Build Your First AI Agent in One Afternoon
An open-source AI agent framework from Nous Research, hosted by The Grey Studio.
There's always more to build. That's why you're here. There's always more to learn.
Most workshops teach you to use a tool. You leave with a login and a demo you half-remember.
This one ends with a working AI agent you built yourself — including one that runs real sales outreach.
What actually separates Hermes from a chatbot or coding copilot, probabilistic reasoning vs. deterministic execution, and a safe install and configuration in a cloud environment.
Operating Hermes from the command line and connected messaging platforms. How memory, context, tools, and skills let it improve over time, and connecting external systems via MCP.
A complete agent workflow from initial prompting through to automated reporting — built by hand, with credentials and permissions managed safely along the way.
A working AI Sales Development Rep that researches prospects, preps outreach, and runs real workflows end to end — plus a framework for deciding what to hand to an agent, and what to keep doing yourself.
All four hours, coached directly at a 1:12 ratio — not lectured at.
Anyone exploring AI automation for their career, business, or team, ready to move beyond theory and build a working agent. This is hands-on and moderately technical — you'll be working in a command line, setting up accounts, and configuring a real system, not just watching a demo.
You're looking for a certificate or a tool tour. You've never opened a terminal and aren't up for a steep first step. No prior experience with Hermes or AI agents required — but this isn't zero-technical-background either.
A laptop (macOS, Linux, or Windows with WSL2). Comfort following command-line instructions and editing config values. A stable internet connection and the ability to sign up for an account or two on the day — you'll be coached through it.
Not a scripted tutorial. You're coached directly, at a 1:12 trainer-to-participant ratio, by someone who's built this exact kind of system before — not someone reading slides for the first time alongside you.
"Bridging the gap between complex AI architecture and real-world business value through high-impact, participatory learning."
Over 30 years in software engineering, data science, DevOps, and digital strategy — including a past role as Strategic Advisor and Technical Consultant for Singapore's national AI program. A graduate of AI Singapore's AI Apprenticeship Programme and a certified AI Engineer Associate, Ahmad has run 15+ AI Discovery Workshops, turning vague business problems into structured technical roadmaps for C-suite executives and engineering teams alike. His approach is hands-on and participatory by design — the same coaching style you'll get in this session.
You build the agent yourself, on your own laptop — not a demo watched from the back row.
A working AI SDR by the end of the session — researching prospects and running real outreach, not simulated.
1:12 ratio means questions get answered in the moment, not queued for after the session.
"No performance. Just build. Speaks in outcomes, not slides. Tech experts who've also run businesses. That combination is why it ships."
First-time agent configuration occasionally needs a second pass — that's normal, and part of what the coaching is for.
In one afternoon, you'll install and run your own working AI agent using Hermes — including a working AI Sales Development Rep that runs real outreach. No prior experience with Hermes or AI agents required, but this is hands-on and moderately technical — you'll be working in a command line, not just watching a demo.
"If your AI SDR started work Monday — what would you stop doing?"
That's the question this session is really about. Not the install — what changes once it's running.
The Grey Studio is a practitioner-led AI training studio — built on one idea: most AI training teaches a tool, and the tool gets replaced. We teach the shape underneath, the one that stays true no matter what technology sits on top of it.
We call the people behind it operators — not because it sounds impressive, but because it's accurate. Tech experts who've also run businesses. That combination — deep enough in the tech to build it, close enough to the business to know why it matters — is why what we build actually ships.
No performance. Just build — with you, and for you. Speaks in outcomes, not slides.