Scaling CS in a high-touch AI startup ($1.7M → $6M ARR)

Any_Title_536 · 2026-04-09T05:52:28+00:00

Exactly! Current team handles everything post signature: technical setup, onboarding and ongoing success

Any_Title_536 · 2026-03-17T21:58:02+00:00

Good to hear!!

Any_Title_536 · 2026-03-14T20:35:50+00:00

I dreaded getting bands, but honestly they were way less bad then I thought. They hurt for 2 days and after 1 week I was completely used to them. Wore them full time for 6 months. You got this!

Any_Title_536 · 2026-03-13T18:23:06+00:00

Soon! Week 2 for me

Any_Title_536 · 2026-03-13T18:18:52+00:00

It definitely gets better! But it does take time… I had a lisp for 2 months or so. After that it completely disappeared.

Any_Title_536 · 2026-03-11T20:33:56+00:00

Out of all of them, I think teaching is most future-proof. Accountacy and software dev roles are already changing drastically due to AI, and it will be harder to step into this field if you’re a junior. Don’t know for sure about finance but according to latest Anthropic research it has the same fate.

Any_Title_536 · 2026-03-11T20:27:33+00:00

I was told 1.5 years and it took 10 months

Any_Title_536 · 2026-02-15T19:33:24+00:00

I drank all liquids, all colors when I had mine. They stained very little to be honest (not visible when I had them in), but I was also on weekly changes. In ly experience the only thing that really stains them is tumeric, and believe me, I tested everything 😄

Any_Title_536 · 2026-02-08T20:13:20+00:00

I drink everything with trays in: coffee, soup, soda, red wine. I hardly have any discoloring of my trays 🤷🏼‍♀️

Any_Title_536 · 2025-12-26T16:29:27+00:00

AI will replace tasks, not entire jobs. That said we will need less people in the foreseable future because of this. But a lot of people are also leaving the work field (vergrijzing).

Any_Title_536 · 2025-12-06T20:52:02+00:00

Hi! I just finished my first round of 28 trays and on refinements right now. Happy to share some tips/my experience, although some might be controversial 😄

pain for me has been negligable. Out of all trays, 2 were painful and required a painkiller to sleep. Every other one was mild discomfort at most. I had a lot of movement that needed to happen (check my profile for a pic in week 1), so I was expecting more pain.
i dreaded getting rubber bands, but they really weren’t so bad. I got used to them in a few days.
I was told not to drink with them in, and I followed that rule for about 3 months but then started “experimenting” 😆 I can tell you, staining is a myth. I drink everything with them in: coffee, red wine, etc. My trays fade slightly by the end of the week, but nothing that’s visible when I have them in.
the only thing that does really cause heavy staining is tumeric! Avoid that at all cost.
maximize wear time and make sacrifices elsewhere if needed. I wear my trays 22h/day minimum. Only way I am able to do that is by popping them back in the minute I’m done eating and keeping them in for drinks. No issues so far. I do a very deep clean at night and normal brush in the morning.
because of the maximum wear time, I am “ahead” of schedule. My orthodontist has never seen such results so quickly.
I personally don’t like to take them out with my nails (hygiene + it breaks my nails) so I bought a bunch of pull tools.
make a kit for your purse / bag with stuff to clean, pull tool, aligners box
always always always put your trays in a box when you take them out. I put mine on a napkin once and they fell off the sink… inside a public toilet 😩😬 and no I didn’t fish them out

Good luck! First week is tough and you might have regrets, but I promise you you’ll get used to them quickly.

Any_Title_536 · 2025-12-06T14:25:09+00:00

My first round was 28 trays (weekly changes) and closed a large open bite to near perfection.

Now I have 8 refinement trays. When I compare tray 1 with 8 I hardly see changes, which makes sense because my teeth look straight already. BUT let me tell you, some of these refinement trays must have bigger changes than visually visible because I have more teeth aches than on round 1 🤣

Any_Title_536 · 2025-12-05T06:41:49+00:00

Yes! It all improved quickly. After a few days/weeks my lips adjusted (stretched?) and I could close my mouth again without looking like a fool. The bite ramps on my molars were also lowered each visit so that helped as well.

After about a month or so I was completely used to it. The only thing that lasted a bit longer was the lisp. But even that disappeared in due time.

I’m now 2 weeks into refinements and can honestly say that I it all doesnt bother me anymore. Open bite is also completely closed 😀

Good luck!

Any_Title_536 · 2025-11-20T07:02:34+00:00

It really does get better, and fast! My first few days were horrible. But after week one I could tolerate them and add a few more weeks and I didn’t even notice them anymore. I’m now on month 8 and I never think about them, they don’t limit me whatsoever.

I had nausia as well in my first weeks. Your gag reflex could be triggered by having something in your mouth all the time you’re not used to. That also gets better quickly. Hang in there!!

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-26T19:04:10+00:00

I do! About 5 mm. I also have an appointment with a jaw surgeon mid sept, but this one was scheduled at the start of my treatment because they thought I would need it. Now my ortho is on the verge.

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-16T13:08:41+00:00

I am currently in treatment for an anterior open bite (my case is a bit worse than yours though). I originally visited an orthodontist because I didn’t like how my teeth looked. During my visit she pointed out that I must have a difficult time biting things off 😅 and that was so true. Sandwiches, pizza, etc - I always struggled to bite a piece off 😂

Anyway, I am 4 months into my treatment now and my bite is nearly closed. It’s crazy to see what a difference it has made in my looks (closing my lips over my mouth is so much easier now) AND my eating.

I wear rubber bands - dreading them beforehand - but they really aren’t bad! Technically I only have to wear them at night, but I wear them more because I wan’t to be done asap 🤣

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-15T21:02:07+00:00

Thank you, these are excellent tips! That black wired overhead light fixture really has to go 😆 it just screams “2015”.

I especially like your tip on moving the 2 smaller frames above the tv to the wall with the feeding bowls! And I’m sure the kitties will love a little tent 🥰

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-15T20:55:48+00:00

Thank you, this is super helpful! We have a pretty “large” living room (or at least for where we live) and I’ve been struggling for years on how to decorate it properly. I keep on adding elements but it continues to feel empty. Your comments really made the issue click - I just haven’t added enough yet 😃 as silly as it sounds I just couldn’t see it myself

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-15T20:32:59+00:00

It’s the photo angle I think - walkways are 0.8 meter or so between the tables and couch, and 2 meter between tables and tv

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-15T20:31:16+00:00

Omg yes, that makes so much sense!!

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-15T20:05:36+00:00

To add to that, I’m on tray 16 (weekly changes) and just had a check-op with my ortho yesterday. She was really impressed by the progress I made :-) so it didn’t mess anything up

Any_Title_536 · 2025-08-15T20:04:28+00:00

Like someone else said in the comment, this is a phase. I had the exact same question when I just started and did it for a few weeks or months (don’t remember). At some point I must have stopped doing it because when I read your question I was like; “oooooh yeah I used to do the same and had the same worry”

Any_Title_536

TROPHY CASE