About Fox Valley AI
Built by a Guy Tired of Watching Small Businesses Get Burned
You’ve hired the designer. Paid the marketing guy. Sat through the pitch. Got the invoice. Then nothing else.
Fox Valley AI started because someone needed to actually fix that. Not talk about fixing it. Fix it.
When you work with us, you work with Shawn, the founder. Not a sales team. Not an account manager reading from a script. The person who built this company and builds your system.
How This Started
The Short Version
Over a decade ago, I helped a family member take their business online. Built the site. Set up the marketing. Figured out what actually brought in leads. No fancy agency. Just someone who cared enough to learn what worked and throw out what didn’t.
That experience stuck with me. I kept seeing the same pattern everywhere: small business owners, contractors, accountants, restaurants, getting sold expensive websites and marketing packages that looked pretty but did nothing for their bottom line.
When AI started becoming something real, not just sci-fi hype, I saw the opportunity to do things differently. The tools now exist to build smarter websites, automate the follow-up where most businesses drop the ball, and actually generate real leads without a massive budget.
The problem? Most small business owners don’t have time to figure this stuff out. They’re running their business, answering calls, bidding jobs. They need someone who speaks their language, not someone trying to upsell them on some “digital transformation strategy.”
So I built Fox Valley AI to be the company I wish existed for every local business owner who’s been burned before. Straightforward pricing, real results, and someone who actually gives a damn.
Real clients. Real relationships.
With long-time client David “Moe” VanZeeland, owner of Axon Hillock Signcrafters. A partnership that started years ago and is still going strong.
The Path Here
Not an Overnight Thing
Every skill I bring to your project was earned the hard way. By building, breaking, and rebuilding things until they worked.
THE EARLY DAYS
Learned by Doing
Helped a family business get online and discovered I had a knack for building things that actually bring in customers. Not just things that look nice in a portfolio. Dove deep into web development, design, and digital marketing through years of hands-on work.
THE REALIZATION
Saw the Gap
BNI groups. Chamber events. Networking breakfasts. Rooms full of hardworking business owners trying to figure out how to get found online. They just needed someone to show them the way. So I started presenting, walking business owners through the basics. What SEO actually means. Why their website isn’t showing up on Google. What “digital marketing” looks like when you strip away the buzzwords.
That’s when it clicked. The problem wasn’t that these business owners didn’t care about marketing. They cared plenty. The problem was that the people they were hiring didn’t care about results. They’d ship the website. Send the report. Cash the check. Move on.
Teaching local business owners about SEO and marketing. Years before Fox Valley AI existed.
How We Work
What You Can Expect
No mission statements or corporate values posters. Just how we actually run this business.
No Runaround. No Waiting.
You reach out. You get me. No getting bounced around. Just someone who actually knows you and your project. Seven days a week. Because you don’t stop being a business owner on Saturday.
Results First. Always.
We don’t build things to win design awards. Every page, every automation, every tool we set up has one job: bring you more customers or save you time. If it doesn’t do that, we don’t recommend it.
No B.S.
If something won’t work for your business, we’ll tell you. If there’s a cheaper solution that gets the job done, we’ll point you to it. We’d rather earn your trust and keep your business than make a quick buck.
Built for Your Business
We work with small business owners too busy running their business to be techies. We understand your customers, your busy seasons, and what it takes to stand out when everyone claims they’re “the best.”
AI That Makes Sense
No buzzwords. Just AI tools that solve real problems. Like following up with leads at 2 AM when you’re asleep. Or making your website actually answer customer questions before they call your competitor.
No Disappearing Act
Your project doesn’t end at launch. We stick around because your website should grow with your business. You’ll always know where to find us. We’re right here in the Fox Valley.
Local Business, Local Roots
Your Neighbor, Not a Stranger on the Internet
Fox Valley AI is based in Appleton, Wisconsin. By choice. Not because we ended up here. Because this is home.
There’s something different about working with someone local. Someone you can grab coffee with and actually talk about your business and goals. Someone who’s not going to vanish after the invoice clears. Someone who actually cares if your phone rings.
We serve businesses across the Fox Valley and surrounding areas. And we’re not going anywhere.
Ready to Get Started?
You’ve Read Enough. Let’s Talk.
Just a conversation. That’s it.
