dreamstorm
Lian Passmore
Storm the Ordinary.
Sometimes the smartest thing I can do is tell you not to build, because I'm not here to sell you something you don't need.
Who I help
I work with small and growing businesses across Aotearoa New Zealand. Many of the owners who come to me are not tech people, and that's exactly who this is for. If you can describe your business, we're away.
The problem I solve
I work out where AI and tech actually fit in your business, and I build it when that's the answer. I help owners who feel they are the constraint on their own growth, who worry that decades of knowledge will walk out the door when a key person retires, who have outgrown the platform they're on, or who simply don't know where to start.
My point of difference
Most people in this work are one or the other. The strategist who sees how it all connects but can't build the thing, or the builder who ships fast but never thinks about the humans on the other end. I'm both, and that's the rare bit. I start with your business, not the tool, and I build with you, not just for you, so your team can run it after I'm gone. And sometimes the smartest thing I can do is talk you out of a build. I'm not here to sell you something you don't need.
My niche market
Small and growing businesses across Aotearoa New Zealand, often led by owners having their first real go at AI and tech.
Key benefits
A free half hour that leaves you knowing your next move, even if the answer is not yet. A straight answer on whether AI fits, where it fits, and what to do about it. Builds that are properly yours, made with you so your team can run them after I'm gone. And the honesty to point you at a free tool, or tell you to wait, when that's the smarter move.
Problems my clients avoid
You avoid being the bottleneck that caps your own growth, losing decades of knowledge when a key person retires, staying stuck on a platform you've outgrown, and spending money on AI you don't actually need.
About
dreamstorm is a strategy studio that also builds. I help small and growing businesses across Aotearoa work out where AI and tech actually fit, and I build it when that's the answer. I came at this from fourteen years designing how people and systems work, then taught myself to build, so I see the people and the business first and the tech second. Sometimes the answer is a custom build that's properly yours, sometimes a tool you already have, sometimes it's not AI at all. Either way, you get told the truth. Roadmaps, an ongoing strategy seat, bespoke builds, and hands-on capability building for owners and teams. Based in Whangārei, working across Aotearoa.
Products and services
AI and technology roadmaps, a clear plan for where tech actually fits your business. An ongoing strategy seat, a thinking partner across the landscape the way you'd keep a fractional CFO. Bespoke builds, custom tools and systems built with you so they're yours to run, including voice-first conversational AI. Capability building, hands-on sessions where owners and teams build something real on their own business and walk out able to do it again without me.
Why I am a member
A lot of the owners I most want to help are women building businesses on their own terms, often the first in their world to have a real go at AI and tech. Being part of this network puts me in the room with them, and with the people who refer them. I also genuinely love connecting with other women building something real, and I rarely have a conversation without sending someone away with a resource, a connection, or a clearer next step.
An offer for you
If you're trying to work out where AI and tech actually fit in your business, I'm happy to have a no-pressure chat, and I'll tell you honestly whether you even need a build or whether there's a simpler answer. I also keep one free Community Hour a month for not-for-profits and community organisations. And if your clients ever ask "do you know someone who actually gets this AI stuff?", I'd love to be the person you send them to. Reach me at lian@dreamstorm.org or text 027 566 8803.
An invitation
Book a free half hour. No pitch, no slides, just a straight answer and your next move.