// people
Ben Ross
Founder
A product leader and entrepreneur focused on helping businesses apply AI to real commercial problems — from intelligent automation to agent-based systems. An early voice in the field with a 2015 TEDx talk on AI, he now advises executives, product leaders and founders on turning AI ambition into outcomes
// recent insights
Posts by Ben Ross
// insight · 2 Nov 2026
What makes a great Propeller
Our product team turned Propel's five values into 11 behaviours, written by the people who do the work. Here's how we ran it, what came out, and what it means for leaders hiring for judgement as AI takes on more of the delivery.
Read// insight · 29 Oct 2026
Your AI training might be great. For someone else in the room
Group AI training rarely moves everyone forward. Twenty-five minutes beside someone, working through their actual workflow, can deliver far more.
Read// insight · 27 Oct 2026
If the function looks like it did before, it's not yet AI native
Same handovers, same approval queues, now with an AI licence. The test I use for AI transformation: the result should feel unfamiliar.
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// insight · 26 Oct 2026
Don't port your legacy app. Rebuild it on purpose.
Most legacy rebuilds go wrong before a line of new code is written. AI changes the economics of a rebuild, but only for teams that plan first, build a delivery factory second and choose tooling last.
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// insight · 23 Oct 2026
Propel Ventures is a SpaceX Super Intelligence Launch Partner
Proud to share that Propel Ventures is a SpaceX Super Intelligence Launch Partner. We're excited to be part of its Partner Network from day one.
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// insight · 23 Oct 2026
Experience compounds, just like capital does
Nine years into Propel Ventures, every engagement leaves something behind. Early on it feels like pushing a rock uphill. Now it's a flywheel.
Read// insight · 21 Oct 2026
300 minutes to 15: going AI native at EO Ignite South Pacific
At EO Ignite South Pacific I argued that business owners, not policy, can fix productivity. A proposal that took me 300 minutes now takes 15.
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// insight · 21 Oct 2026
A powerful evening with Dr Peter Fuda
Two insights from Dr Peter Fuda stayed with me: the biggest barrier to change is acceptance, and people can't meet expectations we haven't made clear.
Read// insight · 19 Oct 2026
Our projects got smaller. I needed to 5x just to maintain our revenue
Our average project revenue has dropped from above $500k to under $100k. We need five times the volume just to stand still, yet we're growing above 30%.
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// insight · 18 Oct 2026
At EO Ignite 2026 in Port Stephens
EO Ignite 2026 was a powerful conference packed with inspiration and actionable advice on what leaders need to do next. I was delighted to be involved.
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// insight · 17 Oct 2026
Seven years of zero productivity growth: AI is the lever to pull
Philip Lowe laid out seven years of flat productivity. Waiting for policy reform is not a strategy; AI is the cheapest way to deepen your capital stock.
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// insight · 15 Oct 2026
"100% of our code is AI-written." Congratulations. What did it cost?
Every engineering leader now says 100% of their code is AI-written. It tells you nothing. A transformation without a baseline is an anecdote with a budget.
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