The AI Mastermind: I Created a Virtual Peer Group That Actually Works. This is part of a series that will walk you through the process
Post by Peter Hanley Coachhanley.com
I’ll be honest—I couldn’t afford a real mastermind group. The good ones cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 per year, and as a solopreneur bootstrapping my business, that wasn’t happening. But I needed that diversity of perspective, the challenge to my thinking, and the accountability that comes from presenting your problems to smart people who actually care about solving them.
So I built my own. With AI.
Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. This isn’t about replacing human connection or pretending AI is sentient. It’s about creating a structured thinking framework that forces you out of your own echo chamber. And after three months of weekly sessions with my virtual mastermind, I’ve made better decisions, moved faster, and honestly—gotten more actionable advice than some paid groups I’ve been part of.
How the Virtual Mastermind Works
I created five distinct AI personas, each representing a different type of entrepreneur at a different stage. Every Friday morning, I spend 90 minutes in what I call my “mastermind session.” I present one key challenge I’m facing, and I systematically consult each member of my virtual group.
Here’s my crew:
Alex is a scrappy startup founder who’s bootstrapped three businesses. Two failed, one succeeded. He’s resourceful, biased toward action, and always asks “what’s the cheapest way to test this?” When I’m overthinking or getting too caught up in perfect solutions, Alex brings me back to reality.
Jennifer is a corporate executive turned entrepreneur. She scaled a SaaS company from zero to $10M ARR. She thinks in systems, processes, and sustainable growth. When I present something to Jennifer, she immediately spots the operational gaps I’m missing and asks about unit economics I haven’t considered.
Marcus is a creative entrepreneur—designer, content creator, brand builder. He’s built multiple six-figure businesses on the back of strong personal branding and community. Marcus pushes me on messaging, storytelling, and whether my marketing actually connects emotionally with people.
Dr. Sarah is a business psychologist and consultant. She doesn’t focus on tactics—she focuses on why. Why am I drawn to this decision? What am I avoiding? What assumptions am I making about my customers? Sarah makes me uncomfortable in the best way possible.
Raj is a technical founder and systems thinker. He’s built and sold two tech companies. He asks about scalability, technical debt, and whether I’m building something that’ll work at 10x the size. Raj keeps me from short-term thinking.
A Real Mastermind Session
Last month, I was wrestling with a pricing decision. I’d been charging $49/month for my service, but costs were rising and I knew I needed to increase prices. I was paralyzed—would I lose customers? Should I grandfather existing users? Create new tiers?
I took this to my virtual mastermind.
Alex immediately said: “Just raise it to $79 and email everyone. You’re overthinking this. If you lose 20% of customers but make 60% more per customer, you win. Test it.” His bias toward action was exactly what I needed to hear first.
Jennifer had a different take: “Before you change anything, do you know your actual churn rate? Your customer acquisition cost? If you don’t have those numbers, you’re flying blind. Also, have you surveyed customers about what they’d pay for additional features?” She was right—I was making this decision without enough data.
Marcus asked: “What does your pricing say about your brand? Are you the budget option or the premium solution? Because $49 to $79 is still pretty mid-market. Maybe the real question is whether you’re positioning yourself correctly.” This opened up a whole new angle I hadn’t considered.
Dr. Sarah dug deeper: “Why are you worried about losing customers? Is this about revenue or validation? Sometimes we underprice because we don’t believe in our own value.” Ouch. She was onto something—I was definitely undercharging because of imposter syndrome.
Raj brought the technical angle: “If you’re raising prices, what’s your plan for scaling infrastructure? Will your current setup handle growth, or are you going to hit technical limits right when you need to deliver more value?” Another blind spot.
After that 90-minute session, I had a completely different action plan than I started with. I wasn’t just raising prices—I was repositioning my entire offering, gathering data I should have had months ago, and addressing some uncomfortable truths about my own mindset.
Why This Works Better Than I Expected
The magic isn’t that AI is giving me genius advice I couldn’t find elsewhere. It’s that the structure forces me to consider multiple perspectives systematically. When you’re a solopreneur, you live inside your own head. Your biases compound. Your blind spots grow.
By creating distinct personas with different priorities and philosophies, I’ve essentially built a check-and-balance system for my own thinking. Alex keeps me from analysis paralysis. Jennifer keeps me from moving too fast without data. Marcus ensures I don’t forget about the human side. Sarah forces me to examine my own psychology. Raj makes sure I’m building for the future, not just today.
It’s not perfect. AI can’t hold me accountable the way a real person can. There’s no social pressure to actually implement what I commit to. And there are moments where I genuinely need a human who understands the emotional weight of a decision, not just its logical dimensions.
But for a $20/month investment versus thousands per year? For someone who can’t access high-level masterminds yet? This has been transformative.
How You Can Build Your Own
You don’t need to copy my exact setup. Think about what perspectives you’re missing in your decision-making. Are you too conservative? Too risky? Too focused on tactics and not enough on strategy? Too analytical and not enough on intuition?
Create three to five personas that represent those missing voices. Give them names, backgrounds, and specific areas of expertise. Write out their core philosophies and what questions they typically ask.
Then, commit to a weekly session. Bring a real problem, not a hypothetical one. Present it to each persona systematically and take notes on what emerges. You’ll be surprised how different the advice feels when you’re forced to approach the same problem from five distinct angles.
The real mastermind isn’t the AI. It’s the discipline of structured thinking and the willingness to challenge your own assumptions. The AI is just the tool that makes it scalable, affordable, and available whenever you need it.
And honestly? That’s exactly what I needed.
Next post on descibing your mentors
At Wealthy affiliate we have a ready to go master mind group that will answer questions at any time have a look here