Susanne van Maanen

“I have been something of a chameleon over the years, but what stayed the same through all of it was the kick of starting at zero, working out how something is supposed to fit together, and then getting it to actually run. At the moment, that pull is entirely towards AI, because the tooling has finally started moving faster than my own ideas do!”

“I am looking for someone technical who genuinely ships, so that you can take on the model layer, the data and the product while I take go to market, positioning, partnerships and funding. Ideally you are opinionated about where AI is heading and fairly allergic to the hype around it, and you are the kind of person who disagrees with me out loud and early rather than three months later. It would be a real bonus if you also care about where the technology lands and not only whether it works.”

“I want to build something that is AI-first in the honest sense of the word: the intelligence is the product. A hard problem, proprietary data, real depth in the workflow. Not a wrapper with a nice landing page. Direction matters to me too. I spent years working with B Corps and impact-driven companies, and I started an NGO alongside my own work, so I know how slowly that world moves. AI is the most credible way I have seen to speed it up. One space I keep circling back to is parenthood and the unfair split of emotional labour. I think there is a real product in there. I have built and sold a company before. I would like to do that again, this time with someone. If this sounds like your kind of problem, message me.”