thinkforgelabs

Thinkforge Labs

Strategy · Product · Brand · AI

We help small teams
build AI-native
companies.

We weigh your strategic options, then build the products, systems and new ways of working to act on them.

Book a conversation ↗See what we do

Tools we work in

Currently testing

  • Typesafe JEV
  • Open-weight models
  • Tarvus

Why now

We’re bullish on what AI makes possible.

Yet only 6% of surveyed companies qualify as AI high performers.1

Our job is to grow the 6%.

Nearly 9 in 10 report regular AI use.

About 1 in 4 respondents outside that high-performing group report fundamentally redesigning workflows.

1. Reporting significant value and at least 5% EBIT impact from AI. Source: McKinsey & Company, “The state of AI in 2026: On the road to ROI,” August 25, 2026.

What’s newly possible for you

Now possible

A working prototype in front of real users in days, not months.

What we do

We scope the smallest version worth testing, build it and run it with the people who might buy it.

Start with

Product Prototype Sprint

Where we help

We plug into your team
wherever you need us.

From working out what to do next to building, launching or improving what’s already there.

  • Common roadblocksHow we solve them
  • Context is scattered across people, docs and tools.Context engineering
  • Every teammate uses AI a different way.Shared, standardized workflows
  • Too many tools and vendors that don’t talk to each other.Tool and vendor consolidation
  • Systems stay frozen when the next model ships.Self-improving, provider-agnostic systems
  • New tools, same old operating model.Operating model redesign
  • Nobody changes how they work.Change management + talent incentives
  • Clunky design makes good technology hard to use.Product + experience design

What we do

Our capabilities

Strategy across all four

Bring us a question, a project or a gap on your team. We’ll shape the engagement around it.

Brand & Growth

Positioning, identity, websites and customer acquisition.

Including AI SEO.

Explore the Brand & Growth Sprint

Products & UX

Customer research, product strategy, UX/UI design, prototypes and apps.

Explore the Product Prototype Sprint

Agentic Systems

AI agents and automation that carry out work across your tools.

Explore the AI Opportunity & Systems Audit

Teams & Change

Coaching, training and change management to help your team adopt new ways of working.

Explore the Team Adoption Sprint
01

Services

Start with a focused sprint, bring us a specific challenge, or embed us in your team.

Common engagements

  • Brand & Growth SprintPositioning, an offer and a launch you can measure. 3 weeks.
    From $20K
    1. PositionYour ICP, offer and pricing.
    2. BrandMessaging and a conversion page.
    3. LaunchOne distribution test with real outreach or spend.
    4. ReadWhat worked, what to scale and a 90-day plan.
  • Product Prototype SprintA working prototype, tested with real users. 1–2 weeks.
    From $5K
    1. FramePick the one assumption that matters and who to test it with.
    2. BuildAn interactive, on-brand prototype.
    3. TestSessions with 3 to 5 real users.
    4. DecideBuild, change or stop, with a plan for the next step.
  • AI Opportunity & Systems AuditA prioritized assessment of where AI can help, what needs to change, and what to build first.
    From $25K
    1. MapYour workflows, data and where time goes.
    2. ChooseThe highest-value use case, with a value case.
    3. AssessData readiness, integrations, risks and delivery requirements.
    4. PlanA practical roadmap for what to build first.
  • Team Adoption SprintHands-on training and redesigned workflows that help your team use AI in daily work.
    Scoped together
    1. UnderstandWhere your team needs support and what gets in the way.
    2. RedesignChoose everyday workflows to improve together.
    3. PracticeHands-on coaching and training using your team’s work.
    4. EmbedClear owners, guidance and measures for continued adoption.
  • Custom EngagementStrategy, design, technology and hands-on support shaped around your team.
    Scoped together
    1. UnderstandYour goals, gaps and constraints.
    2. ScopeAgree the priorities, outcomes and support you need.
    3. DeliverBuild and implement the work with your team.
    4. AdaptReview results and adjust as your needs change.
  • Embedded PartnershipOngoing strategic and hands-on support alongside your team, across all four service areas.
    Scoped together
    1. AlignAgree priorities, responsibilities and a working rhythm.
    2. EmbedBring the right expertise into your team.
    3. ExecuteMove strategy, design and implementation forward together.
    4. ReviewAssess progress and adjust the work as your needs evolve.
02

Ventures FRACTIONAL FOUNDERSHIP

We build alongside founders, through co-build partnerships and fractional foundership.

03

Labs Coming soon

We experiment on the frontier of applied AI to build solutions to problems that matter.

Areas of focus

  • Education
  • Climate
  • Human wellbeing

9 products shipped or in the works

Perks of working with us

Built to make your team
more capable.

We work in new, AI-native ways, and we put our own reach behind the teams we work with.

01

We promote your work.

We feature the products and work of small teams in our network.

02

One client portal. Coming soon

Upload raw materials, track deliverables and invoices, and see every decision and next step in one place you can come back to.

03

As easy as a chat.

Reach us the way you’d message a chatbot. Send v1 materials, rough ideas and the strategies you’re bullish on, and we take it from there.

04

Context that carries forward.

Our systems compile the context from every call and working session, so you leave with what you need to keep the thinking and the work moving.

05

The right tools for your business.

We aren’t tied to one model or platform. We test the tools as they change and build the best fit for your team, your data and your work.

06

Keep moving after the engagement ends.

We build the infrastructure your team needs to carry the work forward: custom portals to manage and develop your product, embedded AI agents to support ongoing strategy and execution, and clear documentation so your team can build on what we started.

Built with a mission

We believe every
problem is solvable.

So we put 3% of revenue from every engagement toward the problems that matter most: education, climate and human wellbeing.

3%

Of every engagement

How we think

First principles.

Find what's true. Separate the real constraint from the inherited assumption.

Systems design.

See how the parts interact, then design the whole, not just the most visible piece.

Continuous improvement.

Build, observe, learn. Every better answer becomes the next starting point.

From eminence · Article 01

How do you capitalize
on opportunity
at the speed of play?

As the distance between idea, build and feedback collapses, advantage shifts to teams that can recognize what matters, test it cheaply and act on what they learn.

Read article 01
Recognize→Test→Learn
↗ Commit↘ Stop
Keep the ambition. Change the move.

Work with us

Expert network

Specialists join our engagements for a share of the upside.

Join the network

Careers

Explore our open internship, or introduce yourself for other opportunities.

View role and apply

Partnerships

We work with technology vendors, agencies, investors, founder communities, referral partners and research organizations. Explore where our capabilities could complement yours.

Explore a partnership

FAQs

How are you different from an agency or a big consultancy?

Big firms stop at the recommendation, and agencies start at the brief. We do both in one small team: we work out what's worth building, then build it ourselves, so nothing gets lost in a hand-off.

What does AI-native actually mean for us?

It means your product and your ways of working are designed around what AI can do now, not bolted on later. We run our own studio this way, with 9 products shipped or in the works, so we recommend what we use.

Do you always recommend AI?

No. We're provider-agnostic and outcome-first. Sometimes the right move is a process change, a pricing test or not building at all, and we'll tell you.

What if we don't know what to build yet?

That's where we start. We lay out your strategic options, pick the one with the best odds and design the cheapest test that proves it.

Do you build production software?

Yes, once the opportunity and scope justify it. Production engineering, integrations, security and support get their own statement of work.

What if our company has proprietary information?

We can scope a separate, sandboxed AI environment around your data requirements. Before handling proprietary information, we agree with you on access, approved tools and how your data will be stored and used. Please keep confidential material out of the public intake form; we’ll arrange an appropriate way to share it.

Will you work for equity?

Only in selective co-build partnerships where you bring real IP, distribution or customer access. Every engagement includes cash.

Find the right first move

Tell us what you want
to make valuable.

We’ll recommend a defined engagement, explain why it fits, and name the investment before a longer meeting.

thinkforge labs

What’s on your mind?

An idea, a roadblock, or something you want to build. Tell us in your own words.

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