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AI THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

AI, built around
your business.
Not bolted on top.

We replace the software you’re overpaying for, automate the work nobody on your team wants to do, and put AI to work where it actually moves the needle. One partner, start to finish.

Book a discovery call →
2 weeks
to your first AI roadmap
One team
from audit to ongoing support
No lock-in
everything we build is yours
BUILT AROUND YOU · RUN BY US
THE PROMISE NOTE 01

We solve the problem before we pick the tool.

Most AI vendors show up with a hammer and start hunting nails. We show up with a notebook. We spend the first two weeks learning how your business actually works — what costs you time, where the money leaks, what your team dreads every Monday. Only then do we talk about what to build.

WHAT WE DO

Three ways we work with you.

01

Consult

See what’s possible

Two to four weeks with you and your team. We audit the software you’re paying for, map the work that eats your week, and hand back a roadmap with real numbers — what to build, what to replace, and what it’s worth.

2–4 weeks · $5K–$25K

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02

Build

Purpose-built AI tools

Dashboards that actually show what you need. Agents that handle the busywork. Automations that connect the tools you already use. Built for your business, not off a shelf.

4–12 weeks · $25K–$300K

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03

Manage

Your AI team, on retainer

We keep the systems humming, retrain the models as your business evolves, and teach your team how to use what we built. When something breaks, we fix it — before you notice.

Monthly · $3K–$20K/mo

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WHAT RUNS FOR YOU

An AI team at work behind the scenes — 24/7.

LIVE · WORK HAPPENING IN THE BACKGROUND
running
HOW IT FEELS

Like hiring a whole operations team — without the payroll.

Research, reporting, document processing, data cleanup, routine outreach — the work that eats your week quietly runs in the background. You get a weekly digest of what got done and what needs your eye. That’s it.

Runs overnightWake up to done work
You stay in chargeApprove what matters
Fits your workflowUses the tools you have
We monitor itSomething breaks, we fix it
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

One partner, start to finish.

STAGE 01 — CONSULT
We learn your business before we recommend a thing.
Timeline
2–4 weeks
What you get
You get a real roadmap

One team, start to finish. No handoffs to a separate agency when the project is “done.” We’re still here.

WHY NOT THE OTHERS

Enterprise caliber, built for your size.

YOU ARE HERE
Ironworks AI
 
Big consultancy
McKinsey, Accenture, Deloitte
SaaS bolt-ons
Salesforce AI, Copilot
Freelancer
Contract developer
Starts with your problem
Always
Eventually
No — their product
Maybe
Entry price
$5K–$25K
$100K+ minimums
$20–200/seat/mo
$50–150/hr
Replaces bloated SaaS
Yes
No
Adds to it
No
Post-launch support
24/7 · retrained
Extra engagement
Ticket queue
Often ghosts
Knows your business
From day one
After $250K+
Never
Eventually
What you get at the end
Working AI + team
A slide deck
Another subscription
A deliverable
RUN YOUR NUMBERS

See what AI could save you this year.

SAVINGS CALCULATOR
See what AI could save you this year.
MONTHLY SAAS SPEND $4,200
WEEKLY HOURS ON ADMIN WORK 12 hrs
AVERAGE HOURLY VALUE $150
ESTIMATED ANNUAL IMPACT
$121,320
back in your pocket, every year
SaaS consolidation$27,720
Time reclaimed (automation)$93,600
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FAQ

Common questions, answered straight.

What does Ironworks AI actually do?
We help small and mid-sized businesses adopt AI — not the slide-deck kind, the kind that runs overnight and shows up in your numbers. Three services: Consult (a 2–4 week AI readiness audit), Build (custom AI tools we design and own end-to-end), and Manage (ongoing operations on what we built). Consult is usually the right starting point.
How much does AI consulting cost?
We publish actual numbers. Consult engagements run $5,000–$25,000 and ship in 2–4 weeks. Build engagements run $25,000–$300,000 depending on what we’re replacing or automating. Manage is monthly retainer, $3,000–$20,000. If a consulting firm can’t tell you the price on the first call, that’s their problem, not yours.
What’s the difference between Consult, Build, and Manage?
Consult tells you whether AI makes sense and where the highest-ROI use cases are. Build creates the actual tools, dashboards, and automations to capture that value. Manage keeps everything running, retraining models, monitoring performance, and shipping improvements monthly. You can buy any one of them. Consult is usually the right starting point, because deciding what to build is harder than building it.
How long does a Build engagement take?
Plan on 4–12 weeks for a Build engagement, depending on scope and integration complexity. A focused workflow automation ships in about a month. A multi-system custom platform with dashboards and ongoing data pipelines runs 8–12 weeks. We give you a timeline with a fixed end date before you sign.
Are you a Richmond company or do you work remotely?
Both. We’re headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and the focus is Virginia, DC, and the broader mid-Atlantic. We work remotely with anyone in the US — most work happens remotely with on-site visits for kickoff and key milestones.
Do you own what you build, or am I locked in?
You own everything we build. Code, data, models, infrastructure — all yours. We document the system so your in-house team or any other vendor can pick it up. No proprietary platform lock-in, no minimum subscription, no walking away with the keys. The Manage service is optional, not required to keep the system running.

Ready to see
what AI can actually do
for your business?

Start with a conversation. We’ll tell you honestly whether AI makes sense for your operations — and if it does, exactly what it would cost and what you’d get.

Schedule a discovery call →
No pitch. No commitment. Just a clear-eyed look at what’s possible.

AI integration, automation, and managed intelligence for small and medium-sized businesses.

Services

Consult Build Manage

Company

About How it works Insights Careers

Connect

Contact (804) 506-0450 matt@buildironworksai.com Richmond, VA

Service Areas

Richmond, VA Hampton Roads Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia Roanoke, VA
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