From manual tasks to automated insights
When Johan Finnerman joined Vend’s Builder program, he was looking for a way to learn by doing. Today, he is building automations that turn complex data into practical tools for colleagues across the company.
“I was inspired by the first cohort’s ability to build and learn,” Johan says. “It sounded like a great community and a chance to learn a ton by doing.”
Johan works as a Business Developer in Sales Insights, where his role is to connect data insights with the needs of different business areas, including Real Estate, Recommerce, and Advertising.
“My role is to bridge the gap between our data insights and making them practical and actionable for different verticals like Real Estate, Recommerce, and Advertising,” he explains.
From a simple script to workflow automation
His own journey into automation started with a simple but impactful use case: reducing manual work in advertising campaigns.
“My journey started with a Python script (built with the help of ChatGPT) to automate manual advertising campaign tasks,” Johan says. “Building that tool opened the gate to n8n, APIs, and a more efficient way of working.”
Since then, Johan has built workflows that are now used internally to help teams save time and surface better insights. One project he is particularly proud of is an automated reporting workflow for the Real Estate business.
Turning data into actionable insights
The challenge was familiar: valuable data existed, but turning it into actionable insights required significant manual effort.
“We had plenty of ‘insight nuggets’ in our Real Estate data, but it was too time-consuming to analyse them into a holistic, actionable view,” Johan says. “We needed a way to make those insights available without Account Managers spending hours on manual work.”
The solution was an end-to-end workflow that automates the entire reporting process.
“I think it hits the ‘sweet spot’: reliable, pre-calculated data combined with an LLM’s writing skills,” Johan says. “The feedback has been great, Account Managers are getting high-value insights delivered on a silver platter.”
Building confidence through experimentation
For Johan, the impact goes beyond efficiency gains. Building workflows has also changed the way he approaches projects and problem-solving.
“It’s a ton of fun to see a workflow finally ‘click’ and deliver results,” he says. “Beyond that, it’s unlocked the world of programming – understanding APIs and JSON – and made me much stronger at scoping projects.”
The tools he has built are already helping multiple parts of the organisation, including “Advertising Pulse,” a workflow that gives the Chief Sales Officer daily curated sales visibility, alongside the Real Estate reporting solution.
“Seeing these tools actually solve daily pain points for my colleagues feels great!” Johan says.
Creating the right environment for AI learning
Looking ahead, Johan believes organisations need to make experimentation accessible if they want more employees to build confidently with AI and automation.
“The Builder program at Vend is a great example,” he says. “It focuses on hands-on learning mixed with inspiration and practical guidelines, which I believe is what’s needed to help people over that initial ‘complexity hurdle.’”
He believes the key is giving people both practical tools and the confidence to experiment.
“Once someone uses AI to build their first solution/automation and sees it actually work, the creativity starts to flow naturally,” Johan says. “I believe it’s all about giving people the right tools, the space to experiment, and the permission to ‘fail’ in order to learn.”