Colin Robertson
Why I build AI agents
for mission-driven teams
I spent years researching the science of willpower and pushed myself to the breaking point. Now I build agents that take the grind off mission-driven teams, so they don't pay the price I did.
I design and build custom AI agents for mission-driven organizations. Wilson (meetwilson.ai) is the flagship: a live agent that maps a nonprofit's supporters and finds warm paths to new donors, with nothing sent without approval. Now I take on custom builds: agents fitted to an individual organization's workflow and tools. Here's how I got here.
The obsession
In 2011 I became obsessed with a question: why do some people persevere while others quit? I spent four years reading everything I could find: neuroscience, habit formation, the psychology of achievement.
The common thread was willpower. The ability to do what needs to be done, even when you don't feel like it.
So I launched Willpowered, a blog on the science of perseverance. Within a year, more than 1,000,000 people had visited.
Why I Build
“Build the tools that help genuinely good ideas, people, and organizations make an extraordinary impact on the world.”
The Will of Heroes
In 2015 I launched a Kickstarter for a book on that research. With ten days left it was under half its goal. More time at the keyboard. Less sleep. Repeat.
It finished at $13,000. I moved to Florida, eliminated all distractions, and wrote 140,000 words in three months.
The Will of Heroes tells the stories of 12 extraordinary people, from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Temple Grandin, and the science of how they willed themselves to greatness.
The cost
Success came at a cost. Years of 14-hour days gave me a repetitive-strain injury.
“I'm in my 30s and I can no longer use my hands to navigate my phone, drive a car, or type the words you are reading now.”
Specialists say I'll likely never type or tap again.
I had applied the science of willpower to push through the pain, and it worked. That was the problem. Willpower without wisdom is dangerous.
Building by voice
So I rebuilt how I work. Everything happens by voice and AI: code, copy, email.
Every word on this website was created using voice commands. So was Wilson.
In today's world, you don't need the use of your hands to do meaningful work. You need your mind. I'm not a consultant who discovered these tools last year. I depend on them to work at all.
Why I build agents now
Agents aren't about replacing experts. They're about removing the grind: the prospecting, the admin, the busywork.
My first experiment was Willpowered, an AI coach built from my own book. It proved something important: the right tools can transform what one person is capable of.
That experience changed what I wanted to build next. Not another product for myself, but tools for the organizations already making the world better. Nonprofits most of all: teams whose best people are buried in donor research and follow-up instead of the mission.
Good ideas don't fail because they're not good enough. They fail because the people behind them are buried in the wrong work. I build agents that fix that.
Why I'm uniquely qualified
- 1I've done it myself: turned my book into a working AI product
- 2I understand methodology deeply as an author, not just as an engineer
- 3I was the founding engineer and product architect at Steadii, a caregiving platform that changed caregivers' lives. It shut down when the funding ran out, with two months of runway left, because we started building funder relationships after we needed them. That is why I build fundraising agents. Read the full story →
- 4I use voice and AI daily, so I understand the technology intimately
What working with me looks like
A 30-minute call
Free, no pitch. We talk through how your organization raises money and where the grind is. If I can help, I'll tell you how. If I can't, I'll tell you that.
A scoped proposal
What the agent will do, what it won't, what it needs from you. In writing, board-readable.
The build
I design and build the agent with your team, on the same rules as Wilson: approval on everything, public signals only.
Handoff
Everything I build for you is documented and handed off as yours: the code, the prompts, the integrations. If I'm ever unable to continue, another engineer can pick it up without me.
It's a solo practice, and deliberately small. You'll never be one of fifty clients. You'll be one of a few.
How I work
The principles behind every agent I build
Net positive
I only work with people and organizations making the world better. Not every client is the right client. I'd rather leave money on the table than spend a single hour on something that doesn't create genuine good.
Greatness over growth
I'd rather build 10 extraordinary agents than 100 adequate ones. Small, deliberate, disciplined steps toward something enduringly great. You'll never be one of fifty clients; you'll be one of a few.
Empathetic honesty
Hard truths are necessary to succeed in business. But that doesn't mean we, or the agents we build, should be blunt and tactless. The feedback we actually listen to comes from a place of genuine care and a real desire to help. That's how I work with clients, and it's how I build agents: honest, direct, and always rooted in wanting the best outcome for the people they serve.
Buried in the wrong work?
If your organization is buried in the wrong work, let's talk about what an agent could take off your plate.
Book a 30-minute callFree. No pitch. If an agent won't help, I'll tell you.