The AI Strategy Gap

In this weeks episode, I sit down with Grayson LaFrenz and Chad Lohrli, two of the co-founders of Cadre AI, the San Diego-based AI strategy and integration firm helping mid-market companies turn AI hype into P&L impact. They get into why 99 out of 100 business leaders still can’t point to measurable ROI from AI, how Cadre’s pod model mirrors the playbook Grayson used to build Power Digital into a record-setting exit, and why change management - not technology - is the real bottleneck. The taco question made an appearance. Key Topics * Why most companies have no real AI strategy * Grayson’s path from Power Digital’s PE exit to Cadre AI * Chad’s journey from hackathons and SDX to co-founding Cadre * How Cadre’s pod system verticalizes AI delivery * The maturity index that exposes C-suite blind spots * Why services businesses lose operating leverage at scale * Building reusable AI blocks across clients * Turning call recordings into an autonomous client intelligence system * Why change management is harder than the technology Links & Resources * Cadre AI * SDx Community * Power Digital Connect on LinkedIn * Grayson LaFrenz * Chad Lohrli * Neal Bloom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/

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The AI Strategy Gap is an episode from Tacos and Tech Podcast by Neal Bloom.

This episode is 57:39 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

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