The following memo was sent by Onfolio CEO Dominic Wells to all team members on April 9th 2025
In light of recent developments in the AI space and after some conversations with various people both within Onfolio and out, I want to share some thoughts with you all.
Also, you may not have read the shareholder letter I published in January. You can read that here: https://onfolio.com/2024-in-review
In the letter, I touched upon our desire to encourage AI adoption at the corporate level. What that means is we want all of you to embrace “AI-first” rather than be wary of its use, and we want to help implement it.
The early reception to AI was lukewarm globally. Many people were blown away by its technological prowess, but left scratching their heads about how to actually use it effectively for anything other than wonky image creation and generic content.
However, with recent improvements it is now clear that choosing to embrace it is the key to continuing to grow and evolve.
No, it’s not perfect, but its utility for us and our vision is beyond debate at this point
Embracing new tools and technologies has always been a core value to help us do our best work faster, smarter, and more creatively. ML/AI (and automation) is one of those tools with potential to help us do our best work, and it’s proving true by the day.
Using these tools to our advantage is more than just learning how, it’s a fundamental mindset.
Simply put, I want us (you) to think and operate “AI-first” across the board.
That means actively looking for ways AI can assist, accelerate, or elevate what we’re working on; whether it’s brainstorming and ideation, research and learning, writing and editing, rapid prototyping and designing, data analysis, coding and development, customer support, or anything that comes to mind.
To be clear, this is not about replacing human creativity or judgment. It’s about amplifying it.
I’ve noticed some people still hesitate to use AI because it feels like “cheating” or like it’s taking a shortcut. Let’s be clear: using technology to improve your work is not cheating; it’s working smart. For example, we use calculators instead of doing long division by hand. We use design software instead of sketching everything with pencil and paper. AI is the next step in that evolution.
We want you to adopt it, fast.
That said, we know it can feel overwhelming. With most new technologies, there’s a natural ramp: early adopters figure it out, best practices emerge, and then that knowledge trickles down to the broader team over time.
But our desire for fixed “standard procedures” isn’t really available like it used to be. The landscape is simply moving too fast. The tools are changing regularly, sometimes daily. Just think about how fast it has changed since ChatGPT 3.5 and all of the updates since.
Instead of waiting for a stable “how-to” guide, we all need to get comfortable adapting to the change, constantly.
The real skill now is learning how to be a good user of AI and similar tools. Someone who explores, iterates, and evolves with the tools as they grow. That might mean trying something new before it feels polished, or sharing your learnings even if they’re still half-baked. That’s okay, in fact, that’s exactly the kind of culture we want to build.
Let’s remove the stigma.
Let’s be curious, experimental, and bold. Try new tools. Share what’s working (or not). Help each other get better.
There will always be a human at the center of what we do. Our judgment, our taste, our empathy, our ideas. AI just helps us bring those things to life more powerfully and efficiently.
This isn’t just about better productivity. This is about being on the forefront of innovation.
If you’ve had any doubts on the subject, consider this your green light to explore, experiment, suggest workflows, and share ideas for how to enrich our work with these tools.
If you have questions about accessing specific tools, learning how to use them, or about this approach, please share them with your manager, the Onfolio leadership team, or with me directly if you prefer.
Let’s embrace the opportunity that lies ahead and let’s lead the way.
Thank you for all you do.
Dom