I met Paul at La Tuna — a little bar right on the beach here, the kind of place where salsa lessons happen on a Tuesday night because why not. I’ve known him for years. Super friendly, the guy everyone likes, the guy who shows up to the dance floor every week with a smile and confidently guides you every step of the way.
What I didn’t know, for years, is that Paul is a damn good developer.
I found out by accident. He threw together an AI workshop in the small fishing village we live in, almost as an afterthought, and I showed up. Halfway through, I’m sitting there thinking, Hold on. Who are you, really?
Paul’s love for tech rivals his passion for Salsa. He even has an AI bot that lives in another universe he calls Second Life. And honestly, it suits him. He loves it and I love his passion.
We met for coffee afterward. And somewhere in that conversation, an idea showed up that neither of us had come looking for.
Before I get into it, let’s be real: I’m not new to this game.
Lately, I’ve been using AI for pretty much everything. No exaggeration. Need interior design ideas? Done. Stuck on a problem? It’s my thinking partner. Some days, it’s my co-founder, talking me off the ledge or pushing me over it. Strategy, brainstorming, content, editing, coaching. I’ve even asked it questions I’d usually save for a doctor, a lawyer, or a translator—just so I can ask the real humans smarter questions.
I’ve spent 23 years in marketing, building brands, making companies millions. I even worked with Madonna once. I know what a good brand looks like. I know what a website needs to do. I’ve worked with agencies, specialists, copywriters, brand strategists, UX designers—the whole relay team. I know how long that relay takes. Spoiler: it’s not fast.
Months. Sometimes almost a year. By the time you launch, you’re already tired of it. And I know how expensive it can get. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on my website and still didn’t like it.
So Paul and I got curious. What if we just went for it?
We set a challenge: redo my whole website, brand guidelines and all, and see how long it really takes.
Three days.
In three days, I’d updated my brand guidelines and wrote the copy. We built and launched the site—with a small team helping us think it through. Six of them, actually. If they could talk, they’d probably say:
“I’m the one who keeps us focused on strategy and priorities — what actually matters, in what order.”
“I dig into the data — who’s reading this, what they’re asking for, what the numbers actually say.”
“I obsess over how things look. Color, type, spacing — the stuff you feel before you can name it.”
“I’m the wordsmith. If a sentence didn’t sound like Milena, I rewrote it until it did.”
“I build. Actual files, actual code, actually live.”
“And I hold the big picture — making sure everything matches not just the brand, but the philosophy underneath it.”
Six “team members.” They call themselves the Round Table. They have real names, like John, Sally, and Bob. Bob’s my favorite. All this, plus two humans with about 50 years of experience between us.
Here’s the thing: those 50 years are why the three days worked.
We called the shots on every page, every word, every decision. AI has no clue what “sounds like me.” It doesn’t know which homepage is right. Only Paul and I know that, because we’ve spent decades learning to spot it.
AI has zero taste. Paul and I do. Put us together, and what used to take months now takes days.
The site’s live. I want to know what you think.
The best part is that I have total control. I can change anything, anytime, by myself. I just talk to my computer, and it updates. That’s the wild part. No more waiting for someone else or fumbling through clunky software. No more “next sprint.” I think of something, and a few minutes later, it’s live.
I’m thrilled with how it turned out, and the response has blown me away. What do you think?
Let me be clear about what I want from AI: to save me time. Not send me down rabbit holes and steal more hours from my day. That’s what’s happening to a lot of people. I wrote about the Jevon’s paradox with AI before. I want time to play, to wingfoil, to hit salsa lessons, to create, reflect, strategize, write, connect, speak. AI can do the grunt work in the background.
Paul and I got curious about something else too.
What if other people want this, but have no idea where to start?
Not “learn to code.” Not “become a developer.” Just: what does it really look like to use AI as leverage on something you’re building, without losing what makes it yours and doing the part that only YOU can do?
We’re not going to guess what this workshop should be. We want to hear it from you.
If you’ve got two minutes, hit reply or fill out the quick form below and tell us:
Who are you, and what are you working on?
How are you currently using AI — if at all?
What would you like to learn?
Paul and I are going to take everything you send us and put our heads together to come up with a workshop shaped by what you actually ask for.
I read every reply. I can’t wait to see what you’re building and how AI can help you unbusy your life so you can make a bigger impact without hustling.
See you next week.
— Milena
P.S. Please fill out this form if you’re interested in learning more about how to use AI for leverage this Summer. Also stay tuned for Summer of Unhustling - coming up next.
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