What Does a Custom AI Development Company Need to Start?

[RemoteState]

Trying to get my ducks in a row before our kickoff call next week and honestly not sure what to bring to the table.

We just signed with a custom AI development company for a churn prediction model and their onboarding email basically said "let's hop on a call to discuss requirements." Cool but requirements based on what exactly? I've never done this before and I don't want to show up unprepared and waste everyone's time, ours included since we're paying by the hour for discovery.

Anyone who's worked with a custom AI development company in USA before, what did they actually ask you for in those early stages? Trying to get a head start.

What People Are Saying You Should Have Ready​

Posted a similar question in another group and got some solid replies, compiling them here since it might help others too:

• Access to at least a sample of your actual data, not a description of it, because vague explanations waste the first two calls
• A clear list of what success looks like in numbers, not just "we want better predictions" but an actual target metric
• Whoever knows your business logic best should be in that first call, not just the technical lead, because custom AI development services need business context as much as data
• Documentation of your existing tech stack even if it's messy, a real custom AI development company would rather see the mess than a cleaned up version that hides real constraints
• A rough budget range upfront saves everyone time because it shapes what solutions even make sense to propose
• Know your timeline pressure points in advance, like if there's a board meeting or launch date driving urgency, since that changes how a custom AI development company in USA scopes the work

Getting Ready Now​

Pulling together a data sample and writing down our actual success metrics before the call. Feels obvious in hindsight but wasn't clear to me going in. If anyone has other stuff they wish they'd prepared before working with a custom AI development company, drop it below, trying to make this first call count.