In this episode, we sat down with Rory Flynn, co-founder of Systematiq.ai - the operator who became an international reference for Midjourney almost by accident, after a late-night doom scroll turned into a content engine

Rory left the corporate world in 2017 with no safety net - budgeting $17 a week for food, working four jobs, bartending nights and weekends - before finding his footing in email marketing and, later, generative AI. He now runs an agency built on a 70/30 split between machine and human

This one is about spotting a gap nobody else is filling, then leaning in hard enough to own it - and why he thinks AI lowers the floor for small players rather than stealing their jobs

Key takeaways:

🔗 Connect with Rory

I’m just a guy…who tends to obsess over things he’s interested in.

I came from a weird background in Product Licensing and Brand IP.

I ended up working for a reality TV star and running her brand. (Don’t ask me how)

While it was excellent exposure…I burnt the hell out.

Maybe you can relate?

I left the corporate world in 2017 and decided to make my “own job.”

It didn’t go as planned.

I was broke…budgeting $17 a week for food…working four jobs…and bartending on nights and weekends.

It wasn’t your typical glamorous path to success.

Luckily, I found my business Partner, Phil, during that time.

And went heavy into email marketing and comm.

I haven’t turned back since.

It all started with a late-night Twitter doom scroll.

I saw people creating wild art on this “Midjourney” program and thought to myself.

“I can do that.”

So I dove in head over heels.

I was posting about Email Marketing (my day job) at the time.

I started weaving in some Midjourney posts.

The reaction was immediate.

I decided to lean into it.

I realized people posting about Midjourney were dumping photos on the feed…but no one explained it.

If no one else was going to do it…I would.

I started walking people through “how” I was creating on Midjourney…and the response was more significant than expected.

Luckily, I have a social media, design, and marketing background.

So it all came together.

There was zero plan…just a culmination of skills that happened to mesh well.

When ChatGPT was released, I was immediately captivated.

Also, I’m not someone who accepts the status quo.

So, with tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT, I push the boundaries as much as possible.

I started to use them both in my daily workflow.

Once I was able to systematize it, that’s when I introduced it to my agency.

And we were able to adapt it and scale it quickly.

I try to use the 70/30 rule (not 80/20) lol.

We try to let the machines do 70% of the heavy lifting and let the humans polish it off with creativity.

This quickly transitioned from daily execution tasks to automation.

Now, that’s where my interest lies…automation and machine learning in strategy and data analysis.

I love to Predict Ai by Nueronsinc.com.

It’s a visual heat map for creative design.

It’s super helpful when working in an agency capacity.

Design is so subjective.

Especially when you’re working with large brands.

Everyone has an opinion…and it’s all subjective.

Using this tool allows us to take subjectivity out of the equation.

And we have data to support our theories on why designs “should work.”

Less time spent in approvals and development…more time spent testing and gathering data.

To me, that’s how marketing should work.

I think it’s democratized areas like design and copywriting.

While most people think Ai is going to steal jobs…I tend to believe the opposite.

It allows small/mid-sized businesses to play in the big leagues.

But it would be best if you still had the talent to use them.

I often use the analogy…

If I gave a random person a $10k camera…would they be an award-winning photographer?

Probably not.

But if I gave a struggling photographer a $10k camera…would they create magic?

More likely.

All the tools are there…but it’s really how you use them.

Not. We’re just getting started.

New tools are popping up daily…and most are super helpful.

I would suggest starting small…and solving problems in your workflow.

For example, I spend most of my days on sales calls.

I HATE taking notes.

It feels inauthentic and unengaged to be typing while people speak to me.

So, I use tools like FireFlies.ai to record and transcribe my calls.

Now, I can take those transcripts and pop them into my CRM.

Everyone has full access and context into my conversations.

Less ambiguity…and more access to information.

It’s a win-win.

These are so hard, but I’ll try narrowing it down.

Favourite Song: Voodoo Child - Jimmy Hendrix.

Favourite Movie: City of God

Favourite Quote: This will sound so damn American, and I apologize in advance…

“We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard” - John F Kennedy (Moon Landing Speech)

That quote gives me goosebumps every time.