AI is changing how businesses find software development partners
Cache Merrill is Founder of Zibtek, which provides custom software, web and mobile app development, AI development, and dedicated software engineering teams. The conversation looks at how AI is helping with research and repetitive work, changing how prospects shortlist partners, and why understanding client needs still calls for human judgment.
Track where prospects discover your business and what they already know before the first conversation. Use AI to support research and repetitive work, but keep human judgment central to understanding client needs.
What’s the quick origin story of your business, and what makes what you do genuinely different from the other options your customers are looking at?
I started Zibtek to help businesses turn their ideas into software that solves real problems, without the headaches that often come with building a technology team. What makes us different is how closely we work with our clients. We take the time to understand what they’re trying to achieve, build the right team for the job, and stay involved as the product grows. For me, good software development isn’t just about writing code. It’s about having people who communicate well, take ownership, and care about what they’re building.
Where does most of your new business come from today, and where do you wish it came from?
Today, new business comes from a mix of organic search, social media, referrals, and people discovering Zibtek through AI tools like ChatGPT. I’d like to grow that mix further, especially by making it easier for businesses to find us when they’re researching software development partners or looking for a team to bring an idea to life.
What’s one thing you’ve actually handed over to AI in the last year, and one thing you tried it on and went back to doing the human way?
We’ve started using AI to speed up research, explore ideas, and handle some of the repetitive work that used to take our team more time. It gives us a useful starting point, but we still review the output before using it. One thing I wouldn’t hand over completely is understanding a client’s needs. We’ve found that real conversations, asking follow-up questions, and reading between the lines matter too much to rely on AI alone. AI can help us work faster, but the judgment that comes from experience and human interaction still makes the difference.
Have you noticed a change in how customers find you or what they already know before they reach out? Is anyone arriving through AI assistants like ChatGPT yet?
I’ve noticed that people are doing more research before they contact us. They’re using Google, LinkedIn, and increasingly AI tools like ChatGPT to understand their options and shortlist software development partners. By the time we speak, some already have an idea of the technology they need or the kind of team they want to hire. That changes the conversation. I spend less time explaining what’s possible and more time understanding the business problem behind the request. AI is becoming another discovery channel, and I think being clear about what we do and the kind of problems we solve matters more than ever.
If you were advising someone in your industry on all of this for the next 12 months, what would you tell them to actually do, and what would you tell them to ignore?
If I were advising another founder in software development, I’d tell them to pay attention to where their next clients are coming from. At Zibtek, we’re looking at organic search, LinkedIn, and AI tools like ChatGPT as part of how businesses discover us. I’d make sure the website clearly explains what your team does and backs it up with real project experience. I’d also talk to your sales team regularly to understand what prospects already know before the first call.
What I’d ignore is the pressure to jump on every new AI tool or chase visibility without knowing whether it brings the right audience. AI can help with research and execution, but it won’t fix an unclear offering or a weak understanding of your customers. I’d rather invest in being genuinely useful to the right businesses than chase every new trend.
Thank you to Cache Merrill and the team at Zibtek – Custom Software & AI Development Company for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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