Build Different
with Lea Jovy
- August 2026 Founding Cohort
- 10 Spaces
- Remote/hybrid format
- Thursdays at 12.30pm UK for 90 minutes
- Begins Thursday 6th August 2026
The old business course playbooks were written for a world that’s visibly different and rapidly disappearing…
Go freelance. Build a niche. Start a side hustle. Post on social. Most of the advice for building something of your own was designed for a world that AI is rapidly reshaping.
Build Different is a four-week programme for building something real in the world, as it actually is now and for what it is likely to become. But this is no pressure, no hustle-harder, no ‘brutal truths’. It’s clear thinking, real testing, and making your first move, done ‘properly’.
Let me be clear and direct…
A lot of what is sold as “build your own business” was designed for a different moment…Find a niche, build a website, grow an audience, monetise. Some of it still works but none of it answers the question that actually matters now:
What’s genuinely worth building, when AI can already do so much of what people used to pay for?
That’s the question this programme starts with. Not “move fast before it’s too late” — but “think clearly about what’s real, test it properly, and build something that stands the test of time (and AI).”
There’s no urgency manufactured here; the shift is real, and worth responding to. But you respond to it well by thinking clearly, not by panicking and moving faster than everyone else.
This is for you if…
- You’ve been made redundant, or you can see your role changing, and you want to build something of your own — thoughtfully, not reactively.
- You’re a consultant, freelancer, or remote worker whose landscape is shifting, and you want to get ahead of it on your own terms.
- You have an idea but you’re stuck on whether it’s actually worth building — or whether AI changes the answer.
- You don’t have an idea yet, but you want to find one that’s real and worth your energy.
- You want to move forward in the right direction — and test something properly, rather than spend six months planning or rushing into the wrong thing
What we do, over four weeks…
AI runs through every session — not as a separate module, but as a working tool. The question each week isn’t “how does AI work,” it’s “given that AI exists, what’s worth building, and how do we build it well (and can AI help with this)?”
Week 0 — Find your lane (pre-phase)
No idea yet? This is where you start. We’ll work out what you already know that people value, where there’s real demand, and what’s genuinely durable in an AI-shaped world. You’ll arrive at Week 1 with a working hypothesis.
Week 1 — Test before you build
Validation through real conversations, not surveys. Who’s your first customer, in detail? What problem are you solving, and can you say it in one sentence? Your assignment: five real conversations this week.
Week 2 — Build your minimum viable offer
What does the offer look like? How do you price it without undercharging yourself? You’ll build your one-page offer in this session — copy, structure, positioning — using AI as a working tool, with me guiding the judgement calls it can’t make for you.
Week 3 — Get in front of people
How to reach people in a way that sounds like you, not like a bot wrote it. Outreach, handling hesitation, making the offer. This week, you make your first real offer to a real person.
Week 4 — Reflect, refine, build forward
What happened? Open reflection on your results. Thoughtful iteration based on what you learned — and a clear picture of what the next moves look like.
Who’s guiding this?
I’m Lea Jovy. For over two decades I’ve built and rebuilt things — inside global consulting at Accenture, as the co-founder of a venture-backed EdTech company that reached an eight-figure valuation, as the founder of Mission Equality CIC, and as an interim executive brought into organisations that need to change quickly and credibly.
I’ve started from scratch more than once. I’ve built teams, raised funding, closed six-figure deals, and walked away from things that weren’t right. And I’ve spent years helping other people work out what to build and how to actually move on it — not from a slide deck, but from having done it.
Join me for four weeks of working alongside someone who’s been where you are, knows what the first real moves look like, and will help you think clearly rather than rush, out of sheer panic.
Secure your space…
August 2026 Founding Cohort: £497
This is the founding cohort at a founding-cohort price. Future cohorts will be priced higher.
What’s included:
- A pre-phase “Find Your Lane” session for those without an idea yet.
- Four live weekly sessions with me; access to support in between.
- AI woven through every session — frameworks for what to build, and how, that don’t produce generic output.
- Weekly assignments with accountability built in.
- A small cohort — 10 places maximum.
- A 30-day post-cohort check-in call.
- Recordings of all sessions.
Questions & answers
I don’t have an idea yet. Is this still for me?
Yes — that’s exactly why the pre-phase exists. We start with what you already know and find a direction that’s real and durable. You’ll have a working hypothesis before Week 1 begins.
Will I definitely have a client/customer by the end of 4 weeks?
The goal is for you to have made your first real offer and had genuine conversations with potential customers. Whether that converts within four weeks depends on factors no programme can fully control — but you’ll have done the hardest part: actually started, with something real to show for it.
I already know the basics of AI tools. Will this still be useful?
Knowing the tools and knowing how to use them to build something real are different things. The AI element here is about judgement and application, not tutorials.
I’m already freelancing / running something small. Is this too basic?
If you’re established and want to scale what you have, this probably isn’t the right fit. If you’re at the beginning — or starting again — it’s built for you.
How much time does it take each week?
Expect 3–5 hours: the live session plus the weekly assignment. It’s a hands-on programme, not a passive one — you get out what you put in. But it’s designed to fit around a real life, not to take it over.
What if I can’t make a live session?
Live sessions are scheduled to accommodate different time zones. All sessions are recorded. I’d rather you join live where you can — the group dynamic matters — but things happen, and I get that.
What is the ‘hybrid’ option?
If you live local to me, in or around the Brighton/Hove area UK (or want to/can travel), and would like to attend the live sessions in person, this is also an option. Please let me know upon registration; there is no additional charge for this.
One last thing…
10 places. Intentionally small because this works best as a real group of people who are ready to do the work, not collect another bunch of materials you think you’ll get to, eventually.
No countdown timers, no false scarcity. This is a genuine cap on numbers, and an open invitation. If that’s you, I’d love to have you in the room with me.