Episode Details

 Grab Adam's free build guide for building, packaging, and selling your first AI knowledge base: https://corey-ganim.kit.com/a49b7bd19d

Adam Sandler from Viable Edge is back on the pod, and this time he walks through the full blueprint for selling AI-powered knowledge bases as a service. The pitch to clients is simple: I will clean up all of your company knowledge, organize it, structure it, and turn it into a living asset that powers every AI tool you use going forward. No Obsidian, no RAG, no vectors. Just markdown files on a local machine. Adam builds the whole thing live on screen using Claude Code with a fictional company, shows the seven note types every knowledge base needs, and breaks down the pricing tiers from a $750 audit to a $4,700 premium build. The real insight is that the knowledge base is not the end product. It is the foundation that opens the door to every future engagement with that client.

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Timestamps 

• 01:18 – Why Adam leads with the knowledge base on every engagement
• 02:55 – Knowledge base as a tripwire offer, same concept as the AI audit
• 04:12 – The pitch: clean up your company knowledge and make it a living asset
• 04:57 – You don't need Obsidian or RAG to start, markdown files are enough
• 06:12 – Why a provider-agnostic knowledge base protects clients from platform risk
• 07:00 – Token cost savings as a selling point for teams and enterprise
• 08:45 – Anthropic enterprise going to pay-as-you-go and why that matters
• 09:34 – The seven durable note types every knowledge base needs
• 13:19 – How the seven types simplify the what do I include question
• 14:13 – The spine concept: one foundational schema everything ladders up to
• 15:58 – Module-by-module walkthrough of Adam's mini course
• 16:58 – No client needs to touch Claude Code, this works in Cowork
• 18:06 – Coaching moments as value-adds during the build
• 18:29 – Live build: establishing the foundation with discovery prompts
• 20:16 – The discovery questions mapped to the seven note types
• 22:00 – Applying structure: from raw answers to schema
• 25:31 – Summary of the build process so far
• 27:01 – How to maintain the knowledge base after the initial build
• 27:38 – Pricing: audit, core build, and premium build tiers
• 29:09 – The knowledge audit as a foot-in-the-door offer
• 30:10 – Positioning options: department-by-department builds for larger clients
• 30:52 – The first knowledge base files and the index file
• 34:50 – Three layers of context: hot, durable, and disposable
• 35:47 – Setting up Cowork global instructions to recognize the knowledge base
• 38:33 – The ingest skill: automating information intake from multiple sources
• 39:47 – The curate skill: weekly health checks on the vault
• 41:26 – Provider portability as a major selling point
• 42:18 – Handling sensitive client information
• 43:41 – Upselling from the knowledge base: let the data tell you what to build next
• 46:16 – Light bulb moment: the knowledge base recommends its own next project