Preston Schlagheck

I build AI systems that ship to production and pay for themselves.
Preston Schlagheck
I build AI systems that ship to production and pay for themselves.

Co-founder & lead engineer at DPJ Media, where I built Diffuse. Co-founder & AI strategy consultant at CogNodes. Joining Direct Journeyline Holdings as an AI Strategy & Automations Intern. Finance & Business Analytics at the Darla Moore School of Business, USC, class of 2028.
The Stack I Build With
Where I’ve Worked
Building LLM agent architectures and automation pipelines for KPI reporting, construction budget management, and executive workflow tooling across a multi-company holding portfolio. Running competitive market analysis and authoring executive presentations for portfolio leadership.
Built and deployed Diffuse, a proprietary AI content platform converting audio, documents, and public records into publication-ready articles with automated CMS publishing in under five minutes. Architected multi-tenant infrastructure with organization workspaces, member roles, and plan gating. 25,000+ monthly readers; profitable within four months.
Run end-to-end consulting engagements for paying clients across SaaS, e-commerce, and professional services - discovery, quantitative analysis, product roadmaps, and go-to-market. Ship custom AI automation systems, API integrations, and production full-stack products.
Designed and deployed LLM agent workflows using n8n and OpenAI APIs, automating document drafting and operational tasks across finance, compliance, and operations - cutting turnaround time 35% and drafting time 20%, adopted across technical and non-technical teams.
Lead executive board operations and IFC compliance programming for USC's largest chapter - #1 GPA ranking out of 23 IFC fraternities - overseeing operating budget, recruitment pipeline, and risk compliance across 230+ active members.
Managed a $23,000 student investment portfolio (+12% over 3 months, +18% over 12 months) through financial modeling, sector research, and analyst team leadership. Ran weekly investment-committee meetings with 12 analysts evaluating equity pitches via DCF defense.
Selected Work
Production systems and interfaces I’ve designed and shipped. Select any project to see the build, the stack, and the outcomes.
Diffuse
A proprietary AI platform that turns audio, documents, and public records into publication-ready articles in under five minutes.
CogNodes
A conversion-focused sales platform and brand system for an AI consultancy.
Direct Journeyline Holdings
A corporate site and brand refresh for a multi-company logistics and construction holding group.

Biomedical Literature Review Generator
An n8n workflow that retrieves peer-reviewed literature and drafts format-conformant review articles.
Education & Certifications
B.S. Business Administration
Finance & Business Analytics. GPA 3.79 / 4.00. President’s List, Dean’s List.
UBS M&A Finance Accelerator
UBS-partnered M&A simulation covering deal structuring, financial modeling, and valuation.