← HomeDC Startup and Tech Week 2026

From the DC Startup & Tech Week panel

Thursday, Oct 22 · 2:00 PM ET · International Square

The panel asked: Is your business AI-Ready?

AI readiness is half the work.People readiness is the other half.

Four questions to find out where you stand.

Are You AI People-Ready?

About to launch, or already did? Ask yourself:

01

Are you using it yourself, where your people can see it?

People watch what leaders do, not what they announce.

02

Can every manager explain why in one sentence?

If they can't, nobody else can either.

For solopreneurs

03

You're the whole team. Which one task does AI take off your plate first?

Pick one. Trying to automate everything at once is how nothing changes.

04

Flying solo? Who holds you to it after week one?

When you're the whole team, the old way is always one busy day away.

If you hesitated on any of these, start here.

See the free playbooks

Free playbooks

Pick your free playbook

People-Ready Playbook for Teams

For launching something new, or resetting what didn't stick.

  • Communication Brief and talking points
  • Pulse Check and Hallway Test
  • 30-Day Follow-Through Checklist

People-Ready Playbook for Solopreneurs

When you are the business, the change starts with you.

  • Friction and bottleneck check
  • Change plan
  • Self-check
  • 30-day habit plan
Daniella J. McCarthy

Meet Daniella

Hi, I'm Daniella!

I've spent 20+ years in the room when big changes go live, across SaaS companies, EdTech, higher education, nonprofit, government contracting, for-profit companies, and consulting.

The new system works. The plan is solid. And people still quietly go back to the old way.

That's the part I fix.

I help leaders, founders, and solopreneurs get their people ready, so the change actually sticks. I sit beside the leaders, not behind the tech.

  • Led project and change management portfolios for nearly $100M
  • Got 60+ leaders and teams behind a $40M+ system change
  • Removed the friction and bottlenecks slowing small businesses down, giving founders 10+ hours a week back
  • Over 10 years as a Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner

MBA · SAFe® 6.0 LPM · CSM®

Explore advisory services
I start change management at day one, not the week before go-live.
Daniella J. McCarthy