Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
🛠️ Hire me to implement AI in your business: https://markszymanski.co/work-with-me
🎓 Join my community and learn how to leverage AI: https://ModernBuildersSociety.com
💡 Book a 1:1 advisory call with me: https://markszymanski.co/advisory
🎙️ About this episode with Mansel Scheffel
Mansel Scheffel is an independent AI builder and consultant (AtomicOps) breaking down what actually works in production with Claude Code, agentic workflows, and AI automation. He went from a hungover 22 year old pianist in South Africa to a solo consultant landing some of the largest banks and governments in the world, all without a degree and without ever hiring full time staff. In this conversation we trace that whole path (the leap to London, learning Splunk by getting thrown to the wolves, and the intermediary layer playbook he used to reach clients a solo operator should never have been able to reach) and then bring it into the present, where he runs his AI consulting business AtomicOps alongside a fast growing YouTube channel and community. We get into the no hype, no doom view of AI that we both share, the Anthropic billing change that just broke a lot of the elaborate AIOS builds people sell on YouTube, why he builds constraints first, and how he thinks about vibe coding, security, and what a software engineer is actually worth in a world where the model writes the code. If you are a builder or a solo consultant trying to figure out what actually ships, this one is for you.
🔗 Connect with Mansel Scheffel
AI Transformation Academy (Skool community): https://www.skool.com/ainative
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mansel-scheffel/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mansel.scheffel
🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski
Website: https://markszymanski.co
Facebook: https://mjs.link/FB
Instagram: https://mjs.link/IG
LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/LI
X: https://mjs.link/X
YouTube: https://mjs.link/YT
🎧 About this show
Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world.
If you're new here, welcome. If you've been here since episodes recorded in my car, thank you. We're still just getting warmed up 💪
🆓 Free Value
- Get your AI Resource Bundle: https://markszymanski.co/ai-crash-course-resources
- Full AI Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY
- Claude Code Beginner's Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nJ_8_77Yg
- Follow my thinking between videos: https://mjs.link/Newsletter
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Intro
04:00 What Mansel does now (banks, cybersecurity, AI, solo)
07:54 South Africa to London at 22
10:25 Splunk, the first big bank, going solo
14:14 The worst risk is not taking the risk
17:59 The first solo year and land and expand
20:00 The intermediary layer playbook
22:48 Big clients vs small, and why he started a community
33:38 Starting YouTube and content as lead gen
46:48 No hype, no doom, and who is actually watching
50:01 The Anthropic billing change and constraints first
59:41 The community and the live workshop playbook
1:07:24 Syntax vs orchestration and vibe coding
1:14:38 Making AI builds secure, and the future software engineer
1:25:23 The AI skeptic at the family table
📃 Ethics Statement: https://markszymanski.co/policies/ethics-statement/
🎓 Join my community and learn how to leverage AI: https://ModernBuildersSociety.com
💡 Book a 1:1 advisory call with me: https://markszymanski.co/advisory
🎙️ About this episode with Mansel Scheffel
Mansel Scheffel is an independent AI builder and consultant (AtomicOps) breaking down what actually works in production with Claude Code, agentic workflows, and AI automation. He went from a hungover 22 year old pianist in South Africa to a solo consultant landing some of the largest banks and governments in the world, all without a degree and without ever hiring full time staff. In this conversation we trace that whole path (the leap to London, learning Splunk by getting thrown to the wolves, and the intermediary layer playbook he used to reach clients a solo operator should never have been able to reach) and then bring it into the present, where he runs his AI consulting business AtomicOps alongside a fast growing YouTube channel and community. We get into the no hype, no doom view of AI that we both share, the Anthropic billing change that just broke a lot of the elaborate AIOS builds people sell on YouTube, why he builds constraints first, and how he thinks about vibe coding, security, and what a software engineer is actually worth in a world where the model writes the code. If you are a builder or a solo consultant trying to figure out what actually ships, this one is for you.
🔗 Connect with Mansel Scheffel
AI Transformation Academy (Skool community): https://www.skool.com/ainative
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mansel-scheffel/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mansel.scheffel
🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski
Website: https://markszymanski.co
Facebook: https://mjs.link/FB
Instagram: https://mjs.link/IG
LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/LI
X: https://mjs.link/X
YouTube: https://mjs.link/YT
🎧 About this show
Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world.
If you're new here, welcome. If you've been here since episodes recorded in my car, thank you. We're still just getting warmed up 💪
🆓 Free Value
- Get your AI Resource Bundle: https://markszymanski.co/ai-crash-course-resources
- Full AI Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY
- Claude Code Beginner's Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nJ_8_77Yg
- Follow my thinking between videos: https://mjs.link/Newsletter
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Intro
04:00 What Mansel does now (banks, cybersecurity, AI, solo)
07:54 South Africa to London at 22
10:25 Splunk, the first big bank, going solo
14:14 The worst risk is not taking the risk
17:59 The first solo year and land and expand
20:00 The intermediary layer playbook
22:48 Big clients vs small, and why he started a community
33:38 Starting YouTube and content as lead gen
46:48 No hype, no doom, and who is actually watching
50:01 The Anthropic billing change and constraints first
59:41 The community and the live workshop playbook
1:07:24 Syntax vs orchestration and vibe coding
1:14:38 Making AI builds secure, and the future software engineer
1:25:23 The AI skeptic at the family table
📃 Ethics Statement: https://markszymanski.co/policies/ethics-statement/
Creators and Guests
What is Fueled By Progress?
Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation podcast hosted by Mark Szymanski.
The show features candid discussions with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and the decisions that shape a meaningful modern life.
Conversations range from personal journeys and hard-earned lessons to systems, tools, and ideas shaping how people build, work, and live today.