Rob Saric

Founder · Writer · Ottawa

Work is hard enough. More effort isn’t always the answer.

Rob Saric in a blue blazer

I’ve stayed with a business too long, convinced that working harder would make it work. I write about what I’m learning as a founder and a dad: choosing what deserves my time, using AI thoughtfully, and being present for the people I care about.

Start here

What should a dashboard do?

From numbers you show off to decisions you can act on. What I want from AI, and where I still want a person involved.

Read the essay
A dashboard should help you finish the review.

Example: reviewing overdue invoices

  1. What changed?

    More invoices are overdue.

  2. What explains it?

    Missed follow-up, disputed charges, or slow payment? Check the records.

  3. What happens next?

    Choose the action and who owns it.

  4. Did it help?

    Record what happened and check again at the next review.

AI can help gather evidence and prepare the next step. You decide what needs judgement or a personal conversation.

  1. Small teams still have to answer the phone

    AI can make a new service easier to build. It doesn’t make the promises to customers disappear. A small team needs room to keep them.

  2. I want my analog life back.

    I want a conversation without a notification competing with the person in front of me. That is the analog life I want more of.

What I’m building.

Caretrics is my main focus. Togetheren is the studio where I explore other ideas for small teams, including SkillNav, an experiment in turning what a team knows into repeatable work.

See the work and the thinking behind it

They want answers.

Caretrics started with the problem of manual reporting. But do people want another dashboard? Do people want more reports? They want to be able to answer questions about how their business is doing.

Understanding that changed our perspective on Caretrics. How do we help small teams accomplish more? How do we support their current bottlenecks and help incrementally move their business forward?

How our thinking changed at Caretrics
  1. Understand the data

    Start with the problem of manual reporting.

  2. Find what needs attention

    Give insights and recommendations on specific actions.

  3. Help someone act

    Build workflows around the problems identified in the data.

Where we’re going: Supportive agents for repetitive work, with a person reviewing the result and deciding what happens next.

Rob outdoors with a backpack

A little about me.

I’m a founder and dad in Ottawa. I care about the people trying to make a business work, and the lives they’re trying to make room for.

Outside the work, I’m interested in parenting, time away from screens, and making things for the pleasure of it.

A little more about me