Innovation Consultant · AI Strategist
I built AI transformation from inside an NBA front office. Now I'll do it for yours.
I help sports organizations, nonprofits, and mission-driven companies unlock the full power of human creativity, automation, and AI. This is your first step into the future of work.
Not just AI fluff. Let's create real delivered solutions that you own and celebrate.
David Long
Innovation Consultant · AI Strategist · Speaker
80+
Pain points eliminated
with AI solutions or automations
6-Figure+
New revenue created
through AI development
94%
Average task reduction
using the Ignition Method
90%
Tool adoption rate
after a 30-day window
See it in action
50 hours down to 3. Live on stage at Zapier Connect 2025.
Zapier CEO Wade Foster brought me on as the keynote example to walk through the Ignition Method in real time. This is what it looks like in practice.
What I do
Three areas of impact.
The Ignition Method
A structured workflow and implementation process that identifies your organization's biggest bottlenecks directly from people closest to the problems. Deploys AI + human systems to solve them. Incredibly fast. Most clients see measurable workflow changes within two weeks.
Sports Org Innovation Advisory
Purpose-built for sports teams, leagues, and agencies navigating rapid change. From fan engagement to front-office operations, I help sports organizations move from reactive to innovative, without disrupting what's working.
Nonprofit Transformation
Nonprofits are expected to do more with less. Every year. I help mission-driven organizations adopt AI tools, streamline fundraising and communications, and free up staff time so they can focus on impact, not administration.
About David
I'm a product of the unique intersection of people, creativity, and technology.
I spent over a decade working inside sports organizations, startups, and innovation labs. And I kept running into the same problem: brilliant people doing brilliant work, buried under processes that hadn't changed since before the smartphone.
The Ignition Method is what I built to fix that. It's part workshop, part implementation sprint, part mindset shift. It's not about replacing your team with AI. It's about empowering the people closest to the problems to be part of the solution.
I've worked with professional sports teams, nonprofit CEOs, venture-backed founders, and university programs. I've spoken at SXSW, appeared on Stanford GSB's Think Fast Talk Smart podcast, and been repeatedly featured in the Sports Business Journal. I've advised Zapier CEO Wade Foster and collaborated with Jeremy Utley, the co-author of Ideaflow.
If you're tired of legacy workflows and ready to work smarter, we should talk.
On AI
I'm not here to sell you on AI hype. I'm here because I've seen what happens when organizations get this right, and I've watched the cost of getting it wrong. My approach is practical, human-centered, and built for the real work you do.
How it works
The Ignition Method: four steps from friction to flow.
Diagnose
We uncover the most damaging pain points and identify the three biggest revenue and time drains costing your organization the most. Sourced through real conversations with everyone from interns to the C-suite.
Design
We blueprint a new system: which AI tools, which workflows, and which team members own what. Every recommendation is specific to solve your problem, not a template.
Ignite
A focused, hands-on sprint where your team co-builds and tests the new systems together. Within two weeks, you're already running differently.
Sustain
We build in accountability and check-ins so the change sticks. We celebrate your employees that create a new way of working. Your organization is on its way to transformation.
Engagement packages
Your first step into the future of work is here.
Ignite
Half-day discovery sprint
Starting at $4,500
Perfect for teams that need a jump-start. We diagnose your biggest bottleneck and leave you with a concrete action plan.
- 3-hour discovery workshop
- 1 department friction audit
- Custom AI toolkit recommendation
- 30-day action roadmap
Launch
Full Ignition Method engagement
Starting at $12,500
The full experience. We diagnose, design, run the workshop, and stay with you through the first 30 days of implementation to make sure it sticks.
- Everything in Ignite
- Full-day implementation workshop
- 3 department friction audit
- Custom workflow builds
- 3x accountability check-ins
- Priority async support
Transform
Ongoing innovation advisory
Custom pricing. Let's talk.
For organizations ready to make innovation a permanent muscle. Ongoing advisory, quarterly workshops, and a dedicated thought partner as you scale.
- Everything in Launch
- Quarterly innovation workshops
- Ongoing strategic advisory
- Team capability building
- Executive thought partnership
- Annual innovation roadmap
Let's talk
Find your pain points in 5 minutes.
Sample my framework today and find the inefficiencies you're afraid to admit you have. You'll be surprised at what you discover and how easy it is to think differently.
"David isn't a developer, data scientist, or AI engineer. He's a digital marketing professional who happened to get curious about what might be possible."
Jeremy Utley, Stanford — from From Efficiency to Impossibility
Trusted by leaders at SXSW, Stanford, Zapier, and Sports Business Journal. Response within 24 hours.
What happens next
I review your submission and do some homework on your org (usually same day).
You'll get a calendar link within 24 hours to book your 30-minute pain point call.
We get on a call and discuss your path to real, measurable impact.
For nonprofits
Mission-driven shouldn't mean resource-starved.
Nonprofits are held to the highest standards with the thinnest margins. I've worked with executive directors who are doing the work of three people and boards that expect the output of thirty.
The Ignition Method is adapted specifically for the nonprofit context: lower price points, faster implementation, and a deep respect for the humans doing this work. Because the mission deserves better tools.
What you can expect
- Free up 10+ staff hours per week through AI-assisted communications and reporting
- Build grant-writing capacity at scale
- Automate donor reporting so your team focuses on relationships, not paperwork
- Train your team on AI tools in a single half-day session
- Create a 12-month innovation roadmap tied to your mission, not your budget
- Get board-ready data and impact narratives, faster