What I actually do
Four ways in. One direction.
Some owners arrive without a clear idea of what AI is worth doing in their business. Some already know what they want built and need someone who can architect and ship it. Either way, the work runs the same direction. Find the expensive problem. Quantify the cost. Prescribe the right fix. Build it so it holds.
The Clarity Session
$450A focused first look at your business and where AI could actually help. You answer questions from a dreamstorm-built AI. I read it, follow up if I need to, and send you a written direction document within five business days. The lightest paid way to see how I think.
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The Audit
$3,500A proper diagnostic. We map your business, find where it's bleeding time or money, and figure out what AI can actually do about it. You walk away with a 12 to 20 page roadmap you can sequence and act on. Useful whether or not you ever work with me again.
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The Fractional AI Strategist
$2,500/monthA seat at your table that didn't exist before. I sit alongside the business, stay across the AI landscape so you don't have to, sanity-check the vendors selling to you, and walk the roadmap with you month after month. Capped at six to eight clients because the work needs the room.
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Build work
Quoted on scopeCustom-coded AI tools, conversational agents, and integrated systems. The work I take on when someone already knows what they want built and needs someone who can architect and ship it. One active build at a time. By exception.
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Start with the business. Then decide if AI earns a seat.
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Why dreamstorm
You're not getting an AI person who learned about people. You're getting someone who spent fourteen years on human systems, then learned to build AI.
Most AI consultants are technologists who picked up business along the way. I came the other direction.
Fourteen years inside one of New Zealand's largest energy companies. Wellbeing strategy for 1,400 staff across 14 sites. Then I taught myself to code, completed a Master of Technological Futures, and shipped fourteen AI products. One of them, Bea, a relational AI for whānau, was built solo in five days for an Anthropic and Cerebral Valley hackathon.
When I look at your business, I see the people, the risk, and the rhythm of it first. The AI is a lever to serve all of that. Not the other way around.
Values in the architecture. Not the footer.
14 AI products shipped
14 years of human systems
Master of Technological Futures, AcademyEX 2026
Solo Anthropic hackathon build (Bea)
Recently shipped
Fourteen builds. Two years. No technical background when I started.
The work proves the philosophy. Four builds worth the homepage. The rest live on the work page.
Bea
A relational AI presence for whānau. Built solo in five days for the Anthropic and Cerebral Valley hackathon. Open source under MIT licence. Eleven hard constraints written into the code, three governing frameworks. The difference between AI ethics as language and AI ethics as architecture.
Visit →Coach Emma
A voice-first AI coaching companion for Scaled Ambition. Sounds like Emma, thinks like Emma, shows up for her clients at 11pm on a Tuesday. 16 of 16 participants activated within 48 hours of launch. Built in 130 hours.
Visit →YourHQ
Hand-coded websites for NZ small businesses, delivered in five business days. Concept to live. The deliberate revenue engine underneath dreamstorm. Recurring revenue funds the innovation work.
Visit →Project Rise
The voice-based research survey agent that started everything. 68% of participants chose voice over text. That single finding redirected an 18-month research programme and shaped every build that came after.
Visit →What it's actually like
"It's the ultimate bridge between sessions. My clients now have a confidential space to practise my frameworks the moment they need it."
Emma Kirkman
Founder, Scaled Ambition
The wider work
The studio is one part of it.
dreamstorm sits inside a wider practice. Speaking, podcasting, research. The same thinking shows up in different rooms.
Speaking
Keynotes and workshops for tech conferences, women's networks, Māori and Pacific events, and any room that needs a voice that doesn't perform polished distance.
Book me to speak →The podcast
Follow the White Rabbit. With Larissa from 123Online. Honest, curious, goes places the polished version of the industry conversation won't.
Listen →The research
Project Rise. Master of Technological Futures, AcademyEX 2026. Three original theoretical contributions in ethical AI design. The reasoning behind every build I do.
Read the research →A few questions, answered straight
The honest answers.
What does dreamstorm actually do?
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I help established small and growing businesses figure out where AI actually belongs in their work, what to ignore, and, when the project is right, architect and build the right thing. Four ways in: a Clarity Session for a focused first read, an Audit for a proper diagnostic and roadmap, the Fractional AI Strategist seat for ongoing partnership, and Build work by exception when the project earns it.
Who is dreamstorm for?
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Established small and growing businesses across Aotearoa. Owners who care about doing business with integrity and want their AI choices to reflect that. Three shapes show up most often: people who want a clear first read before committing to more, sharp operators who want a thinking partner to stay across the AI landscape for them, and scaling builders who want AI in the architecture from the start. One free Community Hour spot a month is kept for not-for-profits, social impact organisations, and Māori and Pacific networks.
How much does it cost to work with dreamstorm?
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Community Hour is free. Clarity Session is $450. Audit is $3,500. The Fractional AI Strategist retainer is $2,500 a month, three-month minimum. Build work is quoted on scope, typically $10,000 to $30,000+. All prices NZD, GST exclusive. International clients quoted in USD.
What makes dreamstorm different from other AI consultants?
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Most AI consultants are technologists who picked up business along the way. I came the other direction. Fourteen years inside one of New Zealand's largest energy companies designing human systems for 1,400 staff, then taught myself to code and shipped fourteen AI products. The work is grounded in kaupapa Māori and Pacific principles: reciprocity, care, and designing with people, not for them. Values in the architecture. Not the footer.
Where is dreamstorm based?
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Whangārei, Northland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Working remotely with clients across Aotearoa and globally. In-person sessions available in Auckland and Northland. A small number of international clients each year, anywhere English is the working language.
How do we start?
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The form on the contact page. A few sentences is plenty. I read everything and reply within two business days. If you're not sure which offer fits, just say so. I'd rather refer you out than sell you something you don't need.
More questions? See the full services FAQ or get in touch.
If this sounds like the kind of thinking you've been looking for, let's talk.
A few sentences is plenty. I read everything. I'll reply within two business days. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you who is.
Get in touch