I tracked every minute of my day for 3 months. The results were depressing. I was spending hours on email, scheduling, and other administrative junk. It felt like I was running on a hamster wheel, busy but not productive. Then, I applied this one weird AI trick, and it changed everything.
Everyone thinks you need expensive, complicated software for AI automation. They're wrong. I built a multi-million dollar company using a few simple, powerful AI tools, and I'm revealing my entire stack and workflow in this deep-dive.
I’m Sahin Boydas, and I’ve been in the Silicon Valley trenches for a while. I’ve had a couple of successful exits, RemoteTeam which was acquired by Gusto, and MovieLaLa which was acquired by Gfycat. I’ve also been fortunate enough to be an angel investor in over 200 companies, including some you might have heard of like Anthropic, OpenAI, Scale AI, and Hugging Face. I’m not saying this to brag, but to give you some context. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, and I’m here to tell you that you don’t need a massive team or a huge budget to build something incredible.
What you do need is to be smart about how you spend your time. And that’s where AI comes in. But not just any AI. You need the right AI.
Here are the 7 AI tools that I used to build a $1M business, and how I use them.
1. Zapier: The AI Orchestra Conductor
Think of Zapier as the conductor of your AI orchestra. It’s the glue that holds everything together. It’s not the sexiest tool, but it’s probably the most important. I use it to connect all my other apps and automate my workflows. For example, when someone books a meeting with me through Reclaim AI, Zapier automatically creates a new entry in my Notion database, adds the person to my Superhuman VIP list, and sends them a personalized welcome email.
I have Zaps for everything. When a new article is published on my blog, Zapier automatically shares it on my social media channels. When I get a new follower on Twitter, Zapier sends them a direct message. It’s like having a personal assistant who works 24/7 and never complains.
2. ChatGPT: My Brainstorming Partner
I know, I know. Everyone talks about ChatGPT. But there’s a reason for that. It’s incredibly versatile. I use it for everything from brainstorming blog post ideas to drafting emails to writing code. I even used it to help me write my book, “Becoming Top 1%”.
But here’s the secret: I don’t use it to write for me. I use it as a brainstorming partner. I’ll give it a prompt, and it will give me a bunch of ideas. Then I’ll take those ideas and make them my own. I’ll add my own stories, my own voice, and my own opinions. ChatGPT is a great starting point, but it’s not a replacement for your own creativity.
3. Otter.ai: The Meeting Master
I hate taking notes in meetings. I find it distracting, and I always feel like I’m missing something. That’s why I use Otter.ai. It transcribes all my meetings in real-time, so I can focus on the conversation. It’s incredibly accurate, and it even identifies different speakers.
After the meeting, I can go back and search the transcript for specific keywords. I can also share the transcript with my team, so everyone is on the same page. It’s a huge time-saver, and it’s made my meetings much more productive.
4. Rewind: My Personalized AI
This is one of my secret weapons. Rewind is a personalized AI that records everything I see and hear on my computer. It’s like having a perfect memory. I can go back and find anything I’ve ever seen, said, or heard. It’s incredibly useful for finding that one specific file, email, or conversation that I can’t seem to remember.
I was skeptical at first. I was worried about privacy. But Rewind stores everything locally on my machine, so my data is completely private. It’s a game-changer for anyone who spends a lot of time on their computer.
5. Superhuman: The Email Slayer
Email is the bane of my existence. Or at least it used to be. Then I discovered Superhuman. It’s an email client that’s designed for speed. It has a ton of keyboard shortcuts that let you fly through your inbox. I can now get to inbox zero in under an hour a day.
But it’s not just about speed. Superhuman also has a bunch of AI features that help me write better emails. It has a built-in grammar checker, a sentiment analysis tool, and a feature that lets me schedule emails to be sent later. It’s the best email client I’ve ever used, and I can’t imagine going back to anything else.
6. Reclaim AI: The Schedule Guardian
I used to spend hours every week trying to schedule meetings. It was a nightmare of back-and-forth emails and calendar conflicts. Then I discovered Reclaim AI. It’s an AI-powered scheduling assistant that automatically finds the best time for everyone to meet.
I just tell it who I want to meet with and for how long, and it takes care of the rest. It even takes into account my personal preferences, like my ideal meeting times and my need for breaks between meetings. It’s saved me a ton of time and frustration.
7. Notion: My Second Brain
I use Notion for everything. It’s my personal knowledge base, my project management tool, and my CRM. I have a database for all my contacts, a kanban board for all my projects, and a library of all my favorite articles and books.
I also use it to track all my angel investments. I have a database with all the companies I’ve invested in, along with their key metrics and my notes. It’s an incredibly powerful tool, and it’s helped me stay organized and on top of everything.
The Takeaway
So there you have it. The 7 AI tools that I used to build a $1M business. You don’t need to be a tech genius to use them. You just need to be willing to experiment and find what works for you.
Don’t just take my word for it. Try them out for yourself. I guarantee you’ll be amazed at how much more productive you can be. And who knows, maybe you’ll be the next person to build a $1M business with a handful of AI tools.
The future isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter. And AI is the key to unlocking that future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?
Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.