🚀 Build {Escape Velocity} With AI: June 2026 Cohort | 15 spaces
AI didn’t just take jobs, it took away most of the obvious escape routes too.
And the current advice on what to do about it is already out of date. This is a four-week intensive built for the world as it actually is, not the one the old playbooks were written for.
The Brutal Truth
AI is now the single biggest cited reason for job cuts in the US – accounting for 25% of all March 2026 layoffs, up from just 5% a year ago. And the people losing those jobs are discovering that the standard escape route – go freelance, go independent, start something on the side – runs headfirst into the same problem: AI can already seemingly do it faster, better, and for free.
Most business-building courses were written for a world that no longer exists. They’ll tell you to find a niche, build a website, start a newsletter, post on social media. Some of that still applies. But none of it addresses the fundamental question: What’s actually worth building right now, when AI can replicate so much of what people used to pay for?
That’s the question this cohort starts with.
This isn’t a course about AI tools, it’s a structured, fast, hands-on sprint to help you figure out what to build, validate it with real people, use AI intelligently throughout – and make your first move. In four weeks.
This is for you if…
- You’ve been made redundant, or the threat feels imminent – and you’re not waiting to find out.
- You’re a consultant, fractional leader or remote worker whose landscape is shifting under your feet.
- You have an idea but you’re stuck on whether it’ll actually work – or whether AI will make it redundant before you even start.
- You don’t have an idea yet but you desperately want to be doing something – we start there, and help you find something worth building.
- You want to move fast, ideally in the ‘right’ direction – and test something real, not spend six months in planning mode.
What We Do In Four Weeks
AI tools are woven throughout every session – not as a separate module, but as the working question: given what you’re trying to do right now, here’s where AI genuinely helps, here’s where it’ll cost you, and here’s how to get results that don’t look like everyone else’s output.
Pre-phase : Week 0
Find your lane
Don’t have an idea yet? This is where you start. We help you identify what you already know that people pay for, where real demand exists, and what’s genuinely resilient to AI disruption. You’ll arrive at Week 1 with a working hypothesis.
AI: Research, idea pressure-testing
Week 1
Test the idea before you build anything
Validation through real conversations, not surveys. Who is your first customer – in detail? What problem are you solving, and can you say it in one sentence? Five conversations this week. That’s the assignment.
AI: Conversation prep, synthesis, pattern-spotting
Week 2
Build your minimum viable offer
What does the offer look like? How do you price it without undercharging? You’ll build your one-page offer in this session – copy, structure, and positioning – using AI as your working tool, with us guiding the judgement calls it can’t make for you.
AI: Copywriting, design, offer structure
Week 3
Get in front of people
How to sell without sounding like you’re selling. Outreach that doesn’t read like it was written by a bot. The first conversation: what to say, how to handle pushback, how to close. This week you make your first offer to a real person.
AI: Outreach drafts, objection prep – human delivery
Week 4
Debrief, iterate, build forward
What happened? Group debrief on real results. Fast iteration based on what you learned. And a clear picture of what month two looks like – so you don’t fall off a cliff when the cohort ends.
AI: Iteration, systemising what’s working
Who's Running This?
Between us, we’ve built businesses, run remote teams, started from scratch more than once, and spent years helping other people figure out how to do the same. We’re not teaching from a slide deck. We’ve known each other for over 15 years. We’ve built things together before. We’re not guessing at what works.
Lea Jovy
Founder & CEO, Mission Equality CIC
Lea has been building independently for over two decades – across online business, education, consultancy and social enterprise. She founded Mission Equality CIC and Ethixly, and has spent years helping organisations and individuals navigate the gap between how things should work and how they actually do.
Val Thörner
Head of Ops, Mission Equality CIC & Empress of Remote
Valentina built the biggest minimalism blog in Spain, ran a remote-first tech helpdesk for women, and has spent 7+ years building her own brand and helping others work and lead remotely. She’s Head of Operations at Mission Equality and knows exactly what it takes to build something real from wherever you are.
Questions + Answers
I don’t have a business idea yet. Is this still for me?
Yes – that’s exactly why the pre-phase exists. We start with what you already know and help you find a direction that’s viable and resilient. You’ll have a working hypothesis before Week 1 even begins.
Will I definitely have a client/customer by the end?
The goal is to have made your first real offer and had real conversations with potential clients. Whether that converts in four weeks depends on factors no course can fully control – but you’ll have done the hardest part: actually started, with something real to show for it.
I already know the basics of AI tools. Will this still be useful?
Knowing the tools and knowing how to deploy them to achieve a specific goal are different things. The AI element here is about judgement and application, not tutorials.
I’m already freelancing / running something small. Is this too basic?
If you’re already earning independently and want to grow what you have, this probably isn’t the right fit. If you’re at the beginning – or restarting – this is built for you.
How much time does it take each week?
Expect 3–5 hours: the live session plus the weekly assignment. This is an intensive, not a passive course. You get out what you put in.
What if I can’t make a live session?
All sessions are recorded. We’d rather you show up live – the cohort dynamic matters – but life happens.
One last thing…
15 places. Deliberately small. We want people who are ready to do the work, not collect another course they’ll get to eventually. If that’s you, the place is yours.