John Machacek, Chief Innovation Officer for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation, has worked with countless startups throughout our community over the years. He knows their ups, and their downs, but most of all, he knows the questions to ask them. Here are John Machacek’s 10 questions for Scott Meyer, CEO, Chipp.AI.
1. Will you please tell me your Chipp elevator pitch?
Chipp is the easiest way to build AI agents trained on a company’s knowledge. Chipp helps businesses get started with AI, helping with tasks like marketing, HR, sales, and customer support.
2. Many of us are just beginning to wrap around brains around how to incorporate AI more into our work and daily life. Will you please share some common examples of how people are using Chipp?
What’s exciting about AI is that experience actually gives you an advantage. The more business knowledge you have, the better questions you’ll ask, and the better results you’ll get. It’s like having a really smart intern who needs clear direction to deliver great work.
We’re seeing businesses in Fargo and beyond using AI in five main ways:
- Marketing: Teams are using it to write consistent content that sounds like their brand. Instead of spending hours on social posts or emails, they’re getting first drafts done in minutes.
- Customer Service: Simple AI chatbots trained on a company’s data are handling 60-70% of basic customer questions, giving staff more time for complex issues that need a human touch.
- Internal Knowledge: Think of it as “company search on steroids.” Instead of digging through old emails or shared drives, teams can quickly find exactly what they need from HR policies to how to create company documents
- Sales Support: Sales teams are using AI to personalize proposals and follow-ups by pulling from past communications and customer data
- Data Analysis: Businesses are spotting trends and making sense of their numbers faster than ever.
The most successful approach we’ve seen is starting small—pick one regular task that takes up too much time and try AI there first. It’s not about replacing people; it’s about helping them think and work faster.
What’s interesting is that while 50% of Americans use AI every week, only 7% of companies say the same—which is a lie because 50% of Americans are using AI every week! There’s a real opportunity here. We recommend starting with a simple lunch-and-learn where team members share how they’re already using AI. This opens up conversations about best practices and helps create a shared understanding of how to use these tools responsibly.
3. With Chipp having practicality for businesses, what can you tell me about collaboration of AI use within a business as well as the business ensuring particular levels of privacy?
People don’t want to use AI – they want to finish their task. We are seeing a big gap between a handful of people at a company who are experimenting and leveraging AI and then the majority of people who just want to be told the best ways AI can help them do their work
Part of the reason for the hesitation is privacy. FOMU > FOMO meaning the fear of messing up is greater than the fear of missing out. Companies need to just tell employees what their policy is. It doesn’t have to be overly technical. Typically, we recommend saying what data you won’t share, such as customer data as a starting point. With Chipp, we enable businesses to layer on additional privacy so no data is used for training other AI models and all of the data stays in your own cloud. This helps the fear people have of sharing data with OpenAI.
Having the privacy guardrails is powerful. It sends a signal that your company is ok with employees using AI. We have leaned into this at Chipp. Chipp helps businesses share pre-built AI apps with their teams. Then, it also allows employees to build their own AI tools. This is helpful to improve personal productivity and also create new apps the company can use.
4. When it comes to promoting Chipp, I definitely notice the great job you do with your newsletters, videos and webinars. What are your strategies for creating this content?
Our approach to content is pretty straightforward—we stick to what comes naturally. Since Chipp’s mission is teaching people how to use AI effectively, we lean into our strengths: teaching and video content.
I often say that AI is the world’s best cover band, but even a cover band needs original material to work with. That’s our strategy. We create core content, usually in the form of short, focused videos, and then use AI to help us repurpose it across different channels. A single 5-minute video can become multiple email newsletters, social media posts, and bite-sized learning clips.
Our workshops, both online and in-person, have been particularly effective. They serve two purposes: helping multiple people at once while giving us invaluable real-time feedback. When someone raises their hand with a question or looks confused, that’s golden information that helps us improve our messaging and teaching approach.
All of this comes together in Chipp Academy, which we recently launched at: chipp.disco.co. It’s designed especially for folks who might be hesitant about AI or aren’t sure where to start. We’re constantly adding new content—usually weeklyto keep up with AI developments and address the questions we hear from our community. Whether someone’s just starting out or looking to stay current with AI trends, they’ll find practical, hands-on guidance that makes sense for their business.
The key is making everything accessible and practical. We’re not trying to overwhelm people with technical jargon – we’re focused on showing them how to actually use these tools in their daily work.
5. From being a subscriber to your newsletter as well as from joining a webinar, I’m aware of Chipp’s use of and support of community management groups. These types of online communities can be a strategy to boost the brand, user engagement, leads and whatnot. Can you elaborate on how Chipp gets involved with this kind of thing?
We’ve learned valuable lessons from companies like HubSpot and Notion about community building. But what I love most about communities is that you can’t simply buy your way in – you have to earn it through genuine relationships and tru
Our community started organically with what we affectionately call “Chippsters”—people who use and love Chipp. What’s been amazing to watch is how these Chippsters have taken initiative to create Chipp Chapters in their own regions. We now have active communities in places like Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, and Australia. Each chapter brings its own unique perspective on how AI can solve local business challenges.
Instead of trying to control these communities, we focus on empowering them. We provide what we call “community blueprints”— resources and frameworks that make it easier for local hosts to build and nurture their groups. This approach allows each chapter to maintain its authentic local flavor while having the support they need to succeed.
Our role is to support these community leaders so they can better serve their own customers and audiences. It’s a ripple effect— we help our Chippsters, who then help others in their networks learn and grow with AI.
What makes this especially meaningful is seeing how each community adapts our tools to address their specific needs. Whether it’s a group in South Africa focusing on nonprofit applications or Australian businesses using AI for remote work solutions, each chapter adds something unique to the broader Chipp ecosystem.
This organic growth has proven far more valuable than any traditional marketing approach. When people genuinely believe in what you’re doing and want to share it with others – that’s something you can’t put a price tag on.
6. Last year, you hosted your first Chipp Con user conference in Fargo. I see that you are expanding Chipp Con to two days this year, hosted in Fargo again. For the reader, will you please explain what is Chipp Con and who each day of the conference is applicable?
We’re excited to bring Chipp Con back to downtown Fargo for its second year, expanding to two full days on July 21- 22. We’ve structured it to serve both AI builders and business users, with each day having its own distinct focus.
July 21 is our “Builder Day,” perfect for anyone looking to build a business with AI. It’s more technically focused, diving into topics like API integration and software development. If you’re a Chipp user or seller interested in building solutions on our platform, this day is designed for you.
July 22 opens up to everyone who wants to learn how to integrate AI into their daily work and business operations. We’re bringing in speakers from around the globe to share practical applications and peek into what’s next in AI. Whether you’re just starting your AI journey or looking to expand your current usage, you’ll find valuable insights and connections.
What makes Chipp Con special is that it’s not just about watching presentations—it’s hands-on learning. Bring your laptop or phone because you’ll be building and experimenting right alongside us. You’ll leave with practical skills you can implement immediately.
For anyone interested in joining us, you can find all the details and register at Chipp.ai/ChippCon. We’re looking forward to connecting with both familiar faces and newcomers in Fargo this July.
7. I’ve met some of the Chipp team, so I know that you have people scattered to parts beyond Fargo Moorhead. How has it been to build your software startup with a cofounder and teammates elsewhere?
While we’re proudly headquartered in Fargo, where we received our initial funding, we’ve built Chipp with a distributed team of exceptional talent. My cofounder and I worked together in previous roles, which gave us a strong foundation of trust when he chose to build from Greenville, SC.
One thing we learned early on is that while remote work is effective for many roles, having your development team together creates special magic. That’s why we established our development hub in Greenville, where we have a tight-knit engineering team. We’ve also brought on a senior engineer in Indianapolis, whose experience has been invaluable to our growth.
Building a strong team culture across different locations takes intentional effort. We start each day with a 15-minute “Stand-up” meeting where everyone checks in and connects. Our team stays in constant communication through chat throughout the day, and we make it a priority to bring everyone together in person at least quarterly. These face-toface meetings help strengthen the relationships that make our distributed team work so well.
What’s fascinating is how AI has transformed what’s possible with a smaller, distributed team. Our engineering team of four can now accomplish what traditionally might have required 10-12 people. AI serves as a force multiplier, helping us work more efficiently and effectively while maintaining the agility of a smaller team.
8. Chipp has had some successful private funding raises. Do I assume correctly that the ability to create more with less people helps you more efficiently maximize your funding runway?
Absolutely—AI has been a gamechanger for how efficiently we can deploy capital. What’s particularly exciting is how AI allowed us to build and test working prototypes before even bringing on customers. This is transformative for startups, especially in regions like North Dakota where the angel and venture networks might not be as extensive as coastal tech hubs.
Our funding journey has been built on consistent communication and relationship building. We started with a simple but powerful approach— creating a “Champion List” of people we thought might support us, either financially or through connections. We cast a wide net because you never know where valuable relationships might develop.
Our first round was primarily friends and family angel investors. We made it a priority to send detailed progress updates every couple weeks, which helped build trust and momentum. This practice of regular “Champion Updates” became core to our fundraising strategy
That foundation led to our partnership with M25, who became our lead investor and did an incredible job connecting us with their network.
We also participated in gBETA, which was invaluable—it pushed us to gather more user feedback and plugged us into gener8tor’s extensive support network. Gener8tor’s 1889 fund then supported us in our pre-seed round.
We are excited to share that we recently completed a $2 million seed round led by Homegrown Ventures in South Dakota. This round includes new investors joining and existing investors doubling down on their commitment. This validation came largely from the relationships we’d built through consistent updates and demonstrable traction.
What’s particularly meaningful about our funding journey is how it’s showing a new path for startups in our region. With AI enabling smaller teams to build more efficiently, we can stretch funding further and show meaningful progress faster. This creates opportunities for founders to build significant companies even in markets that traditionally might not have had access to large early-stage checks.
9. If you could go back in time to talk to Scott from several years ago, what kind of hindsight advice would you give yourself?
Show don’t tell. Just start by building and creating. It might be an event, a product, or a blog
When you can show others that you can do the thing, it builds trust and makes them want to support you. We all have passions—go take action!
10. What can we do as a community to help you and Chipp succeed?
Join us at Chipp Con! I want Fargo to be a bustling hub of AI. To that end, we host the Fargo AI meetup every other week to connect business leaders with AI builders and tinkerers. No technical skills are needed! Just head to fargoai.com to learn more. And in conjunction with Chipp Con, we are partnering with a few other organizations to hold a Fargo AI Fest party from 4-8 p.m. on Monday July 21 along Broadway Square in downtown Fargo.
If you or your business is ready to get started with AI, try Chipp. It’s an easy way to get started leveraging the best tools in minutes. If you need more help or a details strategy, just reach out. I love helping onboard people to AI, especially in my hometown!
Chipp
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