Field notes on AI in business
Practical writing on AI, automation and the day-to-day work of running a business. From the team that builds and runs AI systems.
Business intelligence
What Acquisition Due Diligence Looks Like in 2026
The fundamental questions of acquisition due diligence have not changed. But the tools, scope, and speed of analysis have shifted dramatically.
Basel IsmailMar 30, 2026
Company analysis
How to Spot a Company That Is Growing Revenue but Losing Ground
A company can grow revenue every quarter while simultaneously losing market share, eroding margins, and building a fundamentally weaker business. Here is how to spot the pattern.
Basel IsmailMar 30, 2026
Company analysis
Building an Investment Thesis With Only Public Data
A skilled analyst can build a credible investment thesis without any privileged access. The key is being systematic with the public information that is already available.
Basel IsmailMar 30, 2026
Business intelligence
Why Your CRM Data Is Not Enough for Enterprise Sales
CRM captures the history of your relationship with an account. It does not capture the business context that determines whether those touchpoints actually matter in enterprise sales.
Basel IsmailMar 29, 2026
Company analysis
Selling to Private Companies When You Cannot Find Their Revenue
Revenue is just one proxy for budget capacity. Employee count, tech stack, office footprint, and funding history get you close enough to qualify and price deals with private companies.
Basel IsmailMar 29, 2026
Advisory
How Procurement Teams Evaluate Vendor Companies
Procurement evaluates vendors with a completely different lens than business buyers. Understanding what they look for can mean the difference between deals that close and deals that stall.
Basel IsmailMar 29, 2026
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Due diligence
The Role of Company Diagnostics in Partnership Decisions
Companies routinely conduct thorough due diligence for acquisitions but often skip it for partnerships. That asymmetry creates avoidable risk when a partner turns into a liability.
Basel IsmailMar 29, 2026
Business intelligence
Lead Scoring Models That Go Beyond Demographics
Traditional lead scoring measures fit and awareness. It misses readiness. Company-level signals like funding events, hiring velocity, and technology adoption predict who is actually ready to buy.
Basel IsmailMar 29, 2026
Due diligence
Red Flags in Private Company Data That Most People Miss
The real skill in private company analysis is not reading what is presented to you. It is noticing what does not add up across multiple independent data sources.
Basel IsmailMar 29, 2026
Artificial intelligence
How AI Improves Faith-Based Investment Screening Accuracy
Running a faith-based investment screen used to mean a team of analysts manually reading annual reports and flagging controversies from news clippings. AI is changing the math on what is possible, and the improvements are practical rather than theoretical.
Basel IsmailMar 28, 2026
Automation
The Analyst's Workflow in 2026 vs 2020
The analyst workflow shifted from manual data collection across siloed sources to AI-powered integrated profiles. The tools changed dramatically. The need for good judgment did not.
Basel IsmailMar 28, 2026
Artificial intelligence
How Sentiment Analysis of News Coverage Predicts Company Trajectory
Media tone shifts often precede financial outcomes by weeks or months. NLP applied to news coverage creates a quantitative early warning system for company watchers.
Basel IsmailMar 28, 2026
1,319 articles