Teach
Hands-on AI classes
Small, in-person classes in the Cedar Valley, built around questions from your own work. Start free with AI in Plain English, then go as far as you like.
See the classesSilicon Tech, Midwest Nice.
AI that makes sense for Iowa businesses.
Small, hands-on AI classes in the Cedar Valley, and practical help putting AI to work in your business. Plain English, no favorite vendor, no pressure.
Cedar Falls, Iowa42.53° N 92.45° W
Our mission
Make AI accessible and understandable for small and midsize businesses across Iowa.
In plain words: you shouldn't need a tech department to know what AI can do for you, what it costs and when not to trust it.
What we do
Three ways we help
Most people don't need more apps. They need the ones they have to work together, and someone nearby who can explain it.
Build
Automation for your business
We start with what's eating your week, not with a product. Sometimes the honest answer is a spreadsheet, and we'll say so.
See what we've builtMake
Our own software
We build the tools we wish existed, and we say plainly what's finished and what isn't. So far: Vantage, censaiOS and Open Books.
See our products
Classes
See classes and prices
Learn it one step at a time
Founding classes start this winter. Dates and the venue go to the class list first.
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Start here: AI in Plain English
What ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini really are, where they go wrong and what's safe to type in, shown live.
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Level 1: Research That Remembers
Research your market with AI, with a source for every claim, then save it where you can question it months later.
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Level 2: Pick the Right AI
The major AI assistants side by side: what each is good at, what it costs and what it does with your data.
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Level 3: Put AI to Work
Hand one boring, frequent job to AI, using the tools you already have, with your OK before anything reaches a customer.
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Level 4: Build With AI
Describe a small tool for your business in plain words, then build it with an AI coding helper.
$249
ThinkPad included Your first paid class + a laptop to keep.
Founding-class prices. Every paid class includes the cheat sheet, the class recording and a follow-up check-in a week later.
The ThinkPad kit
We do the setup. You keep the laptop.
A lot of people who want to build with AI get stuck on setup. So we do the setup for you, on a laptop you get to keep.
- Business-class Lenovo ThinkPads (T-series, L-series and X1 Carbon), refurbished before they go home with you
- We test every key, port, screen and battery, and write the battery health on the lid
- We wipe it and set it up fresh with Linux Mint: free, secure and familiar if you've used Windows
- Linux Mint
- VS Code
- Git
- Python
- Node
- Ollama
- AnythingLLM
- AI bookmarks
- Starter projects
No favorite vendor
We don't sell you on one AI. We teach you to choose.
- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Copilot
- Grok
- Perplexity
- Local models
Work
What we've built so far
A short list, on purpose. Everything here is real work. We name a client only when they've said yes, and we label what's finished and what's still in progress.
Current client
Tom Herzmann
Tom is a real estate agent with Oakridge Real Estate in the Cedar Valley. Our job is the paperwork side of his business, so more of his day goes to people.
- A phone app that reads handwritten notes and open-house sign-in sheets, so new contacts land in his CRM without retyping.
- One scan updates his CRM, his video-email list, his phone contacts and his shared spreadsheet at the same time.
- Six automated follow-up campaigns with 75 touchpoints inside his CRM, most of them written in his own voice.
Our products
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In pilot
Vantage
Take a picture. Skip the typing.
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Open source, in active development
censaiOS
One canvas for your team and your AI agents.
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Open source, early
Open Books
Bookkeeping that sorts itself.
About
More about Alex and the mission
Hi, I'm Alex.
I'm a first-generation business owner. I build software with AI every day, set up automations for a local real estate agent, and I'm starting small, hands-on classes around the Cedar Valley this winter. When you work with Iowa AI, you work with me.
Our pledge
A fair start for kids aging out of foster care. As Iowa AI grows, a share of what we earn will go toward that fair start.
We'll name the fund and the share when it opens. We're aiming for 2027.
Get started
Pull up a chair.
Come to a class
Dates, the venue and open seats go to the list first. One or two emails a month, and you can leave anytime.
Join the class listTalk it through
No pitch and no pressure. Tell us what's eating your week, and we'll tell you straight whether AI can help.
Book a free callOr email alex@censai.app