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About us
Why we exist
Just Curious exists to solve a problem we kept seeing firsthand:
Teams are being asked to make high-stakes AI decisions with almost no visibility into viable alternatives.
Private equity firms and middle-market leaders face real pressure to act on AI—quickly.
But the path forward is rarely clear.
Most decisions are shaped by:
The loudest vendor in the room
Existing relationships that weren’t built for AI
One-size-fits-all recommendations
Or internal assumptions that haven’t been pressure-tested
The result is familiar: stalled pilots, mis-scoped work, wasted spend, and lost momentum.
We built Just Curious to change that.
What we do
Just Curious helps PE firms and middle-market teams get clarity before committing time, budget, or political capital.
We do this by working with a curated network of AI-native practitioners—strategists and builders who design, deploy, and scale AI inside real organizations.
Instead of starting with tools or vendors, we start with the decision:
What are the credible ways to approach this?
What are the tradeoffs?
What does “good” actually look like at this stage?
Our role is not to recommend a single answer, but to surface the right set of options so teams can move forward with confidence.
How we’re different
Just Curious is not a consulting firm.
We don’t sell software.
We don’t push preferred partners.
We’re vendor-agnostic by design and informed by hundreds of real-world AI conversations across private equity, portfolio companies, and operators actively building in production.
That perspective lets us help teams see around corners, before they’re locked into the wrong path.
Got questions? Just drop us a message!
Frequently Asked Questions
Just Curious helps private equity firms and middle-market teams pressure-test AI initiatives before committing to a partner, budget, or roadmap.
We surface multiple independent perspectives from experienced AI builders so you can see real options, tradeoffs, and risks—early.
Most AI projects fail before the work starts, because teams are forced to choose a path with limited visibility into real alternatives.
Just Curious exists to give teams decision clarity before momentum locks them in.
Traditional processes push you toward a single recommended solution.
Just Curious shows you multiple credible ways forward, independently sourced, without selling implementation or steering you toward a preferred vendor.
No slideware.
No sales pressure. No lock-in.
A Mini-RFP is a short, structured brief describing a business problem, diligence question, or AI opportunity.
We anonymize it and share it with relevant AI practitioners, who respond with:
Distinct approaches
Tradeoffs and risks
High-level timelines and budget ranges
You keep full control over what happens next.
No.
Many teams use Just Curious only to pressure-test ideas, validate internal plans, or reset projects already underway.
Engaging a partner is optional, and always your choice.
No.
Your brief is anonymized, and no one contacts you unless you choose to engage.
This is designed to reduce noise, not create it.
If one or more approaches stand out, we can facilitate direct conversations with the teams behind them.
You’re free to explore further, or walk away with better context than you started with.
Yes.
Submitting a Mini-RFP and receiving perspectives is free for operators and investors.
If you later engage a partner, commercial terms are discussed directly with them.
Private equity funds evaluating AI for diligence or value creation.
Portfolio company leadership teams under pressure to “do something with AI.”
Operators who want clarity before committing budget or political capital.
If the decision feels expensive, visible, or hard to unwind—this is for you.
We don’t sell software.
We don’t push preferred partners.
We don’t run implementation projects.
We don’t optimize for deal volume.
Our only job is decision quality.