Jan 30, 2026
I Build AI Systems. My Son Is Three.
On building the thing that changes everything — and raising someone who’ll inherit it.
Read on Substack →Touch Grass Consulting
Your AI strategy
has a judgment
problem.
I’m James Haliburton. I’ve founded and sold two companies, one building agentic AI before the hype cycle arrived. Today I still build real systems in production — not advise from a distance. You’ve been sold AI strategy by people who’ve never shipped anything. I’m not one of them.
The Problem
Your leadership team already knows something is wrong. Nobody wants to be the one who says it.
You bought platforms, sat through vendor demos, and hired a consulting firm that sent junior analysts with a deck full of quadrants. Six months later, your teams are more confused than when you started. The technology wasn’t the mistake — the sequence was.
56%
of enterprises report no tangible benefit from their AI spend
14%
of CFOs can point to measurable returns on AI investment
The Approach
Talk to me before you sign the next contract.
I’m not a firm. I don’t have fifty consultants. I pressure-test your real problem, then connect you to the right execution team from a network I’ve built over twenty years.
I figure out what you actually need before you spend money finding out what you don’t.
Sometimes the right answer isn’t AI at all — it’s a better product.
Track Record
In the rooms where mobile was defined. Founded and sold two companies. Still building.
Clients across my direct advisory and partner network:
Google
Samsung
Meta
Amazon
Nike
Walmart
AT&T
Nokia
Airbus
Toyota
Ford
Spotify
Apple
Disney
Volvo
Sony
Bloomberg
Citi
Latest Writing
Dec 16, 2025
I built a custom CRM last weekend.
What happens when the person advising on AI actually builds things with it.
Read on Substack →
Nov 17, 2025
The Missing Playbook for Agentic Systems
Why most enterprise AI projects fail and the framework that actually works.
Read on Substack →Get In Touch
No intake form. No sales team.
Direct line to James. If I can help, I’ll tell you how. If I can’t, I’ll tell you that too.
Or email directly: james@touchgrass.consulting
“The only person in the room who’d actually built what he was recommending.”
— VP of Product, Fortune 500 retailer
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