← All Sessions

Portfolio Polish
Through Building

AI Trade School - Session 6B

From Draft to Professional Portfolio Piece

The Mindset Shift

You're Not A Student Anymore

Yesterday: You were building a draft. You were learning.

Today: You are a consultant delivering a professional artifact to a client.

That client is any company you want to work for. Your artifact is your proof.

The Quantitative Quality Mandate

Your artifact is COMPLETE only if it includes ALL of:

Clear Industry & Problem Statement
Sourced Cost Estimates (this is the differentiator)
Competitive Analysis with Data
Detailed Implementation Timeline
Quantified Success Metrics
Professional Documentation & Visuals

Binary Assessment: COMPLETE or INCOMPLETE. No partial credit.

Student Work vs Professional Work

Student Draft

• Vague cost estimates
• Limited research
• Needs presenter to explain
• Missing implementation details

Professional Artifact

• Sourced, specific costs
• Validated research
• Stands alone—clear without presenter
• Step-by-step implementation roadmap

The difference is precision. The difference is polish.

Your 180-Minute Mission

1
TEACH
30 Minutes
2
BUILD
100 Minutes
3
SHOWCASE
50 Minutes

Leave with a complete, professional portfolio piece

Phase 2: BUILD

100 Minutes to Polish Your Draft

Research + Document + Practice

Research Polish (30 min)

Deepen Your Findings With Sourced Data

Cost Research

Find SOURCED cost estimates from industry reports, vendor pricing, case studies

Competitive Analysis

Who else is solving this? What are they doing? What's your advantage?

Market Data

Industry growth, customer willingness to pay, addressable market size

Validate Assumptions

Test your core claims with data. Find contradictions. Address them.

Documentation Polish (40 min)

Make It Stand Alone

The Critical Question: Could someone read this WITHOUT you explaining it?

Add these if missing:

✓ Executive Summary (1 page, crystal clear)

✓ Data Sources & Methodology (where did your numbers come from?)

✓ Assumptions & Limitations (what could change your analysis?)

✓ Implementation Timeline (realistic roadmap with phases)

✓ Risk Analysis (what could go wrong? How do you mitigate?)

Professional writing: Clear, concise, no jargon unless explained

Visual & Presentation Polish (20 min)

Design + Delivery

Polish Charts

Titles are benefit-focused. Labels are clear. Color is intentional.

Create 1-Pager

One-page executive summary. The thing you hand to a CEO in 30 seconds.

8-Min Presentation

Script your talk: Problem → Your Solution → Why It Matters

Practice Delivery

Say it out loud. Time yourself. Build confidence through repetition.

The Polish Workshop

If Your Artifact Doesn't Meet the Mandate Today

You are required to attend a 60-minute focused workshop within 48 hours.

This is not optional. This is how we guarantee everyone reaches "professional" standard.

In the workshop: Silent work time. Instructor validates each mandate item as you complete it. No distractions. Just focus on the work.

Result: Every student leaves with a complete artifact or they keep working until they do.

Quality Checkpoints

Self-Assess

Check yourself against the mandate. Are you ready for showcase?

Instructor Spot-Check

We'll review sections during BUILD. Feedback in real-time.

Final Audit

Before showcase, we verify all mandate items are present.

Showcase Ready

Only complete artifacts get presented. Period.

Presentation Preparation

Your 8-Minute Talk Structure:

Industry Context & The Problem (2 min)
Your AI Solution & Why It Works (3 min)
Expected Impact & Business Case (2 min)
Questions From Peers (1 min)

Practice it. Time it. Know your numbers cold.

Phase 3: SHOWCASE

Professional Presentations

50 Minutes

The Presenter's Mindset

You Are Not Nervous

You are prepared. Preparation is the opposite of nervous.

Your artifact is quality. You understand your work. You've practiced your talk.

That confidence? That's what professional looks like.

This is practice for job interviews. Investor pitches. Client presentations.

What Peers Will Ask

ROI Impact

"How do you measure success? What's the ROI in year one?"

Data Limits

"What if your key data source becomes unavailable?"

Competition

"Aren't others already solving this? What's your advantage?"

Timeline

"Is your implementation timeline realistic? What could derail it?"

Prepare. Anticipate. Answer with confidence.

After the Showcase

You Are Now A Professional AI Consultant

You Have: A complete, polished portfolio piece. Proof that you can think strategically about AI.

You've Done: What most people never will. You've built something. You've presented it. You've owned it.

Next: Interviews. Job applications. Consulting projects. This artifact opens doors.

The Cohort Intelligence Briefing: Best questions + strongest arguments from today's presentations. Your collective learning multiplied.

1 / 16
Title
Mindset Shift
Quality Mandate
Student vs Pro
180-Min Mission
Phase 2 Intro
Research Polish
Documentation
Visual Polish
Polish Workshop
Quality Checkpoints
Presentation Prep
Phase 3 Intro
Presenter Mindset
Tough Questions
After Showcase
/ Space next
back
F fullscreen