BrainTrust Partners, an Austin-based firm that helps brands navigate the AI era, has become the founding title sponsor of the YOU × AI Summit, Waco's first artificial intelligence conference. The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT at the Performing Arts & Community Center in downtown Waco.
The summit aims to provide business owners and professionals with practical insights on how to use AI effectively, from data readiness to applied generative AI systems. Tim Hayden, CEO of BrainTrust Partners, will take the main stage at 9:50 a.m. with his talk, "Your Data, Your AI, and Your Future." Hayden's presentation will focus on how companies can evaluate their current operations and identify use cases before making additional AI investments. He emphasizes that many businesses have untapped intelligence within their data, which represents their brand DNA and can shape AI to speak in their brand voice.
Hayden founded BrainTrust Partners in 2016 to help companies structure and make sense of their data for personalization and improved analytics. He notes that a decade later, many companies still haven't fully resolved, unified, structured, and labeled their data, which is critical for AI to work effectively. "Skip it, and it's going to cost you much more in budget and accuracy to use any AI," he warns.
Hayden also cautions against relying solely on enterprise AI subscriptions like ChatGPT or Claude. He points out that open-weight models can be trained on a company's own data, run privately, and cost a fraction of the price. "There's no reason why you have to look at ChatGPT or Claude to run everything," he explains.
The summit will feature 23 speakers across four concurrent tracks: Build, Get Found, Sound Like You, and AI Safety. The day opens with Bryan Eisenberg, a Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author who helped coin the term "conversion rate optimization." His keynote, "Before the Algorithm, There Was Your Story. That Hasn't Changed," is scheduled for 8:20 a.m. Eisenberg's session description notes, "People don't buy rates. They buy stories they can see themselves in."
Dr. Hope Koch will deliver the closing session at 4:05 p.m. Koch holds the Godfrey Sullivan Endowed Chair of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business and was appointed to the Texas Artificial Intelligence Council by the Lieutenant Governor. Her talk, titled "HOPE," for Human Opportunity and a Period of Exponential Change, aims to help people without technical backgrounds turn their business knowledge into working AI tools.
Several sessions highlight practical applications. Joseph Scaramucci of Skull Games Solutions will discuss "AI, Crime & Community: What You Need to Know." Dariia Isyk of AdmitAI will present "Beating Admission Inflation: How We Built an AI Mentor for Every Student." Dr. Mito Diaz-Espinoza of the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will speak on "From the Pen to the Prompt: Making AI Work for You." Other speakers include Sara Lohse of Branded Media, Russ Henneberry of theCLICK.ai, Tommy Landry of Return On Now, and Chrissy McDannell of The AI Implementation Club, who will lead a hands-on session where attendees build an AI assistant.
The summit's name includes a multiplication sign to emphasize a key message from co-organizer Fernando Labastida, founder of the Viral Genius Institute. "Most people think AI is the great equalizer," he says. "It's a multiplier, and multipliers widen gaps. A business with nothing to say brings a 1, and AI takes it to 2. The competitor with a real point of view brings a 10, and the same AI takes them to 20. Same tools. Bigger gap."
The summit is produced by the Viral Genius Institute and Rogue Media Network, with presenting sponsor BrainTrust Partners. Tickets are $99, with a discounted rate of $69 per seat for teams of 10 or more through September 10. Session recordings are available as a $99 add-on. Registration is available at youxai.live.
