Today, Durham-based Smashing Boxes is announcing a “new era in the age of AI.” And they’re doing it behind the slogan, “We are your humans.”
For those who may not be familiar, Smashing Boxes was founded by serial entrepreneur Nick Jordan in 2010. Since then, the company has worked to build and ship custom, innovative technology products for a broad and diverse range of partners.
With the announcement of a new era, Jordan stressed that “Smashing Boxes at its core is not changing.” However, the way in which the company serves its partners will evolve to harness the power of AI—anchored in human judgment and strategy.
In a press release, the company stated that it has “streamlined its operating model to deliver faster time-to-value, rapid iteration, and higher-quality outcomes with lean teams and modern AI-powered workflows,” with the result that “entrepreneurs, corporate innovators, and research teams can test assumptions faster, validate ideas sooner, and move from concept to market with unprecedented speed.”
Why now?
Asked why Smashing Boxes is announcing its evolution now, Jordan’s response was straightforward:
“Simply put, once it started taking longer to build out proposals than it did to just make a prototype, I realized we were ready for a big pivot.”
Regarding the bigger picture of the current AI zeitgeist, he also noted, “People know it’s important, they know they need to leverage it, and there is an opportunity and a window for us to be leaders, experts… but more so guides and helpful resources so that you can get the most out of AI.”
As he further stated in the release, the tools have changed, and Smashing Boxes views it as their responsibility to both use them well and provide the human expertise that “turns speed into impact.”
So what’s changing?
Regarding the services Smashing Boxes provides to its partners, the simple answer is that while methods may evolve, core offerings will remain in place. With its evolution, the company provides three “clear paths to partnership.” Jordan had the following to say about each of those paths:
- Rapid Product Builds — “People need to run pilots, leverage prototypes, [and] test proof of concepts…. We can build them fast, greatly condensing time to value and time to feedback. No longer do we need a large software development team or sprint-based execution.”
- Hands-on AI Training — “Workshops have always been a tool that we use with our partners to help them unlock ideas, unlock business value, develop ideas and more importantly, a framework for ideas and ideation…. We are looking to revamp this framework to get our clients and partners thinking about how they can innovate and improve their businesses and organizations.”
- On-call Partnership Model (“We are your humans.”) — “It’s increasingly clear that we can not only build software faster, but that the legacy need to hand off tech to an internal team is no longer as strong. On-call can [mean] what it needs to mean: We will be on-call innovation partners, to [work on] whatever idea inspiration strikes…. Or, we can build and support software, fully replacing the need for in-house w2 teams.”
In a more big-picture sense, concerning founder processes, Jordan said (sounding very much like Master Yoda), “I don’t want to sound like Master Yoda here but I still think the process is the same as it always has been… it’s just faster.”
He noted that founders could do their own research and development without Smashing Boxes in the past, but that his team might have been able to do more, or provide different expertise. This remains the case under the company’s evolution.
“Should they spend time figuring it out themselves (the toolset, how to use AI, how to get the right product) or should they spend time making a sale, customer development, proofing their hypothesis, validating scientific research, etc.—while we do the software piece? That question existed before and will continue to persist.”
For those potential partners who opt to take advantage of the Smashing Boxes approach, Jordan said he expects to have the “same relationship” they’ve always had with partners: “Initial ramp up team when a first version, a prototype, or an MVP needs building—but also a corporate innovation partner to be there to think strategically long term and execute a variety of objectives along the way.”
As for any internal changes accompanying the pivot, Jordan indicated that he expects short-term stability, stating that Smashing Boxes won’t be “laying anyone off due to SaaS-ageddon type pressures.”
He further expressed that he views this as a “categorical winner of an approach,” and foresees scaling up as needed to meet demand.
When does all this take effect?
The changes are already in effect.
A quick scan of the Smashing Boxes website shows that the “We are your humans” ethos has already been threaded through the features and offerings.
