Meet the founder
Founder, Smoke Signal Intelligence LLC · Based near Hershey, Pennsylvania
I founded Smoke Signal Intelligence LLC to help businesses reduce busywork with practical AI, automation, websites and custom tools. My role is hands-on: understand the workflow, shape the right improvement, build the useful version and document the handoff.
My background spans insurance, mortgage lending, payments software, medical devices and operations-heavy service work. That experience matters because the hardest part is rarely the technology alone; it is understanding the handoffs, customer follow-up, staff review and exceptions around the work.
I have also built applications and operational automations, including budgeting and review workflows, information-filtering concepts and smaller administrative tools. Work developed during employment is distinct from independently owned products and outside consulting engagements.
MIT Professional Education
Completed MIT Professional Education's Applied Agentic AI for Organizational Transformation program.
Bloomsburg University
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Career experience is included to explain the business problems Derrek understands, while employer identities remain private.
The experience behind the approach
Insurance
Insurance agent
Sold auto, home and life insurance and earned national Rising Star recognition as a sales intern. Built experience explaining options, asking better questions and guiding customer conversations.
Mortgage lending
Branch manager and mortgage loan originator
Improved processing workflows, opened a branch in Hershey and managed a team of loan officers. Hired and trained the employee who went on to run the office.
Payments software
Payments software account executive
Top-performing account executive in sales and account retention. Presented platform demonstrations and cost-benefit analyses around customers' operational needs.
Medical devices
Medical-device territory manager Previously associate territory manager
Managed LifeVest accounts and trained hospital and office staff on ordering requirements and the patient-management system. Experience turning complex information into practical staff education.
Founder-led consulting
I do not start with a tool and force your business into it. I start with the repetitive work, the handoffs, the people who touch the process and the reason it matters.
Sometimes AI is the right fit. Sometimes the better answer is a clearer template, a better website path, a reminder process or a small automation that connects what you already use.
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