The operator behind Ctrl+Grow

Who is behind Ctrl+Grow?

Sophie Normand is an operator-builder, not an AI consultant. She co-founded iLathys and runs its four businesses, fewStones, Authentic.ly, Storyboardhero, and Gwacamol, with AI in the loop on almost everything: operations, content, reporting, support, and the repetitive admin that quietly eats a small team's week. The work that shaped Ctrl+Grow came from running real companies, not from advising on them.

That practitioner background is the point. Most AI advice aimed at SMEs comes from people who have never had to make payroll or untangle a SaaS bill. Sophie has, across four businesses, which is why Ctrl+Grow is built around the workflows an owner actually recognizes, leave, onboarding, support, training, rather than around AI for its own sake.

The iLathys family

iLathys is the parent company behind four operating businesses, each one a working proof that AI-in-the-loop operations hold up in practice, not just in theory:

• fewStones : the original studio and operating base of the group.
• Authentic.ly : a B2B growth and LinkedIn content business.
• Storyboardhero : an AI-assisted video and storyboarding product.
• Gwacamol : the group's design and creative arm.

Running four businesses at once is what surfaced the problem Ctrl+Grow solves. The same operational tools, AI skills, and workflows had to work across all of them, which forced them to be genuinely reusable rather than one-off. That reusable core is what members get.

What is Ctrl+Grow?

Ctrl+Grow is an operational AI membership for SMEs and solopreneurs. Instead of selling AI software a person has to operate, it ships tools with AI already wired into the workflows a small business runs every week, leave, onboarding, support ticketing, training, plus reusable AI skills and a custom website, all set up for the member. It is sold as a flat annual membership with unlimited seats, not per-seat subscriptions: the Launch Kit for solo owners and the Ctrl+Grow Pass for teams. The promise is all the benefits of AI for a small business, without the learning curve.

Why does Ctrl+Grow exist?

Ctrl+Grow started as an internal fix. After years of running four businesses on a stack of rented SaaS tools, billed per seat and never quite fitting how the work actually ran, the obvious next thing to fix was the stack itself. So the team built their own operational tools, shaped to how they work, and wired AI into the workflows that repeat every week.

It worked well enough internally that packaging it for other SME owners became the next move. The promise is the one Sophie wanted for herself: all the benefits of AI for a small business, without learning AI, teaching AI, hiring AI talent, or stacking more subscriptions. The approach behind it is laid out in full in the operational AI playbook.

The short version: it is what we built to stop renting our own stack, now shared with everyone else who is tired of doing the same.

How Ctrl+Grow is built

Sophie builds the systems: the tools, the AI skills, and the operational workflows that ship to members. Ctrl+Grow is part of the iLathys family, so it draws on the same operators, designers, and builders who run fewStones, Authentic.ly, Storyboardhero, and Gwacamol. Tools are set up for members rather than handed over as software to configure alone, and the roadmap is member-driven: what ships next is what members ask for.

Ctrl+Grow is co-founded with JC Bougle, who leads partnerships and growth. When you scope a done-for-you build or book a call, he is often who you will talk to.