Drew Burdick

Founder & Managing Partner, StealthX

Drew Burdick is the founder of StealthX, a design and technology studio helping mid-sized companies build AI-powered digital experiences. With deep expertise in AI strategy, product design, and software engineering, Drew partners with forward-thinking organizations to turn vision into reality, fast.

Articles by Drew Burdick

Career

Stop Applying to Jobs on LinkedIn: What Actually Works in 2026

Over the last six months, I've talked to 50+ students and early career folks trying to break into tech. Most of them are doing it wrong. Here's what actually works when breaking into the AI-era job market.

Feb 20, 20268 min read

Five-phase Vision-to-Value pipeline with ascending evolution and QBR markers

Strategy

Vision-to-Value: A Framework for Turning AI Strategy Into Results

Most AI initiatives fail because organizations apply consultant thinking (strategy without execution) or vendor thinking (execution without strategy). Here's the anti-consultant framework that bridges the gap.

Feb 15, 202616 min read

Three diverging methodological paths with the betting table approach highlighted in gold

Strategy

The Betting Table: Why 6-Week Cycles Beat Agile for AI-Forward Teams

You can't plan 12 months ahead when the tools you're building with didn't exist 6 months ago. Here's why we're running 6-week betting cycles instead of sprints with our clients, and what we're seeing work.

Feb 6, 202611 min read

Abstract boardroom with geometric conference table and executive decision makers

Strategy

Run Your Portfolio Operations on Easy Mode: AI for PE-Backed Companies

Two hundred PE operators. One question: "How do we actually use AI in our portfolio companies?" Here's the tactical playbook we shared, based on running AI implementations across a dozen PE-backed companies.

Feb 9, 202614 min read

Person working on laptop with platform decision interface showing three workflow options

Technology

Retool vs Power Automate vs Building Your Own: How to Choose an AI Workflow Platform

The choice between Retool, Power Automate, and a custom Azure solution isn't about which is "best." It's about matching the platform to your organization's technical depth, risk tolerance, and how deeply you're already committed to Microsoft's ecosystem.

Feb 11, 202612 min read

Fragmented knowledge nodes scattered across disconnected silos with one highlighted node representing documented knowledge

Strategy

The Tribal Knowledge Tax: Why Your Best Processes Live in People's Heads

Every mid-sized company pays an invisible tax. The cost of critical business processes that exist only as undocumented knowledge inside employees' heads. AI doesn't fix this by itself, but the act of preparing for AI forces you to finally document what nobody's written down.

Mar 3, 20265 min read

Old sequential design pipeline crossed out next to a new circular iterative process highlighted in gold

Strategy

The Design Process Is Dead: Long Live the Design Process.

Traditional design thinking is getting disrupted faster than most leaders realize. But the death of the old process isn't the death of design. It's the birth of a new model where designers write code through AI and speed to value trumps polish.

Mar 10, 20265 min read

Three stacked layers representing prompt, context, and harness engineering maturity, connected by nodes on a dark grid

AI Strategy

10 AI Lessons Most Companies Learn Too Late

No theory, no hype. Ten hard-won lessons from real client conversations about prototyping with AI, the three-layer harness framework, synthetic customer testing, and why token burn is the next budget line you're not watching.

May 24, 20267 min read

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