Adrian’s Arena: Stop Collecting AI Tools and Start Building a Stack

TL;DR — What You Need To Know

• Stop collecting random AI tools and start building an intentional “stack” – a connected system of tools that work together to solve your specific business problems.
• The best AI stacks aren’t complicated but intentional – they reduce friction, create clarity, and become second nature to your team’s workflow.
• For Southeast Asian businesses, successful AI stacks must address regional complexities like language diversity, mobile-first users, and local regulations.

Why Your AI Approach Needs a Rethink

Look around and you’ll see AI tools popping up everywhere – they’re like coffee shops in Singapore, one on every corner promising to give your business that perfect boost.

But here’s what I keep noticing in boardrooms and startup meetings: everyone’s got tools, but hardly anyone has a proper stack.

Most teams aren’t struggling to find AI tools. They’re drowning in disconnected tabs – ChatGPT open here, Perplexity bookmarked there, Canva floating around somewhere, and that Zapier automation you set up months ago but barely remember how to use.

They’ve got all the ingredients but no kitchen. No real system for turning all this potential into actual business results.

AI stack vs. tool collection

It’s so easy to jump on the latest shiny AI thing, isn’t it? The hard part is connecting these tools into something that actually moves your business forward.

When I talk to leaders about building real AI capability, I don’t start by asking what features they want. I ask what problems they’re trying to solve. What’s slowing their team down? Where are people burning valuable time on tasks that don’t deserve it?

That’s where stack thinking comes in. It’s not about collecting tools – it’s about designing a thoughtful, functional system that reflects how your business actually operates.

Building Intentional AI Workflows

For smaller teams and startups, an effective AI stack can be surprisingly simple. I often show founders how just four tools – something like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Ideogram, and Canva – can take you from initial concept to finished marketing asset in a single afternoon. It’s lean, fast, and totally doable for under $100 a month. For small businesses, this kind of setup becomes a secret weapon that levels the playing field without expanding headcount.

But once you’re in mid-sized or enterprise territory, things get more layered. You’re not just looking for speed – you’re managing complexity, accountability, and scale. Tools need to talk to each other, yes, but they also need to fit into approval workflows, compliance requirements, and multi-market realities.

When Your AI Stack Actually Works

You know your AI stack is working when it feels like flow, not friction.

Your marketing team moves from insight to idea to finished asset in hours instead of weeks. Your sales team walks into meetings already knowing the context that matters. Your HR people personalise onboarding without rebuilding slides for every new hire.

This isn’t theoretical – I’ve watched it happen in real organisations across Southeast Asia, where tools aren’t just available, they’re aligned. When AI stacks are built thoughtfully around actual business needs, they deliver more than efficiency – they bring clarity, confidence, and control.

And again, this is exactly what we focus on at SQREEM. Our ONE platform isn’t designed to replace your stack – it’s built to expand its capabilities, delivering the intelligence layer that boosts performance, cuts waste, and turns behavioural signals into strategic advantage.

The Southeast Asia Factor

If you’re building a business in Southeast Asia, the game is a little different.

Your AI stack needs to handle the region’s complexity – language diversity, mobile-first users, and regulatory differences. That means choosing tools that are multilingual, work well on phones, and respect local privacy laws like PDPA. There’s no point automating customer outreach if it gets flagged in Vietnam or launching a chatbot that can’t understand Bahasa Indonesia.

The smartest stacks I’ve seen in SEA are light, fast, and culturally aware. They don’t try to do everything. They focus on what matters locally – and they deliver results.

Why This Matters Right Now

If AI is the new electricity, then stacks are the wiring. They determine what gets powered, what stays dark, and what actually transforms your business.

Too many teams are stuck in the “tool hoarding” phase – downloading, demoing, trying things out. But that’s not transformation. That’s just tinkering.

The real shift happens when teams design their workflows with AI at the centre. When they align their stack with their business strategy – and build in engines like SQREEM that drive real-world precision from day one.

That’s when AI stops being a novelty and starts being your competitive edge.

It’s the same shift we see in startups that go from idea to execution in a weekend. It’s the same shift large companies make when they finally move from small pilots to company-wide impact.

And it’s available to any team willing to think system-first.

A Simple Test

Here’s a quick way to check where you stand: If every AI tool you use disappeared overnight… what part of your workflow would actually break?

If the answer is “nothing much,” you don’t have a stack. You have some clever toys.

But if the answer is “everything would grind to a halt” – good. That means you’re not just playing with AI. You’ve made it essential to how you operate.

And here’s the harder question: Is your AI stack simply helping you move faster – or is it actually helping you compete smarter?

If you’re serious about building the kind of AI stack that drives real outcomes – not just activity – I’d love to hear how you’re approaching it. What’s in your stack today? Where are you seeing gaps? Drop a comment below and let’s swap ideas.

Thanks for reading!

Adrian 🙂