Security and practical AI for small businesses
Keep your business safe.
Make everyday work easier.
I help small businesses protect the information their customers trust them with, train their teams and save time with practical tools and AI. In plain English, starting with how your business actually runs.
Looking for help just for yourself or your family? 1-on-1 sessions
Sound familiar?
Most small businesses have the same two worries.
Keeping information safe
- You keep customer names, emails, payment details or records, and you're not sure who can see them.
- Someone who left the business might still be able to sign in to an account.
- Your team uses AI tools, and nobody has agreed what's okay to paste into them.
- A convincing fake email or text is one click away from your inbox.
Getting the work done
- You answer the same questions, or explain the same steps, again and again.
- Information gets copied by hand from one tool to another.
- Inquiries and follow-ups slip through because it all depends on memory.
- Your website looks fine but doesn't bring in many inquiries.
You don't need to have the answer figured out before we talk. We start with the problem, your goals and what's already working.
Services
01 · Protect
Look after your business and your customers' information
Customers trust you with their details. I help you understand where that information lives, close the obvious gaps and give your team simple habits that stick.
Customer data check-up
We walk through where customer and business information is kept, who can reach it and which settings matter. You get a short, prioritized list of fixes in plain English, and help making them.
Security workshops for your team
A hands-on session for staff: spotting scam emails, texts and calls, using a password manager and sign-in codes, and what's safe to share with AI tools.
Accounts and access
A simple routine for giving new people the access they need, and removing it when someone leaves.
Safe AI use guidelines
Clear, short rules your team can follow when using ChatGPT and similar tools with business information.
This is practical review and improvement work. It is not a formal audit, certification, penetration test or legal advice.
02 · Simplify & grow
Spend less time on repetitive work, and help customers find you
Once we know how your business runs, we pick one useful improvement, set it up properly and make sure your team is comfortable using it.
Automation and custom tools
Automate repetitive admin, connect tools that don't talk to each other, or build a simple custom tool, such as an onboarding guide for new staff, when off-the-shelf software doesn't fit.
Websites that help customers act
Build a new site or improve the one you have: a clearer message, a site that works well on phones and an easy next step for visitors.
Being found on Google and in AI answers
Make sure search engines and AI assistants like ChatGPT have clear, accurate information about what you do and who you help.
Training on new tools
Short, practical sessions so your team actually uses what we set up, plus simple written guides to come back to.
How it works
One useful improvement at a time.
Sometimes the best answer is a settings change or a simpler process, not new software or AI. Whatever we do, we agree up front how we'll know it helped.
01
Understand
We talk about how your business works, the tools you use, where time goes and what information you handle.
02
Prioritize
We pick the improvement most worth doing first, weighing value, effort, cost and risk.
03
Implement
I set up the right tools or build what's missing, then help your team use it with confidence.
04
Measure
We compare against where we started and decide what deserves attention next.
About
Hi, I'm Anastasia.
Anastasia Blodgett, founder of 17hands.ai
I've spent more than 12 years building software. I studied Computer Science at UC Berkeley, built tools for real estate agents at Trulia and Zillow, shipped apps for clients like MLB and MasterClass as part of a small consulting team, and spent six years at UnitedHealth Group on the UnitedHealthcare mobile app, used by millions of members. Along the way I've also consulted for early-stage founders, helping them scope ideas and turn them into shipped products.
In healthcare, protecting people's information isn't optional. I was the security advocate on my team, building sign-in, encryption and secure storage, and later led engineering teams that worked hand in hand with security and privacy partners. What I learned: good security is mostly clear habits that people actually follow.
Small businesses deserve that same care, without the hype, the enterprise price tag or the jargon. The focus is always on what makes sense for your business, not technology for technology's sake. I'm hands-on with AI every day, prototyping tools and testing what's genuinely useful, and I believe AI should come with guardrails and a human in the loop. That's what "AI systems with a human touch" means to me.
I also love teaching. I co-founded two women-in-engineering groups, mentored more than 15 engineers, and now run security workshops that help people spot scams and use technology with confidence.
- building software
- 12+ years
- building software
- of members on apps I built and led
- Millions
- of members on apps I built and led
- Computer Science
- UC Berkeley
- Computer Science
- engineers led
- Up to 14
- engineers led
For individuals
Not a business? I help people too.
A 1-on-1 session to make your phone, passwords and accounts safer, for you or someone in your family.
Do I need to know exactly what I want before we talk?
No. Tell me what feels slow, risky or confusing. We start with the problem and how your business runs today, then look at options together.
Is this only about AI?
No. Sometimes the right answer is a settings change, a simpler process or better use of a tool you already pay for. AI is one option, not the goal.
We hold customer information. Can you help us look after it?
Yes. We look at where that information is kept, who can reach it and which settings and habits matter most, then fix the most important things first. This is practical review and improvement work, not a formal audit, certification or legal advice.
What happens in a staff security workshop?
A hands-on session for your team, tailored to the tools you use. Typical topics are spotting scam emails, texts and calls, using a password manager and sign-in codes, and what is and isn't safe to share with AI tools.
Can you work with the tools we already use?
Yes. I look at your current tools first. What they can do, what access we have, cost and practical limits all shape the recommendation.
Let's find your best first step.
Tell me how your business works and what worries you or slows you down. We'll talk about a practical place to start.
Book a call (opens in a new tab)