AI is transforming how we work, think, and build. I’m living it every day. I no longer write anything important without first asking GPT to proofread it. My colleagues, who develop software, are now two to three times more productive. Lawyers who once spent days poring over case law can now find relevant cases in seconds.
But this rapid pace of change is dizzying. It’s hard to keep up, harder still to identify which tools are useful, and nearly impossible to know which one’s right for your business. That’s why I’m building Gralio.ai.
Our mission at Gralio is simple: make the best software solutions accessible to everyone. We’re creating a platform where small business owners, industry professionals, and anyone in between can quickly find, compare, and choose the right software - especially AI-driven tools - to fit their unique needs.
How I got here
Twelve years have passed since I matriculated at Oxford, though it feels like yesterday. After Oxford, I joined Bain & Company, a consultancy where I got to see the problems businesses struggled with and the ways they tried to solve them.
The real turning point came when I joined an AI software company focused on anti-money laundering. Here, I saw the inefficiencies in software buying and selling up close. Dozens of young business development reps made tens of cold calls all day, hoping to book just a few meetings each week. It was painfully inefficient. Surely, I thought, there must be a better way to match software buyers with software sellers.
Later, I moved to a fintech unicorn as a product manager. This time, I experienced the other side of the pain. Selecting the right software was a nightmare. It’s not like buying a new phone where you compare a few models and read reviews. Instead, it meant combing through endless documents, doing reference calls and comparing technical specs across multiple vendors. It was tedious, slow, and outdated. It turns out, my fantastic co-founder Tymon has seen the exact same problems as a chief technology officer.
The birth of Gralio
These experiences were the spark that started Gralio.
At Gralio, we’re building a smarter way to buy software. We’re using AI to make sense of AI - a fitting approach for the times. Here’s how it works:
- AI models: We analyze thousands of product reviews and user experiences. These models identify key pros and cons of each tool, like having a virtual assistant that’s read every review on the internet.
- Web bots: When there’s a gap in the data - like a missing feature spec - we send bots to search the web and collect information. What would have taken an intern days just two years ago now happens in seconds.
- Impartiality: Unlike review sites that cater to vendors, Gralio puts the buyer first. Our goal is to create honest, apples-to-apples comparisons that help buyers make better decisions faster.
How the Oxford MSc in Financial Economics helped
My time at Oxford has been a valuable part of this journey. The network of friends and alumni has been a great source of support and opportunity. More than anything, it’s given me the confidence to tackle big challenges, knowing that bold ideas can become reality.
Twelve years after Oxford, I’m more excited than ever to be part of something big. We’re here to bring order to the chaos of AI, helping people leverage this powerful force to find the tools that will actually make a difference in their work and lives.
