Copying details, sorting requests and checking the same things by hand eats into every week. I build small, practical tools that take over that routine. Your team keeps the decisions and gets the time back.
Scroll to see the pieces fall into place.
Most teams have a few tasks that follow the same steps every time. Copy the details from an email. Paste them into a sheet. Check them. Send a reply. Each step is small. Together they take hours.
Small manual steps add up to hours every week. Nobody plans for them, and nobody gets them back.
Skilled people spend their energy on copying and checking instead of the work they are good at.
Repetitive work is where typos and missed details happen. Not because people are careless, but because the work is dull.
Routine belongs to software. Judgement belongs to people.
Three kinds of work. Each one starts small, with a scope we agree on before I begin.
A focused tool for one job your team does by hand. For example, a page that turns rough notes into a structured summary. Or a helper that drafts standard replies for someone to review.
The aim: one task done in a few clicks instead of by hand.
Automation for steps that happen in the same order every time. Moving details from emails or forms into a spreadsheet. Collecting numbers from several systems into one weekly report. Preparing a draft for a person to approve.
The aim: the routine runs on its own, and a person checks what matters.
A working first version of an idea. You test it on real tasks before you invest more. Then you decide what happens next.
The aim: a clear answer on whether the idea deserves more investment.
Large system replacements, change programmes across a whole company and work that needs a full team. I keep projects small on purpose.
I know what it is like to lose hours to the same small steps.
I am Mike Herbst. I have worked in ad tech, advertising and media for more than ten years, in Stockholm and Los Angeles. Every day I work with digital campaigns, measurement and reporting, together with media agencies and advertisers. I know where the manual work piles up.
Next to that, I build tools. The first was Vargna, a training app for hybrid fitness racing. After that came small tools that make my own daily tasks faster.
Now I help others do the same. I start with one concrete task. I build something that works. Then I improve it based on real use.
I run this independently and take on a small number of projects at a time. I explain what I build in plain language. If a tool is not the right answer, I say so.
A personal project that is live, and a demonstration I built for this page. Both are here so you can judge the work yourself.
Personal project
I built Vargna as a personal project. It is live at vargna.com and on the App Store for iPhone.
You can build your own timed workout from race stations, running and accessory movements. Or you can pick one of 100 ready made classes in five categories. A guided work and rest timer then runs the session, with audio cues at every change.
It is free to use. It is an independent product and is not affiliated with any race organiser.
Demonstration with fictional data
A small workflow I built for this page. A fictional webshop gets customer emails all day. The workflow reads each message, works out what the customer wants and finds the order. Then it drafts a reply for a person to approve, or sends the case to a person when it needs judgement.
All names, orders and messages are invented. The demonstration runs in your browser with fixed example data. It does not call an AI model and it does not send anything. In a real project, an AI model could handle the reading and the drafting.
| Customer | Request | Prepared | Status |
|---|
Press Run the workflow to process six example messages.
Four steps. Each one ends with something you can look at and decide on.
We talk through one task. How it works today, where the time goes and what a good result looks like.
I describe what I will build and what I will leave out. We agree on it before I start.
I build a working first version. You try it on real examples from your work.
We look at what works and what does not. Then you decide to keep it, improve it or stop there.
A fixed price for each step. You know the cost before I start.
All prices exclude VAT. Curious what a tool could be worth to you? Try the calculator.
Step one is a short conversation about your task.
Discuss a projectAnswer five quick questions about one task. You get an honest first read. Nothing is sent or stored.
The goal of every project is simple. Less routine for people, and a tool you understand.
Pick one task your team does by hand and use your own numbers. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent.
Tell me about one task that takes too much time. A few sentences is enough. I will reply by email.
Prefer email? Write to mike@herbstai.com.