Consulting
Obsidian, AI, and the new way of working.
$250/hr. Pick a time, pay to confirm.
2026 will be seen as the early phase of a fundamental shift in how knowledge work is done.
The convergence of generative AI and file-first computing is creating a new way of working. System 3 builds advanced workflows that accelerate our own product development, and we enjoy going 'forward-deployed' with clients to sharpen our tools on other people's problems.
We support:
- Established businesses moving from legacy tools to the Obsidian world (more precisely the Unix world). We implement for you when that's the best way to get you going.
- Startups standing up future-friendly knowledge management and collaboration systems.
- Individuals and teams who want to go deep on AI-augmented work.
Since 2020 there's been a growing movement around local-first software and tools like Obsidian. People want privacy, sovereignty, and control. It's a return to the Unix philosophy: small programs that do one thing well, text files as the universal interface. This turns out to matter a lot for AI — text is what models work with. If your knowledge lives in plain text files, AI can read it, search it, and act on it. If it's locked in a proprietary database, you're limited to whatever features the vendor ships.
The Toolbuilder Mindset
The cost of software is trending to zero, and everyone is a builder now. We get you flying with current-best tools like Claude Code and Zed.
Sovereign Architecture
Obsidian marks a return to the Unix philosophy: text as the universal interface, and small composable programs. We help you migrate from SaaS silos to a fully sovereign tool stack.
Context Orchestration
Your files are the shared context layer for your team and your AI tools. We help you structure your knowledge base so human and AI agents alike can read, improve, and act on it.
How we work
Book the first hour
Schedule your first ($250). We'll exchange a few emails beforehand to establish goals so we can hit the ground running.
The session
We'll dig into your situation and needs. Current stack and workflows, pains and problems, and where you want to be. You come out with clarity about what to do next.
Retainer
If there's a fit for ongoing work, we sell pre-paid blocks of 5 hours at the same rate. We can serve as advisor and sounding board, or go in and implement for you.
Who you'll work with
Matt O'Brien
Matt leads the consulting practice. He has been building high-tech products since 2008 at companies like Meta AI, Big Health, and Lumosity. He specializes in product strategy, AI workflows, and knowledge system architecture.
Daniel Grossmann-Kavanagh
Dan joins for deep technical architecture and engineering strategy. He previously built platforms and managed the world's largest fleet of satellites at companies like Benchling and Planet.
For hands-on implementation work, we have a specialist who handles Obsidian architecture, system design, and development.