I'm Daniel Bilsborough. I advise founders and CEOs on AI - what to use, what to ignore, and where the leverage is for their situation. Based in Melbourne, Australia.
The work is hands-on - building AI systems, shipping code, running real workflows. Advisory covers the gap between knowing AI matters and having someone in the building who stays current on it full-time.
The short version.
I started in enterprise tech. Hewlett-Packard, then Siemens in London on the BBC account. The focus was rock-solid systems - built to last, never on unproven technology. At HP the standard OS version was always the latest minus one, intentionally, because that was the most solid and reliable version. Reliability was the priority. Proper processes before anything hits production.
I left and spent the next 15 years running my own businesses. Daniel Bilsborough Photography, DJB Photography School, marketing, web development, SEO. All of it, myself. No team for most of it. I made expensive mistakes - accidentally deleted an entire business website once, HostGator saved me with a backup by pure miracle. Tanked my photography school's organic rankings by rebuilding the website from scratch because I wanted to "clean everything up" - I knew nothing about SEO at the time and didn't respect the work already done.
Now I'm Marketing and AI Lead at Northbase, where I run AI operations and marketing. Separately, I run this advisory practice for founders and business owners - the kind of people running companies with 10 to 200 people who know AI matters but don't have time to figure it out themselves.
What I actually do with AI.
The advisory practice runs on AI that acts on its own, with Claude Code (Anthropic's AI development tool) as the backbone. Different AI assistants handle different jobs - code deployments, SEO audits, production code, and operational monitoring. When something needs attention, it sends a mobile notification. That's what running AI operations looks like in practice.
These AI tools can complete complex multi-step work on their own - and fast. Reviewing what the AI did after the fact is part of the operating discipline. Nothing's broken badly yet, but I've had to roll back changes when code went live prematurely. Production environments get treated seriously.
The site you're reading right now was built and deployed entirely through this AI setup. Websites, content, project management - all of it runs through AI as the daily operating system.
Why advisory.
A consultant sells time. They come in, spend weeks learning your business, produce a report, and leave. By the time you read it, half of it is out of date. AI moves that fast. I've written about why the traditional AI consulting model doesn't work for most businesses.
Advisory works because it's fast. Learn the business, give the answer. No discovery phase, no committee. The goal is to take what's actually possible with AI right now and translate it into something you can act on this week.
People have already been asking me informally about my AI setup. Founders who've adopted the same approach now handle tasks internally that used to be outsourced. That's what pushed me to formalise this into a practice. Think of it as a fractional AI officer - ongoing AI leadership without the cost of a full-time hire. See how advisory works.
Common Questions
Who is Daniel Bilsborough?
Daniel Bilsborough is an AI advisor based in Melbourne, Australia. He advises business leaders on AI strategy, drawing on an enterprise technology background at Hewlett-Packard and Siemens, 15 years running his own businesses, and hands-on daily work with AI tools. He is the Marketing and AI Lead at Northbase.
What is Daniel Bilsborough's background?
Daniel holds a double degree from RMIT - Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Computer Systems Engineering. He started in enterprise technology at Hewlett-Packard (HP-UX systems) and Siemens (BBC account, London). He then spent roughly 15 years running his own businesses in photography, education, and digital marketing before returning to technology as an AI advisor.
What does Daniel Bilsborough advise on?
AI strategy for founders and CEOs of small to mid-size businesses (10-200 employees). Specifically: which AI tools and approaches are worth investing in, which are overhyped, how to implement AI without wasting money on wrong hires or bad vendor contracts, and how to build internal AI capability. His advisory services range from one-off strategic assessments to retained advisory.
Where is Daniel Bilsborough based?
Melbourne, Australia. Advisory sessions are conducted remotely. Daniel works with clients regardless of location.