I turn ideas into running businesses. Lately, I do it with AI.
I'm Todd McGuire. I operate a group of security companies: executive protection, M&A advisory, licensing and compliance. The back office runs on AI systems I built myself, from invoicing to deal diligence. Everything I teach is running in production today, not in a demo.
Get the letter
Proof
The receipts
Most people teaching AI have never run a payroll. Here is what I actually operate, and what the systems actually do.
The companies
- DAW Special Projects. Executive protection, secure transportation, and travel logistics for family offices, corporations, and Fortune 500 executive travel. Licensed in 7 states, operating in 30+ U.S. markets.
- DAW Security Advisors. Sell-side M&A advisory for security guard companies, plus licensing and compliance advisory for owners entering or expanding in the industry.
- DAW Security Inc. The licensed guard services entity the brands run under. Compliance is the foundation, not an afterthought.
- Elevated Applications Group. The training and technology company behind all of it: software, training, protection.
What the AI systems do
These are not experiments. This is the operating layer of the companies above.
- Runs the mission lifecycle. The Ops Center takes a job from new lead to paid invoice: client setup, scheduling, agent offers, hours verification, invoicing, QuickBooks export.
- Handles the back office. AI agents prep payroll, chase receivables, draft invoices, and flag what needs my eyes instead of doing data entry for me.
- Works the pipeline. Lead intake, CRM upkeep, prospect research, and campaign tracking run on agents, so follow-up happens without me opening a spreadsheet.
- Supports the deals. On the M&A side, agents are built to gather diligence documents, track what's outstanding, and assemble the working files behind valuations and deal sheets.
When I show you a system on camera, it is the same one that ran my business that morning.
Work with me
Where are you coming from?
I'm in the security industry
You run, manage, or work in a guarding, EP, or investigations business. I have three ways to help.
- Thinking about selling your company? DAW Security Advisors handles sell-side M&A for security guard companies: valuation, positioning, buyer outreach, and getting you to close.
- Need licensing or compliance handled? Designated Officer and Qualified Manager services, plus business-in-a-box launches for owners entering a new state.
- Need executive protection or secure transport delivered? DAW Special Projects covers EP, security drivers, and travel logistics across 30+ U.S. markets.
I run a different business
You are not in security. You run a service business, and you keep hearing AI will change everything but nobody shows you how it works on a real company with real payroll and real customers.
That is what I do. I use my own companies as the demonstration: the systems, the mistakes, the fixes, and what actually moved the numbers. Plain language, no computer science degree required.
- Learn the fundamentals from someone who runs on them daily.
- See full builds, start to finish, on a real business.
- Bring the patterns back to your own operation.
- Rather have it built for you? Elevated Applications Group takes consulting engagements for owners who want the systems installed, not just explained.
Learn
Watch me build, then build your own
Every week on YouTube I take a real problem from one of my companies and solve it on camera with AI. Broken invoicing. Payroll prep that ate a day. A lead pipeline that leaked. You see the problem, the build, and the result, in language any owner can follow.
Three kinds of videos:
- Build with me. A real business problem, solved on camera, start to finish.
- Operator lessons. What running service companies teaches you: pricing, licensing, payroll, buying and selling businesses.
- AI for the non-technical owner. The fundamentals, minus the jargon.
Structured training is in the works. My team already runs an online academy that certifies executive protection professionals, so the course infrastructure exists and works. The AI-for-operators training will be built on the same rails. Join the newsletter below to get first access.
Subscribe on YouTubeAbout
Operator first
I'm Todd McGuire. I've spent my career in the private security industry as an owner and operator: executive protection, guarding, licensing, and now sell-side M&A advisory for security company owners.
My signature is idea to execution. I don't stop at the plan. I build the company, get it licensed, staff it, and run it. When AI got good enough to do real work, I did the same thing with it: instead of talking about what agents might do someday, I wired them into my own operation and made them earn their keep on invoices, payroll prep, diligence files, and lead pipelines.
That is the difference I bring. Not AI theory. Not a highlight reel. A working operation you can inspect, and a straight answer about what worked and what didn't.
If you want the long version, it's on the channel.