How Hevi Is Building an AI-Native Company
Feb 25, 2025
David Brennan MBA
There’s a big difference between adding AI to your product and building a company where AI runs through everything — from product to sales to internal ops.
That’s what Paul Culvenor, CEO of Hevi, is doing. Hevi isn’t just using AI — they’re building a company that runs on it. Cursor, Copilot, GPT Projects, Gemini, Replit — these aren’t tools on the side. They’re central to how Hevi moves faster, scales leaner, and builds smarter.
Key Takeaways
• Hevi is building an AI-native business — not just adding AI to the product
• They use Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Replit to prototype entire features in days
• Marketing, content, and BD workflows are fully AI-augmented
• Strategic decisions are pressure-tested with a custom GPT advisor
• Even internal ops (finance, customer success, hiring) are being mapped for automation
Why AI-Native > AI-Enabled
Most companies are still bolting AI onto old workflows. Hevi is rewriting the playbook from scratch — especially in industries like mining and construction where old-school process is the norm.
“We’re not tacking AI onto decades-old workflows. We’re starting with it baked into the foundation.”
And it’s not just product velocity. It’s every part of the org.
Sales, Marketing, and BD: Trust Over Volume
Hevi isn’t spamming cold outbound. Their customers are high-trust, high-stakes. So they’ve taken a different approach:
Podcast content → AI-powered repurposing into clips, posts, and blogs
Strategic research done with GPT to refine messaging
Customer profiles enhanced with AI to challenge assumptions
“AI gives us faster insight — but we use it to deepen relationships, not automate them away.”
Product Velocity: Prototyping at Warp Speed
Using Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and tools like Replit, the team is spinning up MVPs and internal tools in days, not weeks.
“You go from idea to V1 instantly. Then you refine — instead of spending weeks just getting started.”
This is especially powerful when the founder is technical enough to play — but not a full-time dev. With these tools, Paul’s co-founder Brad can do both.
Strategic Ops with a Custom GPT Board Advisor
One of the wildest pieces?
They built a GPT Project that acts like a strategic advisor:
It holds financials, pitch decks, strategic plans, and OKRs
They ask it: “Here’s our January numbers — what are we missing?”
It returns insights, blind spots, and even ops suggestions
“You upload your financials, and it helps you see what you’re not seeing. That’s real leverage.”
Gemini + Auto Notes = No More Missed Action Items
Because Hevi is a Google-native team, they’re also using Gemini to auto-transcribe and summarize meetings. That means:
Strategy sessions → summarized with action items
Product calls → turned into specs and tasks
Conversations → become context for internal GPTs
“Paul said X. Brad agreed. Here’s what needs to happen next.” That’s the AI co-pilot we all wanted.
The Bigger Vision: Services Will Become Software
Paul laid it out clearly:
“The future isn’t SaaS. It’s ‘services as software.’”
That means AI agents won’t just support back-office ops — they’ll become ops. Onboarding. Success. Hiring. Billing. All semi-autonomous. All agent-assisted. Humans in the loop, but not at the wheel.
Final Word
“You won’t be replaced by AI. You’ll be replaced by someone using it to run faster and smarter than you ever could.”
Book a Free AI Assessment if you’re ready to go beyond AI features — and start building the AI-native backbone that lets you scale with fewer people, more speed, and no legacy drag.
