TL;DR: Most people are building AI agents backwards, starting with the tool instead of the data foundation. Here's the exact step-by-step process we used to prepare FAA compliance data for an autonomous agent that generated personalized $1.2M compliance forecasts in under an hour, and why your data prep work determines whether your agent succeeds or becomes expensive digital garbage.
Let me tell you about the moment everything clicked.
Jordan and I were prepping for last week's livestream, drowning in what he calls "goopy data"—491 proposed FAA regulations, 400,000 aircraft registrations, and zero clear path forward. We were about to demonstrate building an AI agent live, and I had that sinking feeling you get when the demo gods are preparing to humble you in front of 100+ people.
But then Jordan said something that changed how I think about agents entirely:
"The agent isn't the hard part. The data layer is everything."
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