A research-stage project led by Yusuf Young · Planned base: Austin, Texas

Why I am doing this

SkillSiftr brings together the work I have done for two decades.

I have built technology businesses, developed people into larger roles, helped organizations change how they work, and seen generative AI begin to reshape B2B teams from the inside. This project is the next expression of that work.

The path here

I learned the parts of this problem through real operating work.

SkillSiftr is a new project. The capabilities behind it were developed across research, enterprise software, company building, workforce development, and AI-enabled business change.

Research first

I began my career in qualitative and quantitative market research. That taught me to start with the people affected by a decision rather than with an assumed solution.

Enterprise change

At Oracle and Cirrato, I worked with enterprise technology and helped change how a company marketed, sold, and adopted new systems.

Building FunnelBud

I founded FunnelBud and built it over roughly a decade into a Swedish CRM and marketing automation company serving about 200 customers before Holdflight acquired it in 2025.

Developing people

I hired and trained more than twenty freelancers and junior professionals. Several grew into team-lead, account-management, and project-management responsibilities.

Working through AI change

From 2022 onward, I integrated generative AI into FunnelBud's product and into sales, marketing, and customer-success workflows while those roles were beginning to change.

Why this project

The missing bridge is both human and operational.

The worker needs a path that respects their experience. The employer needs someone who can make AI useful inside a real business. Building that bridge requires understanding people, technology, company change, and how an operating model survives beyond a presentation.

What I bring

Company building, employer-side credibility, technology adoption, direct people development, and experience changing roles and workflows under new technology.

What the research must still earn

A precise first market, a testable transition, participating employers and workers, and evidence that the complete model produces outcomes worth scaling.

Current commitment

I am actively building the evidence for a future launch.

That work currently means speaking with companies, mapping changing roles, defining where experienced people can contribute, and designing the first complete transition to test.

Read the active research →

See my wider work at yusufyoung.com →