CauseLabs

08/16/2026

Some of the most interesting web apps we’ve built were the ones I wasn’t entirely convinced anyone would use.

In 2013, a friend came to us with an ambitious idea: make it possible for almost anyone to participate in solar energy, even if they couldn’t install solar panels on their own roof.

This was still early in residential solar adoption. Panels were expensive. Many HOAs restricted them. Plenty of people thought they were ugly. And concepts like renewable energy credits and virtual solar generation weren’t exactly dinner-table conversation.

This idea was different. People could sponsor individual solar cells or panels connected to a real solar installation and participate in the energy those panels produced.

And the vision went further. As the community grew, solar installations could power participating nonprofits and other community organizations. Local businesses could participate too, offering benefits or discounts to people contributing their solar energy credits.

It was an ambitious ecosystem. But first, they needed to know whether people would understand it.

However, there was one big problem. How do you explain something people have never experienced before?

We decided to make it something they could play with.

Our team built a working prototype connected to hardware at an actual pilot solar installation. Production data flowed into a visual dashboard where people could use simple sliders to experiment with the idea.

Choose the number of solar cells. Change the length of time. Add participants. Then watch the energy add up.

We translated the resulting kilowatt-hours into things people could immediately understand: phones, computers, houses, even high-rise buildings.

Behind the friendly interface was real production data. The business model specifically called for virtual panels whose production was tied to the actual output of a reference solar installation.

We weren’t building software to automate an existing process. We were using technology to help people understand and interact with an idea that barely existed yet.

And the prototype did something else: it gave the company a way to test its assumptions with actual people before investing months building the entire platform. Within weeks, they could begin validating whether people understood the concept and whether the value proposition resonated.

I think about projects like this a lot these days. We tend to ask, “What can we build with this technology?”

Perhaps we need to remember to ask, “What do we need to learn before we build anything more?”

A good prototype doesn’t just prove that the technology works. It helps you discover whether the idea does.

08/15/2026

”User information, financial records, legal documents, and sensitive employee or client data all deserve careful consideration before connecting systems to AI.“

Read more 👉🏽💻 https://lttr.ai/At7aI

08/15/2026

Who invented the marketing funnel? Agencies trying to prove their value, or businesses trying to validate the spend?

People don’t behave like marbles dropped into a funnel.

They arrive with different intentions. They learn, participate, find help, refer someone, donate later, or never donate but “convert” in another meaningful way.

Maybe brand awareness is less like a funnel and more like a way station.

Ditch the funnel. Get better at recognizing the conversions that already exist, including the ones your analytics don’t see.

08/06/2026

"If an AI tool recommends something that creates bias or exposes sensitive data, leadership doesn't get to point at the software. The accountability falls on them." https://lttr.ai/At1PO

07/29/2026

Paste this into your preferred AI assistant to help assess your level of risk:

# AI Privacy Risk Assessment Framework

Imagine that every conversation we've had and any long-term information you've retained about me suddenly became public.

Perform a privacy risk assessment using a scale from **1 to 10**, where:

* **1 = Little to no meaningful risk. The information is already public or generally harmless.**
* **10 = Significant potential harm if the information became public.**

For each category, provide:

1. A score (1-10)
2. A brief explanation for the score
3. The types of information contributing to the risk
4. Practical recommendations for reducing future risk

Evaluate the following categories:

* **Identity Theft:** Personally identifiable information (PII), credentials, or other details that could facilitate identity theft or financial fraud.
* **Legal Ramifications:** Information that could create legal or regulatory exposure for me or my organization.
* **Loss of Reputation:** Personal or professional information that could be misunderstood, taken out of context, or damage my credibility.
* **Loss of Business:** Proprietary information, trade secrets, pricing, strategy, intellectual property, or other information that could reduce my competitive advantage.
* **Loss of Clients or Customers:** Information that could reduce trust, violate confidentiality, or negatively affect client relationships.
* **Loss of Friends or Family Relationships:** Personal information that could strain important relationships if it became public.

Then answer these questions:

1. Which category represents my greatest overall risk?
2. Which risks are realistic versus primarily theoretical?
3. What types of information should I avoid sharing with AI systems in the future?
4. What types of information are generally safe and beneficial to share?
5. Based on what you know, what information no longer provides meaningful long-term value and should be forgotten or deleted from memory?
6. If you were designing an ideal AI memory policy for me, what should be:

* Permanently remembered
* Temporarily remembered
* Never remembered

Be candid, objective, and practical. Do not assume every private detail carries equal risk. Focus on realistic outcomes rather than worst-case scenarios. If you are uncertain about your memory capabilities or what information you retain, clearly state those limitations instead of making assumptions.

06/28/2026

Why would a roofing company choose CauseLabs and vice versa? Trust in local professionals matters. MyPro Construction & Roofing, own by faith-led Josh Conatser, has a long history in North Texas with over 3000 projects to date from residential estates to, most recently, a church campus.

Josh is an entrepreneur with a contagious positive outlook on life. Coming from the insurance industry, he understands both sides of the roofing conundrum…. And he has seen the nightmare families and businesses deal with when they choose the wrong systems, materials, roofers. Because of this MyPro does not compromise on ethical, professional excellence.

Check them out: MyProConstruction.com

This level of professionalism is probably why he and his team have multiple awards and certifications including the very rare Owen’s Corning Platinum Preferred Contractors. (About 20 out of the thousands of “roofers” in North Texas.”)

In a state where licensing is not required, any Joe, Bob, or Sally could climb up and work on your roof. So we rely on trusting the person who knocked on our door or ask neighbors for referrals. But our neighbors aren’t roofers. Read MyPro’s post about what certifications to look for to know that you’ve got a quality team covering what matters most (everything living under your roof.) Start with: RCAT, this is about as close roofers get in Texas to licensing.

Our favorite part of this project was starting to turn a portfolio gallery of hundreds of random residential, commercial, and painting pictures with no descriptions into meaningful stories. Every job matters to this team. Their care shows in the hurdles they overcome to do the job well from start to finish. While they can work on any roof (low slope, steep turrets, etc) we choose a handful of specialty roofing projects because not every roofer is qualified for those. Read the few stories we have added and stay tuned for more.

Sustainable roofing materials and the systems for weatherproofing was never an investment we thought much about until working with MyPro. So yet again, we learn from the work we do and the clients we partner with, this was no exception.

Check them out: MyProConstruction.com

Did we capture their brand well? Let us know!

05/13/2026

Emotional intelligence allows us to design interfaces that create deeper connections, making the experience feel personal and impactful.

Read more 👉 https://lttr.ai/ArESt

Great UX design isn’t about functionality or appearance alone—it’s about creating an emotional connection with your customers and speaking to their needs...

05/06/2026

Pay attention to this one because it’s going affect more than Colorado. June 30, 2026 is when this law goes into affect after being pushed back from February.

https://www.causelabs.com/post/ai-newsworthy-colorados-new-ai-law-is-bigger-than-colorado/

The first steps in AI governance are awareness and documentation.

Write down the What, Why, Where, and Who, and then potential risks and limitations. Read our post for a quick summary of questions to ask or reach out for a consultation on your digital strategy to kickstart your governance policies.

05/04/2026

National Small Business Week is here.

Behind every small business is a person who took a risk. A late night. A tough decision. A moment where quitting would have been easier.

Small businesses don’t only drive the economy. They shape our communities. They create jobs, solve real problems, and bring character to the places we live and work.

To the entrepreneurs building something from nothing, the owners carrying payroll on their shoulders, and the teams showing up every day to make it work… this week is for you.

Support a small business. Recommend one. Buy from one. Thank one.

Because when small businesses grow, everything around them grows too.

04/27/2026

Most people think strategy is about having the perfect plan. It’s not.

It’s about taking the first step when the path isn’t clear and trusting that clarity comes through movement.

At CauseLabs, strategy isn’t just a document we hand over. It’s a journey we walk with you, from where you are to where you’re meant to go. Every step is intentional. Every turn, even the backtracks, is informed. Every outcome aligns with your mission and where you’re headed next.

Progress beats perfection. But motion without direction will not move the needle.

Tech4Good