Paid In-person AI Workshops Used as a Lead Magnet Into Custom AI Implementation Builds
Originally published Aug 28, 2026 — Corey Ganim
Corey Ganim · He made $50K teaching companies AI (full tutorial) ↗
Run paid in-person AI training workshops (either open to the public via Eventbrite, or sold directly to a company for its team) as the entry point of an offer ladder, using the workshop to build trust and uncover a business's expensive workflow problems, then upselling attendees or the company into paid AI assessments, custom AI "operating system" builds, and ongoing retainers.
The guest, after winding down a $500k-ARR B2B SaaS company he'd raised $8 million for, says 6 months of part-time AI consulting surpassed that entire run rate. His model: public workshops start around $500/person (a 4-hour session, 15-20 attendees via Eventbrite and Stripe), private company workshops run $5,000-10,000, and successful workshops lead to custom AI implementation builds priced $25,000-50,000 (3-6 weeks of work) plus six-figure combined packages (assessment + workshop + build + retainer) for larger clients.
Someone who can genuinely build useful AI workflows or agents (or is confident they can learn to), comfortable speaking to a room and running a training session, and willing to treat the workshop as market research for what to build next rather than the main product.
The core ladder logic — cheap public workshop proves your teaching and builds a track record, which unlocks higher-ticket private company workshops and custom builds — is a sound, low-risk way to enter AI consulting without an existing audience or client base. The presenter is candid that pricing and packaging is still being actively experimented with even after months of doing this, so expect genuine trial and error rather than a fixed playbook, and the real skill required is workflow-building competence, not just workshop delivery.