After years of navigating burnout as a single mom and business operator, Dejerae Trujillo launched NVZN to solve a problem she lived firsthand: businesses running on invisible systems that drain time, energy, and family life. Rather than chasing efficiency for efficiency’s sake, NVZN is built around sustainability—documenting real workflows, automating only what steals capacity, and protecting space for human creativity and connection. With a focus on reclaiming time, preventing burnout, and helping owners step out of daily bottlenecks, NVZN positions automation not as a pressure to “do more,” but as a safeguard for what matters most.
Hi Dejerae, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with our readers. You’ve just launched NVZN, an AI automation and marketing studio built to help businesses reclaim time and reduce burnout. Looking back, what moment or realization made you decide it was time to turn this idea into a company of your own?
I spent years running businesses as a single mom, burnt out and trying to hold it all together. Real estate ran my life for several years. What began as a career I got into specifically for flexibility so I could raise my son ended up being the exact reason I was unable to be mentally present for him at times. And that was never the dream.
That contradiction stayed with me. When I moved into running commercial roofing operations, I saw the same pattern everywhere: talented business owners trapped in their inboxes, buried under manual processes that had nothing to do with why they started their companies. We were spending 60% of our time on administrative work that could be systematized – time that should have been spent building relationships and delivering exceptional service.
I’d see owners working until midnight, not because their business was complex, but because their systems were. When I started exploring AI automation, I saw the potential to give that time back not just to them, but to their families, to the moments that actually matter.
But what really pushed me to launch NVZN was recognizing that most automation agencies were solving for efficiency metrics, not for human sustainability. They were helping businesses do more, not helping business owners live better. I wanted to build something different, a company that treats reclaiming your time and preventing burnout as the actual measure of success. Because I know what it costs when you can’t. I’ve lived it. And I’m building NVZN so other people don’t have to.
You describe NVZN as a “human-first” approach to AI and automation, which can feel counterintuitive in a tech-driven space. How do you balance efficiency and growth with empathy, intention, and real human needs in the solutions you build?
Here’s what most people get wrong about AI: they think it’s here to replace humans. I believe the opposite. AI is most powerful when it handles the repetitive, soul-draining work so humans can focus on what only we can do – build relationships, create art, understand nuance, make people feel seen.
Marketing still relies heavily on emotional response, and you can’t automate genuine connection. That’s why I still work with graphic designers who create visually compelling work, and why our messaging comes from real human experience – someone who’s been through the process and understands the frustration, not just the data points.
At NVZN, we don’t automate everything. We automate strategically. We ask: what’s stealing your energy without adding value? What tasks are keeping you from the work that actually moves your business forward? Then we build systems that handle those pieces while protecting space for human creativity, strategic thinking, and relationship building. The goal isn’t to “do more.” It’s to do what matters, with intention.
Before starting NVZN, you spent years working within service-based businesses and seeing firsthand where time and energy were being lost. What patterns did you notice most often, and how did those experiences shape the way you designed your offerings?
The biggest pattern wasn’t a technology problem – it was that most businesses were running entirely on institutional knowledge that lived in someone’s head. There were no documented processes. No written workflows. Just “we’ve always done it this way” and people making it up as they went along.
And look, that system works. I’ve seen it work for years. But it’s also the system that keeps you answering your phone on vacation. It’s what makes you the bottleneck in every decision because no one else knows how to handle it. It’s why you can’t delegate, can’t scale, and can’t step away even for a weekend because the business only runs when you’re running it.
These owners weren’t failing. They were succeeding despite having no infrastructure. But they were paying for that success with their time, their energy, and their freedom. They were stuck working in their business with no capacity to work on it.
That’s what shaped how we built NVZN. We don’t just implement automation tools we start by documenting the invisible processes that are running your business. We pull what’s in your head out into systems that can run without you. Because you can’t automate what isn’t defined, and you can’t scale what only exists in one person’s memory.
Our approach is about creating that foundation first. Once we map how your business actually operates – not how you wish it operated then we can build automation that works with your reality. That’s how you go from being the person who has to be there for everything to being the person who can finally take a real vacation.
You mentioned that NVZN is stepping out of a behind-the-scenes phase and becoming more visible in the community. What’s been most exciting — or most challenging — about putting the brand front and center at this stage?
The most exciting part is the traction we got immediately. This was a complete transition from my previous world in real estate and roofing, so getting companies to trust me with their business this quickly? That’s an honor I don’t take lightly.
I also love how fast this industry moves. Every day there are new capabilities I can bring to my clients. They’re not getting what I knew six months ago they’re growing with me as the technology evolves. That keeps the work exciting for both of us.
The biggest challenge is my operations background. I want every system perfect before I show anyone. But I’m learning that visibility creates opportunities you can’t plan for, and waiting for perfect means missing them.
The other challenge is the fear factor. People hear “AI” and think “replacement.” I spend a lot of time reframing that conversation – this isn’t about elimination, it’s about getting your life back while growing your business. That’s a message that takes repetition to land.
Burnout is a growing issue for small and mid-sized business owners. In your view, how can automation be used as a tool for sustainability rather than just another layer of pressure to “do more”?
This is the most important question because automation done wrong absolutely becomes another thing to manage. I’ve seen companies implement new tools without proper integration, and now they’re juggling both the old manual process and a system that doesn’t work.
Automation becomes sustainable when you design it around your capacity, not your ambition. We don’t start with “what else could you be doing?” We start with “what do you need to stop doing?” What email doesn’t need a response? What update can auto-generate? What follow-up can happen without you thinking about it?
That’s why we offer end-to-end systems at NVZN. I don’t want to create lead magnets and generate more leads for you when you already don’t have the bandwidth to follow up with the ones you have. That’s counterproductive. Once we have those foundational systems in place – once you can actually handle your current workload without drowning then we work on growth. But until that foundation is set, we’re not adding more.
For me, my family time is non-negotiable. My systems are built to protect that. Real sustainability means automation works in the background while you’re living your life – not creating more tasks for you to monitor.
The shift happens when you stop seeing automation as a way to increase output and start seeing it as protection. Protection for your energy, your time with family, your ability to think strategically instead of just react. It’s not about doing more. It’s about reclaiming what matters.
As you continue to expand NVZN and its impact, what does success look like to you in this next chapter — both for the business and for the people you serve?
For NVZN, success means becoming the solution for service-based businesses who know they need to grow but refuse to sacrifice their lives to do it. I want to be the agency people call when they’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and ready for a different way.
Practically, that means building proven systems we can implement quickly and scale efficiently. It means growing a team that shares this human-first approach and understands that behind every automation request is someone who’s burned out.
For my clients, success is personal. I want them to stop feeling owned by their business. I want them to take real vacations without checking email. I want them to make it to their kid’s game on a Tuesday afternoon. I want them to have the mental space to think strategically instead of just surviving the day.
If we do this right, in a year I’ll have clients telling me they finally feel like they’re running their business instead of their business running them. Not just bigger revenue numbers – though those will come – but real life change. Being present. Having capacity. Loving their work again because they’re doing the parts that matter.
That’s the impact I’m building for. Because I know what it’s like to miss those moments. And I’m making sure other people don’t have to.
