This is who I am. This is everything I know.
I'm Lucas Sommer — fifteen years building companies, two exits, five running at once across marketing, construction, wine, fintech, and AI. This site is the whole download: the playbooks, the frameworks, the 239 ideas, the truths that actually moved the needle. No course, no paywall, no funnel. Take what's useful and go build something.
The Story So Far
It started with a recording studio in my University of Miami dorm room. That turned into four music companies, then a marketing agency I grew to 13 people and sold. Along the way I planted a vineyard, got a general contractor's license, built a fintech platform, and drove results for brands like Netflix, Circle K, and Benchmade. I learned to run companies the hard way — by hand. Now I'm pointing all of it at one thing: AI agents that do the work — estimating construction jobs, running marketing, screening trades — so the companies run without me. Read the full story →
Everything I know
The exact filter I run every idea through — find the widest gap between what the market pays and what it costs you to deliver. Interactive worksheet included.
Idea bank 239 business ideasEvery idea I've collected, vetted, or jotted down over the years — from full teardowns to one-line seeds. All free to steal.
Principles 8 Core TruthsThe operating principles I've tested across 8 companies, 2 exits, and 15 years. Every decision I make runs through this filter.
Book Monkey BusinessWhy your brain is wired for survival, not building — and how to override the defaults. 20 chapters, from experience.
Tools ResourcesThe tools and frameworks I've built or leaned on, collected in one place. Take them, use them, make them better.
Map Where it all happenedEvery client, project, and place that shaped how I build — fifteen years across the country, on one interactive map.
Projects
Fifteen years of agency work, productized. AI agents run strategy, execution, and reporting against a 103-channel framework — no account manager required.
Licensed Portland GC, 17+ years. Custom homes, ADUs, commercial concrete, remodels — and a software layer that estimates jobs, writes the bid, and generates permit-ready plans automatically.
Estate vineyard in the Chehalem Valley at 750ft elevation. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay crafted by Jacques Tardy, 8th generation Burgundian winemaker. Organic farming, Salmon Safe certified.
The estate wine brand and Airbnb side of the same Chehalem Valley land. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay by Jacques Tardy, distributed via Vinoshipper. Grove farms it; Halem Heights sells it.
Digital marketing agency delivering 400% ROAS for Payless, 7.2x ROAS for Teton Gravity Research, $1M+ new sales for True Blue Car Wash. Clients include Netflix, Circle K, Timberline Lodge, and Benchmade.
Options-only trading platform with proprietary screeners, historical data going back 7 years, IV analysis, and daily algorithmic reports on 400+ stocks. Powered by ThetaData, TradingView, and Google Cloud.
A book on the entrepreneurial mindset. Why your brain is wired for survival, not business — and how to override the defaults. 20 chapters, from experience.
Shipping now
Turns a structured project spec into a full permit-ready construction submittal — cover sheet through structural calcs. A real Portland project already shipped through it.
AI-assisted construction estimating. Scope goes in; a priced bid and a client portal come out.
An AI platform that builds and runs a small business's entire web presence. The agency, productized.
Automated ETF research and tracking — screeners and daily reports, no analyst required.
A discovery and editing platform for the things worth keeping.
A UI for authoring Claude Code skills — the tooling layer under everything else here.
Even this site is a system — built end-to-end in Claude Code.
What Clients Say
"I have truly enjoyed working with your team. You've been brilliant."
Cheri Bernard, Sr. Manager Global Marketing — Payless ShoeSource
"We have 12 lawyers and the phone rings daily with inquiries. I attribute that to the marketing we started with you which has grown over the last decade plus."
Ad-Apt Client — Law Firm
"My whole internet marketing world changed after I used Ad-Apt. I literally trust them with my life and there is no one else I would want helping me online."
Ad-Apt Client