Chuck Aikens

With over two decades of experience in content development and online marketing, I help brands harness the power of AI to create authentic, engaging content that resonates with their target audience and delivers on their brand promise.

At Tidal Wave Content, we've pioneered a unique method that seamlessly integrates AI throughout the content creation process. From initial insights and research to writing and optimization, our approach enhances human creativity and intelligence, resulting in impactful content at scale.

Our Content Manager Online platform enables marketing teams to produce high-quality, brand-aligned content efficiently.  This innovative tool, coupled with our strategic framework and proven process, empower brands to:

- Establish themselves as industry experts
- Optimize content for search visibility and social media engagement
- Create meaningful connections with their audience
- Drive brand awareness and business growth
- Increase traffic, generate more sales, and grow revenue.

I'm committed to equipping brand managers, marketing teams, and entrepreneurs with cutting-edge strategies, processes, and tools to accelerate their content marketing efforts. By responsibly leveraging AI, we create authentic conversations that truly impact our clients' businesses.

Let's connect if you want to explore how AI assistance and SEO best practices can revolutionize your content marketing strategy while maintaining your unique brand voice.

Founder

Tymoo is a digital marketing collective that empowers brand managers, marketing teams, and freelancers with the strategy, processes, and tools to accelerate growth.

🚨 If your AI agents don't have approval gates, you don't have automation - you have liability.

Since my last post about getting Open Claw running, I've gone from one AI assistant to a three-agent team handling real client work: strategy, content, follow-ups, the full operation. They named themselves The Crew. (Yes, they picked it. I just went with it.)

And the single most important thing I've learned so far? It wasn't about making them faster. 

It was figuring out where to slow them down.

After every client meeting, Morgan, my execution agent, extracts action items and proposes new work streams. My original design had her doing this autonomously. Faster. More impressive. Looks great in a demo.

But every work item is a financial commitment against limited resources. 

One overeager extraction, where the agent interpreted a casual conversation as a deliverable, could misallocate countless hours of capacity over the next few weeks.

So I added an approval gate. Charlie reviews Morgan's proposals before they ever reach me. Charlie reviews every commitment before it becomes real and flags me if something doesn't seem right.  This short delay and human-in-the-loop are negligible compared to the cost of getting it wrong.

Here's the pattern I keep running into:

1. AI amplifies output. 
2. Amplified output amplifies risk. 
3. Amplified risk demands governance.

I'm still figuring this out. But the more I build, the more I'm convinced that the teams who win with agents won't be the ones who remove the most guardrails; instead, it will be the ones who install the right ones to provide the needed governance.

I am documenting my journey as I go.  If you're building with agents and running into your own governance tradeoffs, I'd love to hear what you're learning. 

Drop a comment or DM me. These conversations are how we all get better at this.

AI Ops for Marketing · Founder, Tymoo · Where AI systems power real brand work

⁉️ Yesterday, I did an “AMA on AI tools” with the Forum for Naturals Summit at Natural Products Expo.  The conversation confirmed something I keep seeing across the industry.

The next phase of AI isn't about which tool to use. It's more about how we approach using AI.

Most people are in Phase 1 of AI: Prompt Engineering. Crafting individual instructions, iterating output, session by session. It works, but it has a hard ceiling. It doesn't scale, and it doesn't transfer.

The game has moved to Phase 2 (context engineering, where we feed AI info like our brand voice, personas, and product data, alongside your prompts) and Phase 3 (intent engineering, where we encode the specs and outcome you want into how agents and sub-agents do their work).

Those three phrases map to three AI identities:
-> Prompters use AI conversationally to draft, research, and brainstorm. They drive every interaction. This was Phase 1, and how we all started.
-> Builders connect tools, create reusable workflows, and build skill libraries. They're designing systems. This is Phase 2 and context changes the quality of outputs.
-> Directors orchestrate agents, write specs, and manage AI the way you'd manage a team. They define outcomes. This will be Phase 3 and requires software design-like thinking.

One phase isn't better than another. But you need to know which one you are today and which one you're growing toward.

What is your AI identity -- Prompter, Builder, or Director? That determines what you should pay attention to and where you should focus your learning.

Stop chasing tools. Match tools to jobs. The right tool in the wrong context wastes more time than no tool at all.

After your next really good AI session, where you feel proud of the deliverable, ask it to summarize what you did as reusable instructions. Save that file. Guess what? That's your first skill.

Your skill library may become the most important professional asset you own outside your professional network.

You don't need to master AI. You need to get intentional about how you use it.

One tool. One skill. One time a week. That's where you start.

#AI #NaturalProducts #CPG #Tymoo

Gave my 2nd talk at the Forum for Naturals Summit at Expo West.  This one was for the CMO Group.

After a little context, I asked everyone to pull up their brand's best-selling product page. 

Then we pretended like we were an AI shopping assistant looking for a question related to their product by a shopper.

For example: "What's a clean-label magnesium supplement for sleep that's under $30?"

Can you answer that question using only the text on the page? Not the images. Not the brand story. Just the structured text.

For most people in the room, the answer was no.

That's the gap. And it's not a technology problem. It's a product data issue.

AI shopping agents don't see your lifestyle photography. They read your product data. Your product data is your pitch to the machine.

I shared my 10-part framework (link to the deck in comments) with an emphasis on Hero Clarity, Key Facts Block, and FAQs.

Here's something you can do this week: work on your FAQs (question-answer pairs).

Layer 1: PDP FAQs. Five to seven product-specific questions on every product page. "What does this taste like?" "Can I take this while pregnant?" "How is this different from the capsule?" Each answer is 40–60 words, front-loaded with the direct answer. This is exactly what AI uses to recommend a product. 

Layer 2: Brand FAQ Page. One central page for shipping, returns, certifications, and sourcing. Keeps product pages focused. Gives AI a single authoritative source for brand-level answers.

Layer 3: Shopify Knowledge Base App. This is a Free app that feeds information directly to the AI shopper on ChatGPT. Not visible on your storefront. Just a backend feed for the LLMs. The key metric: unanswered questions are provided to you from OpenAI.

You don't need to rebuild your site. You need to organize what you already know.

AI agents are the new shelf space. Your product data is your pitch.  

Let's start by answering the questions your shopper and get them clicking on that "Add to Cart" button!

#ExpoWest2026 #ForumForNaturals #AISearch #NaturalProducts #CPG

Hello! I'm Crys Black, a strategic force in executive leadership, merging a strong marketing foundation with a focused command of operations in the tech startup arena. From the evolving landscape of IT and web-based systems, I have navigated the surge from the early days of cloud technology to spearheading operational transformations that scale businesses effectively.

Driven by a zeal to harness technology for innovation as well as optimization, my career trajectory has been marked by pioneering AI-driven marketing strategies at Origin AI and Aizon. Equally critical has been my role in sculpting operational frameworks, enriching product portfolios, and fortifying revenue operations, setting new benchmarks in efficiency and effectiveness.

Beyond my technical and operational expertise, I am an avid photographer and off-roader—pursuits that sharpen my perspective and drive my innovative approach to business challenges. My involvement in community theater has honed my ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, skills that are vital in orchestrating complex operational strategies.

With a vast international footprint extending from Asia to South America to Europe and a profound technical expertise, I possess a nuanced understanding of global market dynamics and excel at embedding cutting-edge technology into scalable operations. My track record includes dramatically increasing lead generation tenfold and driving a sixfold growth in Aizon’s pipeline, demonstrating my ability to convert strategic vision into measurable outcomes.

As I deepen my focus on operational leadership, I’m keen to lead teams in settings where technology serves as a catalyst for both business innovation and operational supremacy. Let’s discuss how we can together spearhead transformative operational changes and reach unprecedented heights in efficiency and growth.

Learn more about my professional journey and the significant impacts of my initiatives by visiting my portfolio or downloading my resume.

🌐 http://portfolio.crysblack.com/
📃 http://portfolio.crysblack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Crystal-Black-Marketing-Executive-Resume.pdf

Crystal Black

Women in AI Colorado will be hosting in Boulder and we're looking forward to seeing what women will build on Sunday! Let's build together!

To celebrate, Lovable will be completely free for 24 hours, powered by Anthropic. Plus, everyone who participates will get $100 in Anthropic API credits and $250 in Stripe fee credits.

Join me and builders around the world for SheBuilds on Lovable for International Women's Day!

https://lnkd.in/gUWYHgR9
https://lnkd.in/g5_UPkCR

Fractional CMO | AI Enablement for Startups | GTM, RevOps & Practical AI Adoption

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, and I get to co-host Lovable’s SheBuilds Day.

And honestly? I hope more women use it as permission to play.
Not to build the next startup in 24 hours.
Not to make it perfect.
Not to make it “useful enough” to justify the time.

Just to experiment.
To test ideas.
To make something a little delightful.
To see what happens when you give yourself room to explore.

Sometimes the best way to learn is to make something small, personal, and joyful.

So if you’ve been curious about AI coding tools but waiting until you had a “serious enough” idea, this is your sign to stop waiting.

Come join us. Take the 24 hours of free Lovable build time.
Make something for yourself.
Make something weird.
Make something helpful.
Make something that just makes you smile.

You do not need permission to start. But in case it helps, here it is. 💜

Are you building anything for SheBuilds Day?

Boulder has no shortage of smart people working on the future of work.

What we need more of is space to actually talk about it together.

I’m excited to help launch the Hacking HR Boulder Chapter with Nadia Sawaya Gauckler, CDE® and Carol J Cooley, SPHR, and our first meetup is officially on the calendar:
📅 Hacking HR Boulder Chapter Kickoff: Meet & Greet + Community Listening Session:  Monday, March 23 at 5:00 PM at the Boulder Public Library

This first gathering is for HR leaders, People leaders, founders, operators, and anyone thinking deeply about work, talent, leadership, and what this region needs next.

The goal is simple: meet great people, share perspectives, and help shape what this Boulder community becomes.

If you’ve been looking for a local group where conversations are practical, thoughtful, and connected to what’s happening here in Boulder, I’d love to see you there.

Meetup link in the comments!

If this is the worst AI we will ever have, why are so many companies acting like the rules of work are already settled?

I had a great conversation with Jeff Spinella about what’s changing across marketing, RevOps, and startup teams as AI moves deeper into day-to-day work.

One theme kept surfacing for me: trust.

As AI systems gain access to CRM data, email, workflows, and decision support, the conversation shifts. Trust, governance, and AI literacy start to matter at a much higher level. Clean data matters more. Clear ownership matters more. Permissioning matters more. Human judgment matters more.
That’s especially true as autonomous agents begin operating with real access and real speed.

A few years ago, most risk lived in human error and messy execution. Now the stakes can scale much faster. One weak process, one bad instruction, or one poorly governed workflow can create ripple effects across systems in minutes.

They’ll be the ones with:
• clean data
• clear governance
• strong AI literacy
• thoughtful guardrails
• leaders willing to rethink how work gets done

AI tends to multiply the conditions it enters.

In healthy systems, that can mean speed, clarity, and better decisions. In messy systems, it can spread confusion just as quickly.

That part of the conversation feels especially important to me right now.

View company: Darwin | Web, Data and AI Engineering

If this is the worst AI we'll ever have… why are so many of us still treating it like the final answer?

That was one of the most clarifying moments in our latest conversation between Crystal Black — CMO, COO, AI advisor for B2B SaaS startups — and Jeff Spinella from Darwin | Web, Data and AI Engineering.

Crys's point is simple but cuts deep.

We're panicking about AI taking jobs when we should be asking: are we preparing the next generation for jobs that don't even exist yet?

Because the skills that got you here won't get the next person here in 20 years.

We also talked about:
- Why AI policy is being written by people who don't understand AI and why that's your problem too
- How flexibility replaced strategy as the most important career skill
- Why website traffic is a vanity metric (and what to measure instead)
- The shift from SEO to GEO, and what it means for content marketers right now
- How to train AI in your own voice so your engagement actually goes up
- Why authentic, human content will always outlast AI slop

The big takeaway:

AI amplifies who you already are. If you show up with real perspective, real expertise, real voice, AI makes you louder. If you don't, it just makes the noise louder.
Nothing replaces your authentic self.

🛠️ Tools & resources Crys mentioned in this episode:
ChatGPT Custom GPTs — her "co-CEO/CMO" loaded with her voice
Lovable — for building no-code marketing tools and dashboards
Deep Research — loaded into custom GPTs for prospect research and staying current on new tech
Sonet.io — for secure AI implementation at the enterprise level
Follows: Liza Adams (synthetic teaming), Andy Crestodina (content), Christopher Penn (Trust Insights)  (technical frameworks), SmarterX (executive AI trends)

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eRSV6we4 
Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eG4rN8j7 

What's one belief about AI you've had to completely unlearn this year?


#Marketing #AIMarketing #FractionalCMO #B2BSaaS #WhatKeepsMarketersUpAtNight #ContentMarketing #GEO #FutureOfWork #AuthenticMarketing

Open video: Ep. 8: The Jobs Aren't Disappearing — They're Shape-Shifting with Crys Black on youtu.be

Ep. 8: The Jobs Aren't Disappearing — They're Shape-Shifting with Crys Black

I’m still thinking about Sunday.

Nearly 40 women came together in Boulder for SheBuilds, and I’m honestly still overwhelmed by it. Not because the event was large by conference standards, but because of what it took for so many women to be there in the first place.

They came carrying jobs, caregiving, family responsibilities, invisible labor, uncertainty, and all the other things that make it hard to carve out even a few hours for themselves. And still, they showed up to learn. They showed up to build. They showed up willing to be vulnerable about what’s holding them back and honest about what they want for themselves next.

What moved me most was that every woman built something that mattered to her. Not a toy project. Not something abstract. Something useful. Something connected to her real life, her work, her home, her future. You could feel the shift in the room as people went from “I don’t know if I can do this” to “wait, I made this.”

That matters.

We are heading into a stretch of change that I think will ask a lot of all of us. I do believe there is an amazing world on the other side of this AI transition. But I also think the period in between may be difficult and disorienting. Dario Amodei’s idea about the “adolescence” of technology has been on my mind lately, that messy middle where we do not fully know what we are becoming yet, only that the old rules are shifting. Dario mentions this scene and it also keeps coming back to me... that line in Contact: “How did you do it?” 

Sometimes the honest answer is, one step at a time, together.

That’s part of why this event meant so much to me. Every person I can help touch, encourage, or empower has a better chance of navigating what comes next with more confidence and more agency. And being in that room, watching women make time for themselves, support one another, and leave more empowered than they arrived, felt like a glimpse of what’s possible.

I’m grateful to have been part of it.

The Colorado AI News writeup is here: https://lnkd.in/g93_tk4U

And to every woman who showed up on Sunday (our event in Boulder or others): keep building.

Open article: Pic of the Week: AI, SheBuilds, and International Women's Day by coloradoai.news

                     Pic of the Week: AI, SheBuilds, and International Women's Day                             
                     

AI is already in classrooms.
Students are using it.
Teachers are experimenting with it.
Schools are writing policies as fast as they can.

If you're in the Boulder area, join us for tonight's Ethics & AI Meetup:
AI in Education: Cheating, Learning, and Fair Assessment

We’ll explore:
• What counts as cheating now?
• What does real evidence of mastery actually look like?
• Do strict AI bans protect students or widen inequities?
• What should schools require from AI tools when it comes to privacy and data?
• How can we redesign assignments to reduce incentives to cheat without turning to surveillance?

We welcome students, educators, parents, technologists, and administrators and we’re intentional about making space for every voice in the room.

Open article: AI in Education: Cheating, Learning, and Fair Assessment, Wed, Mar 4, 2026, 5:00 PM | Meetup by meetup.com

AI in Education: Cheating, Learning, and Fair Assessment, Wed, Mar 4, 2026, 5:00 PM | Meetup

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The Battle

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Crystal Black

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Chuck Aikens's LinkedIn Performance

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