Applied AI & AI-Accelerated Video

Applied AI for the work that actually moves the business.

I help small and mid-sized businesses adopt AI automation and produce AI-accelerated video that grows revenue, increases profit, and gives owners their time back. 25 years of Fortune 500 craft, deployed at SMB speed.

Will Stroud headshot

25 years building for the biggest brands. Now building something better.

I spent two decades producing video content for Nike, Red Bull, Levi's, and Monster Energy. Travelling 30+ countries, winning awards, and learning how global brands actually work from the inside.

Then I co-founded Press Record Media, a branded documentary studio serving dozens of Fortune 500 clients in healthcare, pharma, and construction. As Chief Creative Officer for six years, I spent most of my time translating complex stories in life sciences, biotech, and heavy industry into compelling content. I have a deep understanding of the review cycles, compliance constraints, and cross-functional dynamics that come with that territory.

Now I'm channeling all of that into an AI-first consulting firm. 25 years of experience amplified by the best AI tools available. I deliver agency-level output at a fraction of the cost and timeline.

100+
Clients served
25+
Countries

Practical capabilities, designed to grow revenue and give owners their time back.

Four pillars. Senior craft. No agency overhead. Every engagement is grounded in measurable business outcomes, not effort, not theater.

Applied AI & Automation
Replace manual, repetitive work with AI agents and automations that learn over time. Lead follow-up, client onboarding, proposal generation, customer support. The work that quietly eats your week.
Data & Analytics
Turn the data your business already generates into the dashboards and signals owners actually use to make decisions. Custom reporting, KPI design, and operational visibility built around how you actually run.
AI Strategy & Consulting
Cut through the noise. A practical roadmap for where AI fits in your business, and where it doesn't. Workflow audits, tool selection, change management, and the honest answer on what's worth doing now versus next year.
AI-Accelerated Video & Content
Brand video, social content, product launches, and editorial. Produced faster and at a lower cost ceiling using modern AI tooling, with 25 years of Fortune 500 craft behind every frame. Directing for Nike, Red Bull, and Levi's, now amplified.

VirtualCEOHub.
AI-powered executive operations.

A dedicated practice for chief executives and owners of small and mid-sized businesses. AI agents designed and deployed directly with the CEO, absorbing the work of multiple roles, increasing profit, and putting hours back on the calendar where it matters: capital, customers, and people.

Explore Virtual CEO Hub
  • Reclaim executive capacity
    AI agents handle the operational work consuming the CEO's calendar.
  • Drive revenue and profit
    Pipeline acceleration, pricing intelligence, and margin recovery.
  • Compress decision cycles
    Decisions made in hours, not weeks. Surface what matters, when it matters.

Built for brands you know.

Two decades of production work for Fortune 500 companies and global brands. Here are a few.

🏆
Two-time NORA Cup Award Winner
Best Video of the Year
🧬
10 Years Serving Fortune 500 Healthcare
Life Sciences & Biotech
🎬
20+ Years Producing for Global Brands
Nike, Red Bull, Levi's, and more

The work speaks for itself.

Real work from real engagements. Three that define how I operate, from where AI fits today to two decades of global production work.

AI / Current Model

The AI Evolution. 25 Years of Craft Meets AI-First Execution.

AI restructured the economics of content production. The challenge wasn't adoption, it was integration. How do you take 25 years of Fortune 500 storytelling experience and combine it with AI tools in a way that multiplies output without diluting quality?

Early adopter ChatGPT beta user (2022)
Agency output across video, content, and strategy
Faster delivery without sacrificing Fortune 500 quality standards
“AI removes the friction. It handles the repetitive execution so I can stay in strategy and story. The tools changed. The judgment behind them is 25 years in the making.”
Original Series / YouTube

Red Bull “Ride & Seek.” 10-Part YouTube Series for Red Bull Media House.

A 10-episode original series following Corey Martinez, Garrett Reynolds, and Tony Neyer on a motorcycle BMX road-trip across the southern United States. From California to San Diego, Tennessee, South Carolina, Atlanta, and Florida. I directed, produced, and shot the series alongside additional field filmers, and oversaw the edit with assistant editors cutting under my direction. Released weekly on Red Bull's global YouTube channel in 2013.

10 episodes released weekly across an entire season on Red Bull's main channel
Director, producer, DP, and edit lead on a small, hand-picked crew
Hundreds of thousands of views per episode, still referenced in BMX media today
“The right small crew, run with senior judgment, can produce work that holds up for years. The same instincts now drive how I deploy AI.”
Brand Content / Global

etnies “Chapters.” Award-Winning Global Production.

etnies wanted a full-length BMX film that would stand alongside the most celebrated in the sport's history. The production spanned 15 countries over three years with a lean crew. No agency overhead, just a small team that knew how to move fast and deliver world-class footage.

2 NORA Cups Best Video + Best Video Part (2017)
15 countries across 35 production trips
3 years of production, still referenced today
“We weren't trying to make a commercial. We were trying to make something people would still be watching ten years later. The two NORA Cups said we got there.”

No pitch decks. No months-long discovery cycles.

Four steps. A clear process that respects your time and prioritizes outcomes.

01

Listen

A 30-minute conversation. You tell me about your business, your biggest pain points, and where AI or automation could help. No pitch, no hard sell.

02

Prioritize

We pick the one workflow that will create the most value, design the solution, and define the metrics that prove the ROI.

03

Build & Deploy

I build and ship in weeks, not months. Clear deliverables, clear success metrics, integrated into your existing systems.

04

Iterate

Measure what actually moved. Refine what's working. Then expand to the next workflow. Compounding wins, not one-off projects.

Ready to talk?

Drop me a line or book a strategy call. First conversations are always free.

Let's Talk

30 minutes, no cost, no obligation. I'll assess your situation and tell you honestly if I can help.

Let's Talk

Direct Contact

will@ninetofive.media

Connect

Location

Raleigh, NC. Research Triangle.

Tools I work with
Claude Perplexity Super Grok Grok Imagine Higgsfield AI Suno AI Airtable Zapier Asana n8n