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Jaqi Saleem is the founder and CEO of digital experience agency Qualified Digital, and founder of Jaqi Purpose Co., a mission-driven investment fund. Here she breaks down her best advice for sustainable growth, fundraising, and creating a culture of collaboration.

Please give us the elevator pitch of your business.
My company, Qualified Digital, is an award-winning digital experience agency that competes with top consultancies 100-1,000 times our size to serve Fortune 500 clients like Mayo Clinic, CVS, Hitachi Vantara, CommonSpirit Health, Kaiser Permanente, Novo Nordisk, Bristol-Myers Squibb and TransUnion. Our 360° approach, in partnership with industry leaders like Adobe, blends B2B and B2C expertise to craft seamless customer journeys. Our tagline is “The Experience of Connection”.

Or, if you want a simpler soft pitch, we can use my Mom’s description: “I think they put the buttons on the internet.” You are not wrong, Mom, we do that too.

What inspired you to create this business?
The truth is, I started this digital customer experience agency completely by accident. After over 15 years at agencies — and getting the feeling I had hit a glass ceiling — I decided to give independent consulting a try. A couple of months in, a customer offered me an opportunity to build and fund my own guerrilla dream team to pick up some business-critical projects after an unexpected and rapid split with their previous digital agency. I didn’t hesitate — I called all of the smartest people I knew and asked them to join me. I was gratified and humbled when they did. Fast forward 7.5 years, Qualified Digital is private equity backed by Stella Point Capital, and has 100+ teammates composed of the smartest people I now know.

Related: ‘We Didn’t Know We Could Do That!’ These Co-Founders Built a Unique Photography Business That Tapped an Unexpected Need — And Now Is Found in 60 Cities

What advice would you give entrepreneurs looking for funding?
Make sure you are looking for a partner who adds value and is aligned to your vision, not just a check. Don’t be pompous, but be curious in ways that show you need to know about the potential investor, as well. Don’t ask them questions you could find on their website; welcome them into the conversation; leave room for their voice, as the dynamic changes and creates more opportunity to connect. They are investing in you as a leader, as much as in your business, so be human, not a well-dressed robot. While you want to be prepared to speak the entire time, hope and invite a dialogue and anticipate what they might ask so you don’t freeze or skip a beat. Practice, practice, practice, not just for presenting your investor deck in the order it is laid out, but for any direction that the conversation may go. I often keep an appendix of items that likely wouldn’t make it into a brief pitch, but may be a confidence builder if they ask a pointed question and you can show you are on top of it.

Lastly, and this is extremely important: ensure they don’t see you as a project. Investors don’t want to do your job; they need to believe that you can execute on an incredible idea, not just that you have one. Especially if you don’t have a track record to point to, develop a clear plan or include a partner who can lead on the business front. Clear plans are important, either way, so they feel they can press the easy button by just funding and advising.

Female-owned businesses only get 2 per cent of VC funding — what specific advice can you give to women business owners seeking to emulate what you achieved in getting PE investment?
Knowing that stat can be intimidating, but don’t let it get in your head. It might stop you from asking at all, and we need to change that number, not perpetuate it.

I did not run into any resistance in my process, and ran a competitive one, which I highly recommend. This allowed me to command the value I knew Qualified Digital was worth, gender identity aside.

If you are at the right stage, really consider bringing on a banker to represent you. They come with fees, but the right ones, with the right network, are worth their weight in gold.

Related: He Hated Furniture Shopping. So He Built a Business to Do It for Him. Here’s How This Unconventional Founder Is Finding New Customers and Growth.

What kind of growth have you seen?
In the early years, starting from scratch, Qualified Digital grew 100% YoY+. As our revenue numbers increased, that percentage has naturally changed. Last year, we delivered 45%+ growth. This year, through the combination of organic growth and our recent acquisition of Xpediant Digital, we are on track to deliver another 40% growth year for 2025 and are projecting $31.5M in revenue.

What tips can you give to other founders on maintaining company culture when your team is either partially or fully remote?
I’m proud of the work-life balance that we’re able to give our team by being a fully remote company. We have over 100 employees and FTE equivalents on our team, based all across the US and around the world, and that team is able to pick up and drop off their kids at school, take care of their mental and physical health, and do the things they love like travel, or whatever passions or hobbies they have. QD’s company culture encourages a mindset that is both entrepreneurial and collaborative, and I feel that is one of the things that really sets us apart.

My advice is: create an energy that multiplies, and it will. Culture cascades from the top, so your team has to want you to win, they have to want each other to win, and they have to want to win themselves. And most of all: hire great humans and interesting people. Your team is the magic, and it is your job as a leader to protect that culture from those who draw down on it.

What advice can you give about making the decision to acquire another company, such as your recent acquisition of Xpediant Digital?
See a clear 1+1 = 3. Do not buy revenue, buy a value multiplier, whether that is a new capability, new industries, or products that accelerate what you do. Is it a value add to your existing clients, or is it all about new clients you can add value to? Either way, just ensure you have a clear vision that helps your team and their team get excited to execute on that vision. Make sure the company is a culture fit; that your team and their team will be proud to stand shoulder to shoulder and excited to collaborate.

Remember, when you are hungry, everything can look like a steak (or a portobello mushroom burger if that’s more your style).

Related: They Started a Side Hustle in Their College Dorm and Bootstrapped Their Way to a Massive Business: ‘It’s Always Been About Being Scrappy’

You also make investments through your investment fund, Jaqi Purpose Co. What tips can you give entrepreneurs seeking to pitch to investors like you?
Show me the problem, show me that solving that problem adds a social or mission-oriented outcome, and then show me the solution you have for that problem and how you are doing so. Show me there is a market or need for it, that no one else is doing it (well), and that if you had the money, you would be able to deliver what and by when. Be ready to show me that you are ready. I want to invest in things that matter, which means I want that investment to be successful. It cannot just be an idea, it needs to be a plan. A plan that you can execute on with guidance and money, not one that would be a project I would take on.

What does the word “entrepreneur” mean to you?
If I am honest, the word entrepreneur is still a word that I have to remember to match myself to. I love this question, because it challenges old thinking I had around the word.

Taking a step back, acknowledging that I am an entrepreneur, I would say this: It is someone who is relentlessly passionate about the business, product or problem they are solving; someone who is not afraid of failing, but mostly because they think they won’t in the long run; know that controlled failure is an essential part of the process in any kind of meaningful success; someone who teeters the line of confidence and delusion, just enough to take the big risky swings necessary to drive meaningful impact, but with the humility and pragmatism that keeps them grounded and taking the right swings; someone who builds with the end in mind, making space for the right amount of uncertainty and evolution, but with some sense of what success looks like in the end.

Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation?
“I have no particular talents — I am just passionately curious” – Einstein. I love this quote, and in fact, “passionately curious” is one of our five core values at Qualified Digital. It was just so relatable to me. It eroded some of that “them but not me” impostor mindset. If Einstein says he has no special talents, and his superpower is curiosity, well then, that is a recipe I could put to action.

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You don’t need to overhaul your company’s hardware to boost performance. Sometimes, the smartest investment is in the operating system itself. Right now, business leaders can grab a lifetime license to Microsoft Windows 11 Pro for just $14.97 (regularly $199) through July 20—a powerful upgrade for any professional environment.

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With tools like BitLocker encryption, Hyper-V virtualization, Azure AD support, and Windows Sandbox, this version goes far beyond the home edition. For entrepreneurs juggling sensitive data or developers working in isolated environments, these are necessities.

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AI is omnipresent in 2025 in all areas of the business sphere, including customer service. And for good reason. Used right, AI can provide invaluable insights into your customers’ behaviors and preferences, boost the efficiency of your customer service team and increase overall satisfaction.

Between dynamic personalization, streamlined purchase processes and predictive customer support, many small businesses are leveraging AI to level the playing field and provide enterprise-grade customer service.

However, despite AI’s massive potential, there are several potential pitfalls when using AI in customer service. At worst, AI can scare off customers or generate frustration, rather than helping to streamline processes.

Here are the four most common mistakes — and how to avoid them.

Related: How Small Businesses Can Leverage AI Without Breaking the Bank

1. Frustrating generic chatbots

To start with, chatbots can be a great asset to your team members and customers alike. They can speedily handle routine queries, free up your agents’ capacities, respond to customers even outside regular business hours and reduce wait times.

However, to be effective, chatbots need to be well-trained and personalized.

Unfortunately, many companies — in a rush to stay ahead in the AI race — deployed chatbots that ask too many questions, give generic answers and fail to solve queries.

In one hilarious example, NYC’s MyCity chatbot kept giving wrong answers even six months post-deployment and after $600,000 in investments, misinforming users about legal requirements for business owners and even basic facts such as the minimum wage.

Overall, 80% of people reported that interactions with chatbots have increased their frustration rather than leading to quicker solutions to the issues they were facing.

To avoid this, it’s crucial that chatbots are trained well on company-internal data. Ideally, they should be able to leverage customer-specific data across a number of different channels in order to provide personalized, efficient support to every person who reaches out.

2. Unaccessible siloed data

On that note, another common pitfall to avoid when implementing AI in customer service is data siloing. One of AI’s greatest strengths is its capacity to process huge amounts of data and unearth patterns and trends, condensed into actionable insights. These insights can then be leveraged for personalization and targeted strategy adjustments.

However, that’s only possible if AI actually has access to all the necessary data elements — and that is a challenge many small businesses are currently facing.

In fact, a recent study by Nextiva, a market leader in customer experience software solutions, found that among company leadership, data siloing was identified as one of the most common barriers to AI implementation. In the study, 39% of respondents agreed that they “struggled with accessibility, aggregation, integration and structure of real-time and historical data.”

To avoid this limitation, it’s essential to audit data storage and integration as soon as you start planning your AI implementation strategy. Making sure from the start that the systems you are considering integrate well — or that bridge solutions are at least available — will avoid unnecessary siloing and frustration down the line.

Related: AI Can Give You New Insights About Your Customers for Cheap. Here’s How to Make It Work for You.

3. Going overboard on hyper-personalization and automation

On the other end of the spectrum are businesses that go overboard in their enthusiasm for AI, to a degree that can appear off-putting to many customers. This includes hyper-personalization and automation processes.

While personalization is a key advantage of AI and can boost the efficiency of customer service agents and the satisfaction of the people they interact with, you don’t want to appear omniscient either. Having the impression that a company knows everything about them before they even talk to you is seen as acutely creepy by many customers.

Salesbots, in particular, often trigger the uncanny valley effect, or scare off potential customers by leveraging information they don’t feel they ought to have access to.

To steer clear of this particular pitfall, it’s essential to carefully calibrate the level of personalisation you implement and weigh its potential benefits in boosting conversions against customers’ perception of intrusiveness.

4. Forgetting human escalation options

Finally, a widespread mistake small businesses make in leveraging AI for customer service is to neglect human escalation options, especially in customer support. No matter what your AI can do, it’s always necessary to offer customers the option to talk to a human agent instead.

There is nothing more frustrating for a customer facing an urgent problem than being stuck in an ineffective conversation loop with a chatbot or a virtual phone agent when an actual person would clearly help them reach a solution far more efficiently.

Outside business hours, when AI is the only one holding down the fort, it’s often enough to offer customers the option to leave a message and assure them you will contact them as soon as possible. Other than that, though, you need to give people the option of a human lifeline to help put out an urgent fire.

Related: Does AI Deserve All the Hype? Here’s How You Can Actually Use AI in Your Business

Conclusion

In 2025, AI is an incredible asset that small businesses can leverage to elevate their customer service. It is, however, not a panacea.

To effectively harness the potential of AI and avoid common pitfalls, it’s necessary to carefully plan and train the systems you’re deploying, exercise discretion with respect to personalization and implement a human failsafe option.

By sticking to these tenets, though, you’ll be able to make the most of the opportunities AI has to offer for small businesses in customer service and increase your overall customer satisfaction.

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No matter how robust your brand’s customer service is, you can’t avoid negative feedback — noise that can block out all the great things your business offers and does. Social media is rife with videos highlighting incidents where customers feel wronged and the torrent of negative comments that follow. Reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Open Table, TripAdvisor and other platforms are filled with dissatisfied customers, and that can upend a business’s good standing.

Sometimes, there are missteps, and the reviews and feedback reflect a breakdown in service or product delivery. Other times, people are venting or trolling with no cause. You can’t take it personally, but don’t ignore what they say. Customers rely on reviews when discovering or purchasing products and services. Bad reviews can turn them away and cause a reputational crisis for your business.

Your online business reputation depends on a proactive, strategic approach for identifying, monitoring, managing and responding to negative reviews. You’ll seize opportunities to build trust, improve customer service and enhance customer relations.

Related: Your Customers Are Talking About You — Here’s How to Turn Their Feedback Into Profit

Identifying customer issues

If a negative or bad comment appears on social media or one of the consumer review platforms, take a breath and figure out what’s behind the review. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes to see if the review or comment was justified. Go beyond the words and anger to determine where things went wrong. Then respond — genuinely and professionally.

Monitoring online reviews

You won’t know customer dissatisfaction exists without monitoring your online reviews. There are various tools and strategies available to do so. For example, you can use Google Alerts or ReviewTrackers to provide you with real-time alerts when new reviews are posted on platforms like Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Google.

Also, ensure your business is claimed and verified on the major platforms so you can respond to reviews and receive notifications of activities. Optimize your business profiles. You want potential customers to find accurate, useful information when they are looking up reviews about your brand. Make sure photos, location, hours and business description are up to date.

Managing online reviews

Designate a “review response” team or personnel to respond to reviews. Share these tips with the individual or team responsible for handling reviews:

• Don’t let emotions come into play when crafting responses to negative comments.
• Thank customers for their feedback and let them know your intention to do better.
• If the customer is justifiably dissatisfied, apologize and show empathy without overdoing it.
• Make things right if possible. For example, offer an opportunity to revisit your restaurant with dessert on the house. Send out a replacement product that got lost in the mail at no cost. Offer a discount on a future product.
• If all goes well, encourage the customer to modify the comment with an updated review so others can see your good-faith efforts. When you acknowledge customer dissatisfaction and do what you can to turn things around, you’ll find that these consumers will become your biggest champions and cheerleaders.

In some cases, contact reviewers offline to discuss their experience. During the conversation, ask the customers to update their reviews. If they choose not to update the comment, you can respond online that the issue was resolved.

Related: How to Better Manage Your Brand’s Reputation in the Digital Age

Go beyond the negative, highlight the positive

In dealing with bad reviews, in addition to responding and turning dissatisfied customers into advocates for your business, beefing up your online reputation with positive comments and reviews is equally critical. Positive reviews influence buying behavior and help win people over, even if there is the occasional bad comment.

When asking for a positive review, timing is everything. Encourage reviews at the point of purchase, following an event or fulfilling a service. For example, send a quick text or email saying, “Happy you had a great experience. Would you mind leaving us a quick review?” Make it easy for your customers to leave a comment with a link to the review page.

Make getting positive reviews part of your brand strategy

Train your staff to ask for reviews in their communication. For example, recently, my colleague had an issue with a product that was delivered to the wrong house. It was the delivery service and not the retailer that made the error. The delivery service would not rectify the situation; however, the retailer was happy to send a replacement product. My colleague received an email with an invoice ($0) listing the products reshipped to her home and a gentle nudge to leave a review about the service and resolution. She was more than happy to do so and spread the word.

Respond to positive reviews, too. This shows you care about your customers’ feelings and helps build trust with future reviewers. Don’t be shy about sharing great reviews as testimonials on your website and social media platforms. Other satisfied customers on social will chime in and reinforce the great experience your brand delivers, further boosting your online reputation.

Getting some negative reviews is not all bad. They help you pinpoint areas that need improvement. In addition, they help create a balanced, authentic brand profile. While you want most of your feedback to be positive, having occasional negative comments and responding to them builds trust and credibility.

Almost half of entrepreneurs rely on their laptops daily, according to data from global market research firm Ipsos. That’s not a huge shock, considering these portable computers let you get work done anywhere. As an entrepreneur, you’re used to bringing work home… and on vacation. And right now, you can get a super versatile device, an ASUS Chromebook CM30, for just $179.99 (reg. $329.99).

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Are you a doctor? Me neither. So why do we spend so much time obsessing over business decisions like we’re performing open-heart surgery? If I had to make a medical decision, I would really be in trouble. And that’s why I don’t. But guess what? A lot of medical decisions are made quickly.

I’ve worked in both giant corporations and scrappy startups. You know what sets them apart? In large companies, 99% of the time is spent worrying about the 1% of things that might go wrong. In small ones, 99% of the time is spent sprinting forward — because there’s no time to sweat the small stuff. Get moving or start dying (metaphorically). It’s that simple.

In essence, what I’m talking about is the difference between paralyzing risk management and bold risk acceptance. One keeps the wheels spinning; the other keeps the business moving.

I once wrote a LinkedIn post that simply said: “The biggest mistake you can make is being afraid to make one.” It’s something I remind myself of on tough days. Because no matter how chaotic it gets, what we do isn’t life or death — it’s business. And business requires momentum. It doesn’t require months of groupthink.

Related: Entrepreneurs Don’t Overthink Things. They Make a Decision and Go With It.

How do you keep the business moving?

1. Be ruthless, but thoughtful, about hiring

I worked at a company where closing a deal required six levels of approval. Six. Levels. Of. Approval. That’s not process — it’s pure bureaucracy and pain. As you grow, be intentional. Every hire should have a clear purpose and deliver real value. If you can’t answer these questions in a positive manner:

• What does this role do?

• How does it help us grow?

• Is it really a full-time position?

• Would it be better to outsource it than keep it in-house?

…then don’t hire. You’re building a team, not a padded org chart.

2. Make the call at 51%

You don’t need 100% certainty to act. You don’t even need 60%. If you’re 51% sure — leaning ever so slightly toward one direction — that’s enough. It has to be. Waiting for perfection leads to paralysis. Move. Decide. Adjust later if needed. Deal with the fallout, if it comes. In my experience, the big scary “what-ifs” rarely happen. What does happen? Nothing — because no decision gets made.

3. Two days max

If it’s a decision that keeps your business running, it shouldn’t take more than a day or two. That includes tough calls like terminations. Sure, major events like acquisitions or IPOs deserve more deliberation. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all prophecy. But day-to-day? You’re stalling if it drags on. Every extra day adds uncertainty — and that’s a cost you don’t want. Let me tell you a secret: The decision you come to on day 30 is likely the same one you came to on day two. Try it sometime and see … or don’t, because that means you’re seriously delaying.

4. If you’re wrong? The world won’t end.

In most cases, the worst-case scenario is a loss of revenue. Not good — but not fatal either. As long as your decisions are ethical, you’ll live to fight another day. Don’t let fear of failure keep you frozen. Action beats inaction. Every time.

Related: Time to Stop Overanalyzing and Start Making Decisions!

How to think less and do more

1. Build smart consensus

Get input from your team, but don’t let collaboration become a boomerang. Bounce ideas around, align direction, and then execute. Note, this does not mean that everyone has to agree. Quite the opposite. Use smart consensus to inform your decision. This isn’t picking curtains — it’s about moving the business forward. Stop polishing decisions and just ship them.

2. Get expert advice (but don’t marinate in it)

Need a legal opinion or some financial expertise? Great — get it. Find a lawyer. Hire an accountant. Use experts like a compass, not a crutch. Their guidance should help you move faster, not slow you down. You should get additional warm fuzzies relying on information provided by an expert who has seen the problem before. That should give you even less incentive to delay.

3. Trust your gut

Seriously. Your gut’s smarter than you think. I once ignored mine and joined a hot startup that felt “off.” Turns out, it was. The founders ended up under federal indictment. Your instincts are data, too. Learn to listen. When your gut is screaming, pay attention. Your first impression is often the correct one.

Related: Overcome This Common Entrepreneurial Struggle and Stop Sabotaging Your Progress

Time is the real currency

Time isn’t just money; it’s everything. You only get so much of it. Long, drawn-out decisions not only stall your business — they eat into your life.

When you take forever to make a call, you’re not just delaying growth — you’re delaying freedom, balance and personal progress. So don’t waste time trying to perfect every move. Businesses aren’t built on perfection. They’re built on momentum.

Ask yourself: What feels better — crawling or driving a Ferrari?

Start the engine. Let’s go.

Meta is taking an aggressive approach to hiring new members of its Superintelligence lab, the group tasked with developing AI that is more intelligent than human beings.

CNBC reports that earlier this year, Meta attempted to acquire Safe Superintelligence (SSI), a top AI startup valued at $32 billion. OpenAI founding member Ilya Sutskever co-founded SSI in June 2024, one month after leaving his post as chief scientist at OpenAI. The startup aims to take a security-first approach to building superintelligence, or an AI with advanced capabilities.

Sutskever reportedly turned down Meta’s offer to buy SSI and refused Meta’s offer to hire him, sources told CNBC. Meta then began talks for a possible deal with SSI’s CEO, Daniel Gross, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Gross and Friedman run a venture capital firm together called NFDG, named after the combination of their initials.

Related: Meet Alexandr Wang, the 28-Year-Old Who Went from MIT Dropout to Billionaire Meta Hire: ‘I Wanted to Make a Difference’

Now, multiple sources tell CNBC that Meta is taking a stake in NFDG in exchange for Gross and Friedman joining Meta as part of its Superintelligence lab. The size of Meta’s investment in NFDG is unclear.

Gross and Friedman will reportedly work on AI products at Meta under another new hire: Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. Wang announced last week that he would be leaving Scale AI for Meta as part of a $14.3 billion investment Meta made in the startup.

^{SSI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP}

The new hires will reportedly be compensated well. According to a Bloomberg report last week, Meta is offering up to a nine-figure pay for researchers on its Superintelligence team. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed this week that Meta tried to recruit OpenAI researchers by offering $100 million signing bonuses and even higher compensation packages as leverage.

According to Bloomberg, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been personally leading the recruitment effort for the Superintelligence team. He has invited leading AI researchers and engineers from other companies to meet with him at his homes in Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe to talk about offers to join Meta. Zuckerberg’s aim is for Meta to be the first company to achieve superintelligence, which it can then use to power its products, like its AI chatbot and AI smart glasses.

Related: Meta Is Reportedly Planning to Release New AI Smart Glasses With Oakley and Prada

Meta’s move to bring on fresh talent like Wang, Gross, and Friedman arrives as the company tries to hold onto existing AI talent. Menlo Ventures venture capitalist Deedy Das posted on X last week that he had heard of three cases last week of Meta losing AI researchers to OpenAI and Anthropic despite offering compensation of $2 million or more.

“The AI talent wars are absolutely ridiculous,” Das wrote.

Meta is currently offering $2M+/yr in offers for AI talent and still losing them to OpenAI and Anthropic. Heard ~3 such cases this week.

The AI talent wars are absolutely ridiculous.

Today, Anthropic has the highest ~80% retention 2 years in and is the #1 (large) company top AI… pic.twitter.com/YSv5UNV5H2

— Deedy (@deedydas) June 10, 2025

Meta stock was up 15% year-to-date at the time of writing.