Try AI for Growth

Sara Vicente Barreto

Try AI for Growth is a podcast that explores fun, practical, and surprising ways to integrate artificial intelligence into your everyday life and work. Hosted by Sara Vicente Barreto, the show features bite-sized episodes sharing real experiments and user-friendly tips to help you embrace AI as a tool for personal growth, professional productivity, and creative exploration. Whether you're curious about leveraging AI for business, home, or just for fun, this podcast inspires you to start experimenting today. Let's demystify AI—one idea at a time!

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20 episodes
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English

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#32
September 11 · 15 min
What If Claude Could Remember How You Work?
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores Claude Skills after realising how much time she was spending teaching AI the same processes again and again. Starting with a nine-step accounting reconciliation and the "Playbooks" she had already been building in Excel, she experiments with turning a process that works into a reusable Skill. The experiment raises a bigger question than simply saving time: what knowledge about how we work is currently sitting in our heads, old documents or forgotten AI conversations? Sara explores how Skills could help capture that knowledge, make processes more consistent and, potentially, share the way work gets done across a team or organisation.
#31
August 1 · 10 min
Building an Investment Guide for My 9-Year-Old
When my nine-year-old son received a cash gift to buy his first shares, I thought the challenge would be choosing the right company. Instead, it became an unexpected AI experiment in designing a learning experience. Rather than telling him what to invest in, I wanted to help him understand how businesses work and how investors think. In this episode of Try AI for Growth, I share how a simple ChatGPT conversation evolved into a printable investing guide, a company rating framework and a series of child-friendly company profiles—all through continuous iteration. Along the way, I explore why AI is at its best when it helps us refine ideas, build reusable systems and think more deeply about the problems we're trying to solve. Whether you're creating learning materials, developing a business framework or simply looking for a better way to brainstorm, this episode is a reminder that AI can amplify your thinking, not replace it.
#30
June 26 · 8 min
The Best Reports Start as Messy Notes
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores how Claude for Word transformed a routine client reporting process into a repeatable workflow. Starting with nothing more than a project mandate and a collection of rough working notes, she used AI to create a structured, professional report in minutes, while keeping complete control over the content and judgment behind it. Rather than replacing expertise, this experiment shows how AI can remove the friction from documentation, helping leaders focus on thinking instead of formatting. Sara shares practical lessons on capturing good notes, creating repeatable workflows, and using AI to produce polished reports that save time without sacrificing quality.
#29
May 22 · 11 min
Building an AI Agent for Real Team Work
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares how she built an AI Grant Scout agent for her charity, Um Pequeno Gesto — a structured workflow designed to identify, assess and prioritise funding opportunities more strategically. A tool with real commercial applications. Rather than treating AI as a chatbot experiment, Sara explores what happens when you build an agent around a real operational workflow: defining rules, creating scoring systems, developing reference documents, and onboarding a team member to use it effectively. Along the way, she reflects honestly on what worked, what still feels frustrating, and why the real value of AI often lies in the thinking and structure behind the build.
#28
May 15 · 9 min
What Happens When You Let Claude Loose on Your Pitch Deck
Sara Vicente Barreto set out to fix one cluttered slide. What followed was an accidental full redesign of a charity pitch deck — and a new way of thinking about strategic presentation work. In this episode, Sara shares what happened when she gave Claude for PowerPoint a real brief: a side-by-side comparison, a vague positioning concept, and a five-year-old intro slide that no longer reflected how the organisation thinks. The results were better than expected. The rabbit hole was deeper than planned. She also explores what made this experiment different — working through it live with a colleague, and discovering that the real value wasn't just in the slides Claude produced, but in the strategic conversations it accelerated.
#27
May 8 · 13 min
From Blank to App: My First Lovable Experiment
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares her first experience building apps with Lovable — starting from a moment of complete creative paralysis during a hands-on workshop and ending with multiple working apps built in under ten minutes. What began as an experiment in AI-powered app creation quickly became a broader reflection on workflows, creativity, and how non-coders can now prototype ideas faster than ever before. From redesigning field data collection processes at the charity to building spelling and football apps with her son at the kitchen table, Sara explores how tools like Lovable are changing the relationship between ideas and execution. Along the way, she shares lessons about process redesign, prompting, experimentation, and why simple apps can sometimes create the biggest mindset shifts. Whether you are curious about AI tools, overwhelmed with ideas, or convinced app-building is only for developers, this episode may change how you think about creating with technology.
#26
May 1 · 12 min
Claude for Excel: The AI That Made Me Rethink My First Job
n this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares how one AI tool—Claude for Excel—made her rethink what her first job would look like today. By bringing AI directly into spreadsheets, Claude doesn't just assist with analysis—it can fix formulas, rebuild models, validate data, and even create full dashboards from scratch. Through real examples, from debugging complex files to building a 2026 reporting dashboard, Sara explores how tasks that once defined entry-level analyst roles can now be done in minutes. But beyond productivity, this raises a bigger question: if AI can do the work that used to teach us how to think, analyse, and problem-solve… how do people develop those skills in the first place? A practical and thought-provoking episode for anyone working with data, managing teams, or thinking about the future of work.
#25
April 3 · 8 min
From Overwhelm to Focus: How AI Is Changing the Way We Learn
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores how a simple shift in using AI transformed a moment of overwhelm into real learning. What started as a frustrating biology revision session became a powerful experiment in focus, using Google Notebook LLM to ground AI in specific materials. The result? Greater clarity, confidence, and a completely different learning experience. This episode unpacks why AI often creates noise instead of value—and how narrowing its scope can turn it into a true learning partner, both at home and in business.
#24
March 27 · 8 min
Most Networking Is Wasted — Let AI Turn It Into Action
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores what really happens after a networking event, and why so much potential gets lost in the follow-up. Using AI as a personal secretary, she shares how a simple voice interaction turned scattered thoughts into structured, actionable next steps. From capturing conversations in real time to identifying opportunities and prioritising actions, this episode shows how AI can go beyond note-taking to become a true thinking partner. If you've ever left an event feeling energised but overwhelmed, this practical experiment will show you how to turn conversations into meaningful outcomes.
#21
March 20 · 9 min
AI-Driven Accounting Automation: How I Failed Before I Got It Working
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara shares how she used AI to automate a monthly accounting process—and why it completely failed the first time. What started as a straightforward automation attempt quickly turned into a deeper exercise in structuring data, defining rules, and debugging with AI. Using Claude, Sara didn't just build a macro—she uncovered hidden issues, refined her system, and improved the accuracy of the process. This episode is a candid look at what using AI in real life actually involves: iteration, failure, and small technical details that make all the difference.
#22
March 14 · 8 min
Writing a Blog Post… from the Car: A Simple Voice-to-Draft Workflow with Descript and ChatGP
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares a simple workflow that helped her capture a blog idea while driving and turn it into a usable draft. Starting with a quick voice note recorded in the car, she used Descript to generate a transcript and ChatGPT to clean it up into a structured first version. The result? A low-friction way to capture ideas anywhere and turn messy thoughts into something ready to build on. If you've ever struggled to find time to write or wished you could capture ideas on the go, this experiment shows how combining a few AI tools can make the process much easier.
#21
February 13 · 7 min
Combining AI Tools: How I Used Perplexity to Strengthen My ChatGPT Briefing
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores what happens when you stop relying on just one AI tool and start combining them intentionally. After drafting a company briefing with ChatGPT, she decided to test something different — using Perplexity to verify sources, challenge assumptions, and strengthen the final output. The result? A powerful distinction between AI writing and AI research — and a practical workflow that brings both together. If you've ever wondered whether you should trust what AI produces, this episode offers a simple experiment you can try yourself. Tune in to learn how combining AI tools can turn a good draft into a more grounded, verified and confident piece of work.
#20
February 4 · 10 min
Automating Without Breaking What Works (Excel, AI & Small Wins)
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares a practical story of using AI to introduce automation into a system that already worked: a long-standing Excel file used for monthly accounting and reconciliation. Starting with a small but meaningful problem — converting numbers into text in Portuguese using a custom macro — Sara reflects on what it really means to automate responsibly. Along the way, she explores the value of iteration, error-finding, and adding "memory" to systems without breaking what already functions. A grounded episode for business owners and operators curious about where to start with automation — without replacing judgement or rebuilding everything from scratch.
#19
Dec 18, 2025 · 9 min
How AI Helped Me Plan Our Family Holiday
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares how she used AI to plan and pack for a last-minute family holiday to Sal, Cape Verde — without the usual stress. From creating a personalised packing list to understanding hotel activities, local excursions, and weather conditions, AI became her on-the-go travel assistant. This episode explores how conversational AI can reduce mental load, bring structure to everyday chaos, and help families feel more prepared before they even board the plane. If holiday planning usually overwhelms you, this experiment might change how you approach it next time.
#18
Nov 21, 2025 · 11 min
How AI Helped Me Turn a Massive Field Report Into Strategy and Actions
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares how AI helped her transform a complex, overwhelming field report from a nine-day trip to Mozambique into a structured set of actions, insights, and strategic directions. Instead of getting stuck in the mental load of hundreds of notes, scattered observations, and project details, Sara used AI to extract actions, identify themes, build analyses, and even generate tools she can reuse in the future. Through hits, misses, iterations, and a few unexpected bugs, this episode reveals how AI can lighten cognitive load, accelerate clarity, and turn "I don't know where to start" into meaningful progress. Listeners will walk away with practical ideas for using AI to break down big tasks, reduce procrastination, and move from overwhelm to organisation.
#17
Sep 19, 2025 · 12 min
Creating my First AI Agent: My Publishing Partner
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares her journey of building her first custom AI agent: a publishing partner designed to edit, optimize, and package her blog posts—without losing her authentic voice. From identifying the pain points of publishing, to designing and training the agent on her unique workflow, Sara reveals the behind-the-scenes process, the lessons learned, and the surprising impact on her creative flow.
#16
Jun 20, 2025 · 11 min
Sounds Authentic: How Notebook LLM Turned a Report into a Podcast
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores Notebook LLM—a tool designed to turn documents into audio content. After uploading a detailed NGO report, Sara was blown away to receive a conversational podcast so realistic that her team thought she'd produced it herself. With minimal input, the tool delivered something human, engaging, and ready to share. Sara reflects on how Notebook LLM can revolutionize the way we use reports, turning dense content into powerful, accessible formats. She also experiments with FAQs and mind maps, showing how even the most traditional documents can gain new life with AI
#15
May 30, 2025 · 10 min
Drawing it Out: How I am slowly making my way around AI Images
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, host Sara Vicente Barreto shares her hands-on experience improving AI image generation using DALL·E. After many failed attempts in the past, she finally cracked the code—by defining her style upfront, using the select tool, and iterating on visual prompts to achieve a cohesive set of cartoon-style illustrations for a critical thinking workshop. She walks listeners through each step, including some comic experiments and key takeaways that anyone experimenting with AI visuals can apply.
#14
May 23, 2025 · 9 min
Governance Without the Drama: How I Built Policies with AI That Actually Fit My Business
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, host Sara Vicente Barreto shares how she tackled a daunting but essential task for any founder—building internal policies. With the help of AI, she created clear, contextual, and practical policies for her advisory business, Inside the Business Mind. From data protection to risk management, Sara reveals how AI helped her overcome procrastination, get started, and refine her documents in a way that saved time, enhanced understanding, and built confidence. Whether you lead a small or medium sized business or you are just getting started, this episode shows how governance doesn't have to be bureaucratic—it just needs to be clear - and to exist.
#13
Apr 11, 2025 · 7 min
From Chinese Characters to Robot Bedtime Stories: AI Helped Us Explore a Book We Couldn't Read
In this light-hearted episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto shares how a Chinese-language book about robots turned into an unexpected evening of discovery, curiosity, and bonding with her son. Using ChatGPT's Lens and Voice Mode, Sara was able to translate, explore, and learn alongside her child—culminating in fun facts, a quiz, and a bedtime story. A beautiful example of how AI can bridge gaps, fuel exploration, and make tech a tool for connection.

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