Founder stories from the world of Data and AI The Growth Playbook: Data & AI The Hidden Cost of Time: AI, Productivity, and Measuring Real ROI with Laurel CTO - Jason Li - ThinkData Podcast

Episode 9

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Published on:

5th Mar 2026

S4 | E9 | The Hidden Cost of Time: AI, Productivity, and Measuring Real ROI with Laurel CTO - Jason Li

Today I’m joined by Jason Li, CTO at Laurel.

Jason previously served as CTO at Ironclad, where he spent nearly a decade building contracting software, and also held engineering leadership roles at SalesforceIQ and Grovo.

Laurel is a Series C AI-powered time intelligence platform for professional services firms, automatically capturing how professionals spend their time and transforming that data into actionable insights that improve efficiency and profitability.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why most firms still struggle to measure real AI ROI

• The hidden inefficiencies in how professional services firms track time

• What it actually takes to build reliable AI systems inside complex legacy environments

• The biggest mistakes organisations make when adopting AI tools

• How engineering teams are evolving in an AI-first world

If you’re building, buying, or deploying AI inside large organisations, this episode is packed with practical insight.

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About the Podcast

ThinkData Podcast
The Growth Playbook: Data & AI
The Growth Playbook brings you inside the minds of the leaders shaping Data and AI. Each episode, we sit down with some of the most interesting voices in the industry, from startup founders to seasoned execs, to hear their stories, lessons learned, and the real strategies behind growing great businesses.

About your host

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Alex Hutchings

I’m the Co-Founder of the Dataworks Group, a specialist talent partner in the world of Data and Artificial Intelligence.

I’ve spent the last 15+ years working at the heart of this space, helping some of the most exciting companies on the planet build world-class Data and AI teams.

Through our roundtables, live events, and right here on the ThinkData Podcast, my goal is simple: to bring you real insights from the fastest-growing talent market in the world.

Whether you’re building, hiring, or just curious about what’s next, you’ll hear straight from the founders and senior leaders shaping the future of work.