S2E2: The secret AI strategy this small NYC business uses to save thousands

Galina Fendikevich · 02:27

Welcome to Artificial Reality, the reality behind AI adoption. I'm your host Galina Fendikevich, and I'm fixing the broken AI feedback loop between the people building AI and the people using it. Today is a special on the ground episode, and I'm at Charcuterie by Bohemian Picnics, a store just off Central Park in New York that lets you build your own charcuterie board and rent a picnic basket so you can have a lovely picnic in the park. I have co-owners with me today, Sara Rojas and Luisa Ramirez. I'll be asking them both about how they use AI because guess what? They use it to help run. their business and they each do it in an interesting way. Sara, welcome.

Sara Rojas · 03:08

Hi, thank you for having me.

Galina Fendikevich · 03:10

Tell me about what you do at charcuterie by Bohemian Picnics. So

Sara Rojas · 03:14

So I am the creative director and I also do all the finance for both businesses. We have a sister store, so charcuterie is our second baby and our first baby was Bohemian Picnics, which is an event planning services.

Galina Fendikevich · 03:31

And what is your function and day to day look like for both?

Sara Rojas · 03:35

So I am charged with answering all the emails, getting up proposals, ordering all the items, let's say for an event, making sure that we have the decor, the flower arrangements that we need, the logistics behind it, coordinating everyone to go and come out. And then I also do the payrolls and finances for both businesses.

Galina Fendikevich · 03:59

This is really good to know because a lot of the people building AI have never opened up a store, have never had a catering company, have never had to run a store. So what does the process look like for you starting the store and the catering company?

Sara Rojas · 04:15

So starting it, I had also no idea what I was doing and it there wasn't AI, or maybe I just never fell upon AI. So everything I was reading up, getting information from other people, and kind of hitting myself against the wall and then figuring out that wasn't right and redoing everything again. Yes, it was a lot of tears.

Galina Fendikevich · 04:36

my gosh, that sounds painful.

Galina Fendikevich · 04:40

So now with the rise of generative AI, how did you discover what tools did you find the most useful?

Sara Rojas · 04:47

ChatGPT was the best one that I've used and I find it as I've been using it now for about a year, I would say it it's now kind of tailored into what I kind of look at and it kind of really embodies of like when I need like charcuterie information and when I need bohemian information. So it kind of replies in its way. Right, it did. It completely did.

Galina Fendikevich · 05:09

So it learned to know you and your businesses. What are a couple of ways that you use ChatGPT?

Sara Rojas · 05:18

so one of the great ways I use is responding to inquiries. I am an overthinker. so I think about the emails like wait, maybe I can write it this way, maybe I can write it. So now ChatGPT, kind of what they send me, I kind of send it over. And then now that it knows, I just tweak a little kind of difference, but now it's responding back to me and something that I can take 10 minutes. Now I'm taking maybe a minute or less kind of going through all the emails that come through.

Galina Fendikevich · 05:47

It's really nice that you personally respond to all of the inquiries and take the time.

Sara Rojas · 05:52

Yes, yes. last year I had someone helping me with the emails because it was so time consuming. but I like answering the emails because I like being there from the beginning to the end and kind of getting all the information from the client.

Galina Fendikevich · 06:07

Is that person still helping you or has ChatGPT replaced your email request? That's a huge saving for you. It is.

Sara Rojas · 06:11

ChatGPT has replaced it. It is, it is. It's really helped me with a lot of things.

Galina Fendikevich · 06:19

What is another way that you you have used ChatGPT?

Sara Rojas · 06:22

writing actually with the flower arrangements for both events. So for charcuterie, the catering part, with the grazing tables, we add flower arrangements in them. And then for the event planning, if it's like a bridal shower, a wedding, a birthday, each client has their color theme and what they're looking for. And sometimes they even send me like these are the specific flowers that they want. because everything was so new to me, I would have to look it up, find out what it is. There's a catalog with the wholesale that I buy, and it's thousands and thousands and thousands of flowers. Yes, and depending on the season, and also with the budget. So if the client has a budget like this is how much I have to. So the flowers that I do like, I'm like, okay, so what can I replace it? So it still looks nice, but at a better budget. so it took me hours, and it took me being at the wholesale a lot of time and talking to the salespeople and kind of going

Galina Fendikevich · 06:59

Yeah.

Sara Rojas · 07:22

Through and walking through and seeing all the flowers like this one looks pretty with this one. And now with ChatGPT, I can basically I kind of find what I like in flower arrangements. Like I'll do like a screenshot and then I'll send it up to ChatGPT. Hey, these are the color theme, these are the kind of the flower arrangements that I would like. I need to make, let's say, 10 arrangements. it'll kind of break it down for me and say, So, this is how many flowers you would need, these are in season for you, and you know your area and this is the budget that you have. So it saves me half of the time and and and even if I

Galina Fendikevich · 07:58

so helpful.

Sara Rojas · 08:03

go even further, it tells me like how many flowers of each, how many greenery for each bouquet you should be using. So you don't you don't go over the budget that you are in, which I find previously I think I hit myself over the head a lot because I was just thinking of it looking visually nice. And then when I saw it, I was like, wait, I didn't really add in like the time that spends and all the other things that you have to input making flower arrangements.

Galina Fendikevich · 08:30

Sounds like ChatGPT really helps you with that process. Which is kind of the annoying part, which is again figuring out how much it costs and which flowers, but what you want to do is to actually create the arrangement.

Sara Rojas · 08:34

Yes, it's pretty amazing.

Sara Rojas · 08:44

Right, right. And it's just that whole part just skips and I can go actually into what I like to do which is decorating and doing the flower arrangements.

Galina Fendikevich · 08:53

Yeah, you also mentioned that you use ChatGPT specifically to help you with proposals.

Sara Rojas · 08:59

Yes, definitely. So for like more elaborate events like weddings, everybody wants like a breakdown of what how is everything gonna look. The backdrops, the table settings, if they have like Other items that they want to add on, I would have to go through, let's say if I don't have the specific items, say they want a sofa. So I have to go through all these different rental places, look for the sofa, look for the flower arrangements, jump into Canva, start moving everything. Which if you use Canva, it's not easy. Like downloading.

Galina Fendikevich · 09:39

It's manual.

Sara Rojas · 09:40

Yes, it's a lot of manual and then I wanna make it look pretty. Kind of like, this looks nice. So it takes me hours of doing. the ChatGPT does help me with kind of like streamlining of what I should write in the proposal, but it doesn't really put things together. so I wish there was something that kind of can take all the ideas, all of it and kind of put it in a proposal. It would save me, I think

Galina Fendikevich · 09:44

Well but

Sara Rojas · 10:08

Two or three days depending how big the event is and how long the other vendors come back in and telling me their prices to put everything together.

Galina Fendikevich · 10:17

Wow, yeah, that sounds two or three days for the proposal generation is a long time. Yes, it is. It sounds like ChatGPT plus Canva plus Pinterest style product.

Sara Rojas · 10:28

No yes, and putting everything together in one.

Galina Fendikevich · 10:32

That's a really good idea for someone in Silicon Valley to build this weekend. what about the finance side of running the business? Have you used AI?

Sara Rojas · 10:42

I'll say that again. Okay, so for the finance side, obviously as a small business, at the beginning you're using all these loans, all these credit cards. And I kind of one point I'm like, well, what am I doing wrong? Like, how should I change this? Because I feel like I just keep going into debt. Maybe there's something else that I can use. So I literally broke everything down like how much I owe the APR for everything and like my target goal and I put it all in there GPT and it kinda told me like

Galina Fendikevich · 11:20

And it's

Sara Rojas · 11:24

Don't take this loan, APR is too much, or the down payment is too much. Like you should pay this first and then start going down the line of it. So that really helped me kind of to put my thoughts together and see where I should be putting more in so I can start, you know, taking those little loans out and then where I should put less in.

Galina Fendikevich · 11:47

It sounds like you saved money from having to hire a a f business financial planner, I suppose.

Sara Rojas · 11:52

yeah, definitely, 'cause that's also time consuming to go through everything.

Galina Fendikevich · 11:56

Yeah, and AI is really good at that, especially I find ChatGPT with the planning side. It's like, all right, let me do a brain dump, help me organize it and come up with a plan.

Sara Rojas · 12:05

Right, right. So that's helped me with a lot of things, even like payroll and how much sales, like what's the ratio, how much should I spend in food costs, how much should I put the prices to the store? So a lot of those things, instead of you know, looking for someone to help, I just put it there and within five minutes I had everything, a plan kind of to tackle.

Galina Fendikevich · 12:34

That's incredible. Were there any examples where you were using ChatGPT or any other AI and it just couldn't deliver what you were asking and you got super frustrated?

Sara Rojas · 12:46

So definitely the proposal. That's huge. and then with the emails, I feel like at times it becomes monotone. Like I kind of tell it, be friendly, you know, make it more this, make it more that, and it starts generating and then I don't know, at some point it decides that this is too much. I'm just gonna do a generic one. So it kind of goes back to it.

Galina Fendikevich · 13:09

It loses the context.

Sara Rojas · 13:11

Yes. And then again I have to prompt it. No, I don't like it this way. Like do more be more friendly. Don't be so like robotic or and then it switches again. But it takes me a while because I find one that I really like and then it gets lost.

Galina Fendikevich · 13:25

Yeah, yeah, I get that. I know that ChatGPT has enabled a lot of account settings where you can enable this on the back end, but still it's like if I'm telling you through the chat, why can't you just put that as an instruction to remember for the future? I don't wanna dig around in account settings to any of this.

Sara Rojas · 13:44

And I didn't even know you can do that. Like why didn't you tell me? It's like, hey, do you know that if you want if you don't want us to keep changing it, you can go to the settings. They didn't tell me that. I just found out right now.

Galina Fendikevich · 13:55

It's a trial and error and a lot of clicking around.

Sara Rojas · 13:59

Yes, and I feel like there's a lot of ways that you can prompt things that will say better, but you know I don't really have the keywords and how to like have it say that I how I want it.

Galina Fendikevich · 14:10

Yeah, it's learning a new language almost. But someone like you, I mean, it shouldn't have to be that difficult to learn a language. You know the catering, the retail side, and a lot of these LMs, they pitch it as an assistant to you. So you should be able to feel like you are talking to someone, a person, an intern or a junior, give the instructions and then it just does that background processing.

Sara Rojas · 14:34

Right, right. You know what it'd be amazing here thinking about? Because I get sometimes I wake up and have like 94 emails to answer. Like Yeah, so I wish it was something like I can just like it can answer all the emails and I can just go through it and just instead of, you know, one by one, one by one, each one. So that also, you know, when it's like a handful of emails, it's not bad, but when it's so many emails that I have to answer, then it's like I found like it's a tedious job.

Galina Fendikevich · 14:42

my

Galina Fendikevich · 15:03

Yeah, you know, there is a technical way to do this. But

Sara Rojas · 15:08

There is, okay.

Galina Fendikevich · 15:11

You're not technical. So as a business owner that already has a full play, I know you're not gonna go figure out how to create agents and like hook up all these configurations on the back end. You don't even know about the account setting. Yes. And then it's an extra significant cost to hire someone to do this for you. So yes, it's possible, but it goes into the third part of

Sara Rojas · 15:24

the language of that.

Galina Fendikevich · 15:38

What do you want Silicon Valley to build is something for your industry specifically for catering, for retail, when you have to go from inquiry to proposal generation and manage the inbox? An ability for you to be able to do this through a UI or s a screen where all you have to do is hook up your inbox and then on the back end it generates everything for you and you just review without any coding on your end. Does that sound something that would be great?

Sara Rojas · 16:08

amazing and and just put in there like it streams like the proposal as it reads everything. That would be amazing.

Galina Fendikevich · 16:16

Yeah, what is this like event management catering all in one t like dream tool would be for you? When you wake up and you're like, this is perfect, this is amazing, technology did its job.

Sara Rojas · 16:27

It would be nice to know the pricing of things like rentals of plates and dishes and like the food aspect and the catering like and how you know the hours of labor. Like if I can put this all and kind of they can generate, hey, this is what you're supposed to be making and this is the time that it would be great. Cause I I mean I've gotten a lot better over the years over, you know, practice and hitting myself over the head. But it would be amazing for someone that just went into this industry to have that tool all in one and so they don't so they actually start making a profit and not looking cause as an event planner you're you're only looking at it making pretty and like it look nice and and you're like if I got this one it looks better and got this one but really all that time and effort at the end it's not worth it.

Galina Fendikevich · 17:21

Right, because all of those individual costs, they add up quickly. Yeah. Any other thoughts that you would like to share with the Silicon Valley community or for other event planners to let them know what's worked for you?

Sara Rojas · 17:27

Very quick, yes.

Sara Rojas · 17:39

I think huge changes flowers. I think that's where and the flowers also like the prices also changed. I think that's one of the biggest things that you're as an event planner your investment is gonna go to flowers because yes the equipment at the beginning it would cost but after so many events it starts paying off. But the flower is something that you only have to buy over and over again.

Galina Fendikevich · 18:06

I see. It sounds like there is a lot of volatility in the pricing and availability of flowers. Yes.

Sara Rojas · 18:11

it depends on the season, it depends on the like Valentine's Day. all the flowers are hiked up. So now I know, but before I used to still quote them with the prices that weren't on Valentine's Day and I'm like wait this is you know this whole like two weeks all the flowers are really expensive. I should have quoted higher.

Galina Fendikevich · 18:35

I see. And what about the wholesale flower providers? How do they share the inventory with you?

Sara Rojas · 18:44

they have like a website where you go into their system and kind of see everything that they have. but it's not it doesn't mean that is in stock at the moment. It's just that's something they can do. There's also like let's say if you want specific flowers that are tropical, I can get them but I just need time a week or two for them to get shipped to get here and then also the pricing for them. Tropical flowers are much more expensive to get over here.

Galina Fendikevich · 19:10

Okay, so it sounds like that inventory is available across these wholesalers. It just needs to all come to you in a easy way for you to see both pricing and availability.

Sara Rojas · 19:20

Hoysing yes and availability and how and because I don't know the name, like it's just as the name. There's sometimes no picture to it. So then I have to google it and see how it is. So it's time consuming.

Galina Fendikevich · 19:35

And you said one wholesaler had a thousand options. How are you supposed to remember a thousand flowers?

Sara Rojas · 19:41

No way, there's no way. I mean I'm sure a florist that've been doing this for twenty something years maybe knows all of it, but it's so hard.

Galina Fendikevich · 19:52

Well, I am sorry you have to go through this. And Silicon Valley Builders, if you can solve this for charcuterie in New York, they will be your very first users. Amazing. Well thank you so much for the time. And let's talk to Luisa next.

Galina Fendikevich · 22:47

And now let's chat with Luisa Ramirez, who is the other co-owner of Bohemian picnics and circuterie by Bohemian picnics. Welcome.

Luisa Ramirez · 22:54

Yeah.

Luisa Ramirez · 23:04

Thank you. Thank you for having me and your child. Thank you so much.

Galina Fendikevich · 23:08

What is your scope and role within the company?

Luisa Ramirez · 23:11

Thank you, I'm so happy you like it.

Luisa Ramirez · 23:15

so I'm the the chef of the store. I'm the one that created all the combinations between like our cuties, our catering and everything that you see here, our jobs. We all make them so that's what I do here.

Galina Fendikevich · 23:30

And it was delicious. When you had that picnic in the park the other weekend I got a board and it was one of the best charcuterie boards I've ever had.

Luisa Ramirez · 23:39

I'm so happy you like it. Thank you so much.

Galina Fendikevich · 23:41

How do you use AI in your role?

Luisa Ramirez · 23:44

so apart from being the you know, sorry for not mentioning that before, but apart from being the chef, I also take care of all the marketing for the store. And, you know, AI has been such a like great help for me since I'm not a you know expert in social media and marketing strategy then AI will like provide the those strategies and the ideas for me to like develop our Instagram, TikTok and everything else that we do for marketing.

Galina Fendikevich · 24:15

would it cost for you to hire someone to do all this?

Luisa Ramirez · 24:17

Well that that's you know, that's when I started like outsourcing AI because y we started like going and like searching for market dec market marketing companies, I'm sorry. and they would charge only around eight to a thousand dollars for two reels. Excuse me. Two carousels. And that was it. I was like, excuse me. I was like, No, absolutely not.

Galina Fendikevich · 24:42

And as a small business owner, that's

Luisa Ramirez · 24:44

We couldn't afford that. We couldn't afford that. That's the salary of like, you know, someone here for like we can. Like, you we started this, me and Sara started this from scratch. So like we cannot afford to like spend that much money. And thanks to AI, we were able to save that money. it helped me like develop those skills that I needed. Like I I knew how to do it. I just didn't know how to like fully develop then.

Galina Fendikevich · 25:07

What AI did you use?

Luisa Ramirez · 25:09

so I love Sintra. Sintra has been like to go. I started with ChatGPT. That's where I that's where I went. And then I downloaded something on Apple store that I don't remember the name because it wasn't very helpful. but Sintra has been like where I go to for everything that I do at the store from like helping me develop menus for our catering, to like my marketing strategies for Instagram ideas, for emails. Like it allows me to like really explore my like you know like excel my ideas. Like I'm able to like put everything that it's in my head the way it comes, which is very messy.

Galina Fendikevich · 25:39

Okay.

Galina Fendikevich · 25:49

Yes.

Luisa Ramirez · 25:52

And then it just puts it together in order and like you do this first and then we connect to that. so it it's helped me not only save money but also time. and reach more people through our Instagram and social media and I think it's thanks to that.

Galina Fendikevich · 26:08

And your Instagram is off the charts. It's

Luisa Ramirez · 26:10

Beautiful. We just reached twenty thousand yeah. Followers. Yes, this week we reached twenty thousand followers. So that like you know, that's thanks to like everything that I learned through AI and Sintra.

Galina Fendikevich · 26:14

Okay.

Galina Fendikevich · 26:23

That's incredible. Where have you used an AI tool to either put together menus as an executive chef or do the marketing and it just like couldn't get it done?

Luisa Ramirez · 26:35

so putting so the cuties, right? The cuties are our signature sandwiches. They're very tiny and small and those are creations that we did here at the store and no one has that. So like putting the the recipes for me to like bring them to the clients and also to my the pre the people that work with me in the kitchen, like so that they can break them down into like ingredients and like you know, having them to like do like instead of sandwich to cuties and like just try like you know, doing the transition. It was really hard for AI to understand what I was, you know, trying to do. But at the end, you know, after a lot of tries, after a lot of, you know, back and forth with AI, it was able to help me. yes.

Galina Fendikevich · 27:15

Was that ChatGPT? Yes, it was. Which is a misconception a lot of people have about AI is like, you just put it in and then it spits out something perfect.

Sara Rojas · 27:18

What?

Luisa Ramirez · 27:26

It it it doesn't work that way. it yeah it allows you like you know like the way that I see AI is that it it helps me organize my own ideas but if I'm messy with my ideas with AI then it's going to be all over the place. So I have to like do a like have a strategy of how I'm going to like type in like those ideas to AI and then kinda like talk back to them. I I feel like talking back to AI really works. And like that's not what I'm telling you to do. Any anyway anywhere, so like, I'm sor sorry, I just completely forgot the question.

Galina Fendikevich · 28:01

I think. My bad, I was. Were you frustrated with AI?

Luisa Ramirez · 28:10

where I was down. So it was when out when I do email marketing and I bring like, you know, and I upload images and it's supposed to have like you know, like almost like a flyer. Like, you know, book with us Linux mom for twenty percent and then it has like no grammar or spelling and it the words are the and the letters are not matching what I'm typing in. It is very frustrating, yes.

Galina Fendikevich · 28:34

That's shocking because AI is supposed to be very good at writing.

Luisa Ramirez · 28:37

So I learned so I recently learned that it i it is, but I have to with with the app that like with Sintra what I'm doing right now, I learned that it's not fully developed. It's a pretty new app. It's been only on only out for since last year, if I'm not mistaken. So it allows me to like transfer everything to c to Canva and then and it makes it perfect. Okay. But if I asked my app to like develop the flyer and actually like script everything, no.

Galina Fendikevich · 29:05

So what would a perfect solution be for you?

Luisa Ramirez · 29:10

I hope that they can upgrade their system and like some sort of like combination or like collaboration with Canva. So like everything is already in there. Like Sintra has like different they call they're called like assistance. So like they do like your personal assist, your social media, like the email marketing, like they have like different branches, but I hope that one day they can just combine everything to just make it easier so that you don't have to go from like Sintra to Canva. It will just be in one place.

Galina Fendikevich · 29:39

And what are some things that you use Canva to create?

Luisa Ramirez · 29:42

our flyers, menus, like all the marketing that you see around the table I have done in the store in Canva. Like it's it's very helpful and now that you can just transfer anything from AI there, it's it's very practical. Like I just copy and paste and it just develops the whole like you know flyers or pictures or whatever I'm doing for for that particular job.

Galina Fendikevich · 30:05

Yeah, that's great. I mean Canva it's these like separate tools are something that frustrates me because Canva is good on the design piece, but on the copy piece it's it's so bad and I don't understand why.

Luisa Ramirez · 30:16

No.

Luisa Ramirez · 30:21

Yeah, and like I I I hope that one day they all get together and then just make our life a lot easier than

Galina Fendikevich · 30:28

So ChatGPT here, Sintra here, Canva here, and do you use any tool or does Sintra automatically post to Instagram for you? Yeah.

Luisa Ramirez · 30:37

They do, but I think I'm still like a little I'm still holding on to like the old school part of me and I do it. I I'm a little bit of a control freak, so I like to like do it myself, but I am trying like transitioning like slowly to like having Sintra pulse everything for me. But they do like no I wanna do it.

Galina Fendikevich · 30:55

Ha ha ha. Do they have a way for you to like double check the posts before?

Luisa Ramirez · 31:02

They do, they do, and they send me notifications so so I can check before they they post it. but I still like to like do it. But I but I allow them to give me like the image or like I upload a bunch of photos and they tell me what's best for that week and then they will do like the the bio like for what to say with a specific SEO word that will help like the ev the algorithm like catch more attention for that.

Galina Fendikevich · 31:29

Okay, that's good. That's very helpful. have you used AI in any of the financing piece as you're putting together the menus?

Luisa Ramirez · 31:36

y yes and no. I I tried doing that at one point, but like it it just didn't work for me. So I I haven't really done that yet.

Galina Fendikevich · 31:49

What do you mean by it didn't work for you? So what were you trying to do and like what were the s

Luisa Ramirez · 31:53

So I was I was trying I was trying to budget like a catering order. Through Sintra. Through Sintra and I think it's it was when the the app was just developed and it didn't have that much information I guess. So it just kinda like messed everything up and I was sudden I like I was not in the day to like I was trying to do like rush through that menu so it didn't help and I never tried again to be honest.

Galina Fendikevich · 32:19

Did you try it through ChatGPT?

Luisa Ramirez · 32:21

No, I didn't. Like it was it was one of those days that you needed like the the help to like get everything done fast and it didn't work and it just kinda like you know what, I will just get it done. But I but I will try it again. I will try like maybe now that they did more updates on the app, they will be able to like help me more with that aspect.

Galina Fendikevich · 32:39

Yeah, that's it. I totally understand. Sometimes with AI myself too. something like cutting clips for the show and I you I have like three tools that I try to use and there are days where it's like, No, why aren't you listening to my prompt? Like why are you cutting it that way? So I have to just sit there hours and hours and

Luisa Ramirez · 32:57

And then those some some of the days you have the time to like go back and forth with it. But like in some occasions you just kinda like want to get to get it done. And for the most part, they l kinda learn from you. So they they already extract the information that they know is like the basic information of like, you know, the establishment. but sometimes they don't. Like it's just like, you know, what is your address? And I'm like, what do you mean? I gave you my address. You have it. Where's my logo? And you know, like and I think it it's those glinches of like the like the back end of the that app still being like worked on and that's sometimes what happens.

Galina Fendikevich · 33:35

But that seems to not have discouraged you from using a

Luisa Ramirez · 33:39

I you know it's it's an amaz it's an amazing tool for anyone with a small business that still doesn't know it all and it allows us to like save a lot of money. It allows us to like do more of the things that we need to do to like make our business work. So I I love AI. I think it changed my life. It really like you know, for the Instagram part, like I know what what I wanna say, but it's hard for me to put it in a beautiful, like, you know, attractive way for the for the for the viewer. And and they do it and I'm like, yeah, exactly what I wanted to say

Galina Fendikevich · 34:13

That's amazing.

Luisa Ramirez · 34:15

I love it. I it's even my friends were like, my god, Luisa, where are you getting like at the beginning, where are you getting all of this? And I'm like

Galina Fendikevich · 34:21

AI. Not me. I know a lot of business owners are sometimes almost afraid to use AI. I don't understand that. But how did you overcome that?

Luisa Ramirez · 34:32

I think I think like, you know, everything everything at the beginning is to like try something new at the beginning is very scary. and it's just like for our generation and especially like you know, us or like my my family, like let's say my parents, like they feel like it's n not going to be easier that easy for them, that it's gonna be complicated or it's gonna make them feel like like not very intelligent. Like so and and it is like you know, it's for everyone, AI is for absolutely everyone. Anyone can just like start like typing in like whatever they they can think of and it will actually teach them how to use

Galina Fendikevich · 35:10

Do you ask it questions of like how should I talk to you or what are you capable of?

Luisa Ramirez · 35:16

yes, I I do. Like and and that's why and that's how I learned that like talking like sometimes put a firm, you know, tone on my on my typing allows them to like correct the mistakes faster. I'm like like what are you doing? Like that this is this is not it.

Galina Fendikevich · 35:34

And you're not hurting anyone's feelings. I remember when ChatGPT first came out, there was a whole new story about how how everybody was saying please and thank you and like just being there. Yeah. Can can you do this for me AI? And now it's like no. That was

Luisa Ramirez · 35:36

I'm still a little bit, I hope not.

Galina Fendikevich · 35:54

Yeah done, or I'm sweet too.

Luisa Ramirez · 35:58

Pretty much. But some so far I'm very very happy with Sintra. It's every every week they come out with a new update to make it a little bit better. so and it's not that expensive either, so

Galina Fendikevich · 36:10

So it makes it affordable again for small business. What is the pricing?

Luisa Ramirez · 36:12

Absolutely. it's thirty seven dollars a month. It is very unexpensive and it has and it has a lot of tools, like you know, it has even things that I don't know yet how to use. it has around nine to twelve AI workers for you. So that's they de they develop a website, they do everything for you. You need to take a look, it's so nice.

Galina Fendikevich · 36:36

have to take a look. is there anything else that you would love Silicon Valley to build for you in the catering space?

Luisa Ramirez · 36:47

yes, I would love for them to like build something that can come into the place and and do inventory and keep measurements, perfect measurements for everything. I think we still don't have anything out there that can help us with that.

Galina Fendikevich · 37:02

just recorded another episode this morning and it was with Neville Medhora who was working for copywriting and like just if you want marketing. He has a website called Swipe File with like the best marketing things that you can take a look at. But he was talking to someone and it was a doctor. And in hospitals they have to do inventory as well, and the doctor was saying how it takes a lot of time for someone to go in to like count Everything everything. And he's like, why can't why can't you just like say it into an AI and then it just does all of that like as somebody standing there and like maybe counting or take a picture of an account spread? Yeah.

Luisa Ramirez · 37:45

like scan it scan the items or like just put it in a scale that you can cut I don't know like but something that makes our life easier especially in a restaurant there's so many like things that like you have to like count like even sugar salt like you have to count every single thing to actually have the precise price of what you like you know of the the cost of you the item that you're selling so it's just like you know

Galina Fendikevich · 38:08

Yeah, that's a lot. So take note Silicon Valley Builders. So inventory management system, AI enabled for well both healthcare and re

Luisa Ramirez · 38:18

And retail and restaurants. Like I think restaurants like that will be such a great app for a restaurant. Like every restaurant in the city, in New York City and in the world will just brush to it.

Galina Fendikevich · 38:29

And computer vision has gotten really, really good. I actually found these microphones. I was watching an Instagram reel and I screenshotted it and I asked ChatGPT, I'm like, What what is this microphone? And it gave me the link and then I could just

Luisa Ramirez · 38:41

Amazing. Like it's you know, like now that you talk about that, like when I was younger, I was like 18, I used to work in a restaurant and a guy that I used to work with, he he was like, What if you know one day you can just look at a photo and just click and and on the item that you want and it will bring you to like where to buy it? And now we have that. That's amazing. That's really really cool.

Galina Fendikevich · 39:03

It's an incredible power. When I was living in San Francisco for two and a half years, this capability was mainly applied towards shopping. So clothes shopping, any type of shopping, through Amazon. I think Amazon really pioneered this. But again, my goal with this is to say, hey, there's a really good other application in restaurants and retail or healthcare anywhere where there's inventory to apply the exact same technology.

Luisa Ramirez · 39:31

Th I think I think that will do. That will save so much, you know, time and effort for everyone.

Galina Fendikevich · 39:36

Amazing. let me do a quick time how long this has been.

Luisa Ramirez · 39:39

Yes, of course.

Luisa Ramirez · 39:45

Yes.

Galina Fendikevich · 39:46

around twenty minutes, which is around twenty minutes there. So let me do the sign off. Yeah, say stay. No, I

Luisa Ramirez · 39:53

Okay.

Luisa Ramirez · 39:59

You know, everything that I have learned and, you know, experience with A AI.

Galina Fendikevich · 40:03

Amazing. Thank you so much Luisa for your time. If somebody wanted to come to the store or follow online, what is the best way?

Luisa Ramirez · 40:10

Thank you so much again for being here. so we are located on nine twenty-seventh Avenue between fifty-eighth and fifty-nine, literally a few steps away from Central Park. we're open every day from eight to eight. And our Instagram is

Galina Fendikevich · 40:25

Yeah.

Sara Rojas · 40:27

I can

Luisa Ramirez · 40:27

You can sorry.

Galina Fendikevich · 40:30

You talked about it so much if we

Luisa Ramirez · 40:33

and our Instagram is at sh no, I can't. Our Instagram no

Luisa Ramirez · 40:43

No, because I have to spell it, right? Like I will have to spell it. So and our Instagram Okay, good. And our in our Instagrams it's at shark underscore cute underscore re MC

Galina Fendikevich · 40:48

Just say it. I'll link it in the show.

Luisa Ramirez · 41:02

It's like it's so because like our like the we couldn't find the the Instagram with the Dutch like our name. It was already taken. So we had to do underscores and he always messes with my hand.

Galina Fendikevich · 41:20

Amazing. Make sure to stop by the store. The charcuterie board is so delicious. And thank you for listening to another episode of Artificial Reality, the reality behind AI adoption. Stay tuned for a fabulous season two. Shouts around. Thank you so much! Thank you.