What Happened at Session 1 — April 25, 2026

Before the session even started, the AI made a mistake.

Our chatbot Alice sent wrong directions to 300+ registered attendees — she'd been texting and following up with all of them for $0.80 total. She sent them to the wrong part of Davao. Fifteen people found the right place anyway.

Those fifteen included: a procurement head building an AI consultancy, a serial entrepreneur who once fired 80 people and rebuilt his business online from Bangkok, a 13-year tour operator who didn't know AI was already responding to her customers on Facebook, a VA agency owner connecting ultra-high-net-worth investors in the UK and US, a developer partnered with startups in London and Las Vegas, a holdings company founder running 5 business units, and a teacher who manages the social media for her mother's heritage restaurant.

In the room, attendees walked an empathy map built from 300+ pre-event interviews — their own fears and frustrations reflected back on a whiteboard. They added sticky notes. They wrote solutions for each other. They asked questions nobody in their usual circles would take seriously.

The best question of the night came from an attendee, not the facilitator: "The question is not what AI tool to use — it's what is my framework for this task. Then find the AI that fits the framework."

By the close, someone had offered a heritage home as a free venue for the next event. Someone else offered their co-living space in Catalina Grande. A WhatsApp group formed itself before Cris finished his last slide.