The Continuous Growth Mindset: Coltrane Kubo on Building Aidgentic and the Entrepreneurial Journey

The entrepreneurial mindset doesn't always arrive in a single lightbulb moment—and that's exactly what makes Coltrane Kubo's journey with Aidgentic so fascinating. In today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we're diving deep with the co-founder who's revolutionizing how businesses harness AI and automation to scale their impact while reclaiming valuable time. From selling styluses to classmates to developing custom AI solutions, Coltrane's path showcases the power of solving real problems with innovative thinking. Join us as we explore how he and Aidgentic are helping diverse clients become thought leaders through tailored AI integration that delivers tangible ROI.

Hi, Coltrane! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

At Aidgentic (pronounced Aid-gentic), our mission is to help businesses leverage AI tools and automation to reclaim time while scaling their impact. We’re currently working with a variety of client profiles: from solopreneurs and ecommerce companies, to real estate startups, agencies, and network marketing teams. However, our approach has always been to design tailored AI solutions for each company’s unique goals, whether that’s automating repetitive workflows, enhancing customer journeys, or unlocking new revenue streams. Unlike generic AI agencies, we also have expertise in growth marketing and focus directly on ROI, which often leads us to work on multiple projects per client in areas with the greatest growth potential.

Some of our recent projects include internal and external AI copilots that provide 24/7 support retrieved from structured on-brand knowledge bases, a custom tool and frontend that matches resumes with the latest scraped job listings, automated supply-chain forecasting dashboards, and enhanced lead generation funnels to convert prospects faster. Instead of providing one-size-fits-all tools, currently we immerse ourselves in each business’s operations to pinpoint natural opportunities for AI integration. Beyond boosting efficiency, our work has also helped clients become recognized as thought leaders that deepen the impact they create with their audience, at scale, through the AI-powered systems we’ve developed.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

To be honest, I don't think I've ever had that pivotal "aha!" moment of fully transitioning from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur. Instead, I see it more as a continuous process of leveling up. My first "real" venture, creating a niche blog to support BSA Scouts, was such an incredible learning opportunity. It taught me the importance of sharing genuine value to build an audience and allowed me to give back to a cause that positively shaped me in so many ways. However, at that time, I was building solo and already knew my niche inside and out.

Now with Aidgentic, I'm actively building AI solutions to solve real business challenges and have needed to learn aspects of entrepreneurship I'd never focused on before, like lead generation, sales, customer experience, and project management. While I felt out of my depth at first, by trying to learn a little more every day and deferring to my phenomenal cofounder Anson when a decision fell under his area of expertise, we've been able to grow quickly and I've personally become less of a "wantrepreneur" in these new crucial areas of business.

Looking ahead, my next entrepreneurship evolution might involve building a scalable product, leading a dedicated development team, or even raising investment. But truly, for me, the joy lies in the journey itself; the regular practice of consistently taking action, connecting with incredible people, embracing mistakes as inevitable parts of the learning process, and achieving today what yesterday felt impossible.

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

I've always had an entrepreneurial streak, but the one moment when I knew for certain that business was the only path for me took place in middle school. At the time, iPads had just been released and the administration was requiring every student to use one for their coursework. It sounded so cool in theory - until we actually had to take notes. Unfortunately, writing with your index finger for 5 hours a day doesn't beat a good old-fashioned pencil and paper.

So, a few days after noticing the problem, I found an online bulk stylus supplier, invested in a few packs, and once they arrived, immediately started selling them at school for a solid markup (but still cheaper than store prices). By the end of the week, I'd made way more money than I'd ever had as a kid my age! More importantly, I learned a key business lesson: a real market need, paired with a simple solution, can create instant value. That moment cemented my love for entrepreneurship not just as a way to make money, but as a way to solve problems for others.

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

Make.com was my gateway into automation and completely transformed how I view processes throughout business and life. At first, I used it to solve my own repetitive task bottlenecks, automating the drafting of copy and sorting of data to save a few minutes here and there. But as I built more, I realized automation wasn't just about time saved - I was actually learning to build processes with the knowledge of what was and wasn't able to be automated! From this experience, I’ve been able to engineer more scalable and effective business systems that continue to pay dividends over time.

For anyone looking to get started, I'd highly recommend trying Make’s basic plan (it’s free). The best way to learn is by creating a feedback loop: experiment in Make, then use an LLM like ChatGPT as a QA and pocket consultant to refine your workflows and uncover better ways to streamline processes. Mastering automation will do more than save you hours today, because in the future of AI agents, putting together the right systems can mean creating an autonomously run positive feedback loop versus still needing to do the unimportant work manually. All in all, thinking more like a systems architect is becoming an essential skill for working smarter and scaling faster, and Make.com was my entry point into that world.

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

My biggest lesson in the non-linear path that success often takes - and the way these setbacks can be handled with grace and ingenuity - actually comes from my amazing partner Phoebe! Despite graduating with a strong GPA from UC San Diego and completing her post-baccalaureate program at Stanford, she wasn’t accepted into medical school during the competitive COVID application cycle when applications hit record numbers.

The months that followed were an extremely difficult time, but this tough period taught us both about adapting to setbacks. During this uncertainty, I encouraged Phoebe to stop waiting for permission to pursue her passion and launch HowMedWorks.com, a patient-centered healthcare advocacy site, while keeping her options open. Over time she embraced the pivot, not only growing the website to now support thousands of visitors monthly, but also earning scholarship offers from several prestigious bioengineering programs. Ultimately though, she chose PA school because it offered a more direct path to her goal of making a meaningful, hands-on difference in healthcare.

These days, we both agree that not getting into medical school was the best thing that ever could've happened. Since beginning her PA program, Phoebe has been recognized by the American Academy of Physician Associates as the 2025 PA Student of the Year, achieved near-perfect grades, and now even mentors aspiring PAs through her site. What started as a disappointing rejection transformed into the perfect path for both of us, and I couldn't be prouder of how far we've come since that serendipitous failure brought us to where we are today.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

Aidgentic is still a fairly young agency and significant impact most always takes time to compound, but throughout all of our interactions, I've been guided by one principle: always provide as much value as possible and the opportunities will come. Unlike traditional models that encourage pushy sales and revenue at all costs, our strategy has been to anticipate needs, overdeliver, and proactively suggest ways for our clients to continue to grow. Outside of just clients, I've made an effort to provide as much goodwill and value as possible, connecting entrepreneurs I meet with others who might support their goals, doing pro-bono AI consulting with professionals, and helping set up free automation tools, even if it didn't seem like it would lead to any revenue generated later on.

Above all else, I want to conduct our business in a way that helps to make our world a better place, and that means working with high-integrity clients supporting real people by providing valuable solutions. Because of this, we've turned down a few projects and probably had a slower start, but I think it's a trade worth making every time. 

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

This is advice I still give myself, and the reason I’ve been getting more active on LinkedIn and YouTube lately: start creating early. The fear of being judged or misunderstood fades once your purpose outgrows the comfort of building in private. More than ever, I’m realizing the true benefit of a professional network, which is something that barely registered to me before starting Aidgentic (so if you're reading this, let's connect 😁). The right people not only help your business to grow through introductions and advice, but also make the work you do more fun and meaningful.

So my advice is, don’t be intimidated by putting yourself out there with the goal of making connections. Build in public and share the journey. Seek out people who inspire you and don’t just network - make the reframe to foster real friendships. This comes from asking the hard questions, both of yourself and others. And sure, maybe you’ll cringe at past work and not feel like your content is 100% there, but that’s proof you’re evolving. What matters is sharing your unique perspective and taking action, because no one else can replace the impact you know you’re meant to have in our world.

Want to dive deeper into Coltrane's work? Check out the links below:

• Visit Aidgentic's website aidgentic.com
• Connect with Coltrane on LinkedIn: Coltrane Kubo
• Visit HowMedWorks.com