two.

Prefer to grab time directly? Use my calendar. Or email ian@ianmcdonald.ai.

I build AI products.Then I show operators how to turn AI into something real.