Speaking
Book Andrew to speak at your event.
Talks for founders, managers, students and teams on getting real value from AI in business, getting software built, and owning what matters.
Paid bookings and selected free talks for relevant audiences. For free talks, organisers welcome practical value alongside a brief business mention and invitation to follow up.
- Founded Scorchsoft in 2010, building apps and AI products for start-ups through to multinationals
- Author of three books, each with a talk behind it
- Birmingham Young Professional of the Year 2023, Technology & Innovation
- Four-time British bench press champion and World bronze medallist 2023
Talks
Four talks, each with a book or a platform behind it.
Pick one, or ask for a mix. Andrew shapes each talk to your audience, starting from the answer to one question in the form: what should they do differently afterwards?
Build it without a tech team
How non-technical leaders scope, buy and launch software without being taken for a ride.
From Execute Your Tech IdeaAI at work, fast and careful
Where your organisation sits on the stairway below, the one experiment worth running first, and the data-protection mistakes that put jobs at risk.
From The ChatGPT Guide for BusinessOwn what matters
How to become the person leaders trust with important work, and how to spot drift before it costs you.
From The Control StandardStrength under load
Preparation, setbacks and a hip replacement: what competing for Great Britain teaches about performing when it counts.
From the lifting posts
Speaking on AI
The stairway to AI success: where is your organisation today?
AI is the topic organisers ask Andrew about most. He builds AI tools himself, follows each new model as it launches, and watches the policy and the economics as closely as the technology. His AI talks start with this stairway, so each person can place their organisation on it and leave with one sensible next step.
Step 0: Step zero
No formal AI adoption
People use personal tools without agreed safeguards.
Step 1: Approved AI access
Little regular use
The organisation has chosen a tool and set the rules, but few people use it yet.
Step 2: Informal professional use
Useful, but personal
Individuals get real value, each in their own way.
Step 3: Shared best practice
Role-based training
What works is written down once and taught by role.
Step 4: Reusable agents
Connected tools
Agents that draft, research or check work run on real systems, within set limits.
Step 5: Embedded workflows
Measured value
AI sits inside the daily work, and the results are measured.
Step 6: AI-first strategy
Mastery across culture and strategy
AI shapes how the business competes, not only how tasks get done.
In Andrew’s experience, most organisations sit between steps one and three, and the climb from three to four is where teams usually want help. The framework comes from Scorchsoft’s AI adoption work. For Andrew’s view on AI policy and UK productivity, read Count the minutes, not the tokens.
Watch the stairway in practice
This video follows a customer-service task up the stairway, showing how individual AI chats become shared skills, agents and workflows with checks and approvals.
Formats
In person across the UK, or online.
- Keynote
- One talk built around one change the audience should make, with time for questions.
- Panel
- Andrew on a panel about software, AI, start-ups or careers in tech, as at the University of Birmingham’s Careers in Tech event.
- Workshop
- A hands-on session with something to take away, like his B-Startup workshop on websites that turn visitors into customers.
- Podcast or media
- Interviews and podcasts, such as Modern CTO and Brio360. Choose “Podcast or media” in the form.
Where Andrew has spoken
Universities, colleges, start-up programmes, podcasts and interviews. Each one links to the write-up.
| Where and what |
|---|
| Graham Mack interviewA video interview about The Control Standard with the narrator of its audiobook |
| West Midlands trade.govA recorded talk on apps, portals and tech exporting opportunities (2022) |
| University of BirminghamCareers in Tech panel for students and graduates |
| Brio360 podcastValidating tech ideas, raising capital and managing start-up finances |
| Modern CTO podcastEpisode 6: technology leadership, delegation and machine learning |
| BMET CollegeA tech talk for 15 to 17-year-olds at the Creative and Digital Career College |
| Global Entrepreneurship WeekGuest speaker at the University of Birmingham event |
| B-StartupWorkshop for the University of Birmingham’s start-up programme |
| bseen AwardsJudge for Birmingham’s start-up support programme awards |
Before you ask
Free talks, fees and webinars.
Straight answers, so you know whether to enquire before you spend time on the form.
Andrew welcomes paid bookings and selected free opportunities. Free talks need an audience that fits his work and room for a brief mention of Scorchsoft, what it does and how interested people can follow up.
Will Andrew speak for free?
Yes, Andrew welcomes selected free speaking opportunities when the audience fits his work and the organiser welcomes a brief business mention and invitation to follow up. Relevant audiences include business owners and directors, operations and technology leaders, managed IT providers and people working in tech. A small group of the right people can be a good fit. Tell him who will attend and choose “No speaker fee” or “Expenses only” in the enquiry.
Can he run a webinar or session for our audience?
Yes. Andrew runs his own webinars on AI at work, and he’ll happily arrange one for the right group, such as your members, your clients or your leadership team. Choose Workshop as the format and “Online” as the place.
When is it a paid booking?
Paid bookings are available for keynotes, conferences, workshops and team training, including events that need a talk without promotional content. The fee depends on the format, preparation and travel. Choose the closest budget band, or ask Andrew to quote, and specify any restrictions in the form. A commercial or ticketed event can also be considered for a free talk if the audience and promotional opportunity fit.
What about travel and expenses?
For an in-person talk, organisers normally cover travel even when there’s no fee.
Does he speak at schools, colleges and universities?
Sometimes, as he has at BMET College and the University of Birmingham. That time is philanthropy, so he can say yes to only a few each year. Tell him who the students are and what you hope they take away.
Is there anything he asks for with an unpaid talk?
For a free or expenses-only talk, the organiser needs to welcome a brief explanation of Scorchsoft and what it does, relevant mentions of Andrew’s books or projects, and a short invitation for interested people to follow up. The session centres on useful ideas and practical examples, with a small amount of promotion agreed in advance. A newsletter write-up, photos or a shareable recording are also welcome where practical, but they are optional.
Will the talk be a sales pitch for Scorchsoft?
The audience gets practical ideas and examples built around what you want them to do differently afterwards. For free engagements, that value comes with a brief mention of Andrew’s business and a relevant next step, such as finding out how Scorchsoft can help or exploring a book or resource. You agree the content and promotional element beforehand. For paid bookings, Andrew can work within your event’s restrictions.
Can the AI talk be tailored to our sector?
Yes. Andrew builds and tests AI tools every week and follows new models as they launch, so the examples are current. Tell him your audience’s starting point on the stairway, and the talk starts there.
How booking works
Three attempts, like a bench press meet.
Step 1: Send the enquiry
Three short steps below: the event, the audience, the terms. It takes a few minutes, and nothing is stored on this site.
Step 2: Andrew replies
Within five working days, with a yes, a question or an honest “not the right fit”.
Step 3: Agree the brief
If it fits, you agree the date, the format, the terms and the one thing the audience should do differently afterwards. The talk is built around that.
Speaking enquiry
Tell Andrew about your event.
Three short steps that give Andrew what he needs to say yes or no. He replies within five working days.
- Paid booking, or a free talk for a relevant audience with a brief business mention and invitation to follow up? Choose your terms below.
- Podcast, press or a bio? Choose Podcast or media as the format.
- Your answers go to Andrew by email and aren’t stored on this site.
- Need software built instead? Scorchsoft handles that.
Good lift. Enquiry received.
Andrew has your enquiry and replies within five working days. A copy of your answers is on its way to your inbox; if it hasn’t arrived in a few minutes, check your spam folder.
While you wait: the books