Alumni Spotlight: The Future of AI in Business 

For this month’s alumni spotlight, The News is catching up with Ben Weinfeld ‘23 and Justin Bonner ‘23, founders of Propagentic AI. Propagentic AI is a consulting group that looks to streamline the process of price assessments for real estate. 

The motivation for founding Propagentic came from Ben’s experience working at other similar startups. While at Gilman, Ben spent his summers running a hauling company and learned the importance of networking and good marketing. Ben has since spent time learning from mentors, such as alumni Colin Wallace ‘02 and Jeff Seibert ‘04, and meeting with startup investors at EcoCamp Technologies. Through opportunities like these and many conversations with his dad, Ben decided he wanted to start a consulting company that utilizes AI and helps people quickly figure out how much their renovations/creations will cost. 

However, Ben was not as well-equipped on the technology side of the business, so he posted on LinkedIn asking for help. With his experience leading the Gilman robotics team and interning at NASA, Justin Bonner replied that he would be happy to partner with Ben and help create an innovative AI interface that aligns with Ben’s goals. Now, the company has had many newer Gilman alumni interns for Propagentic, including Brian Checkley ‘25, Charlie Gallagher ‘25, and Zach Parks ‘25. 

When asked about their goals for the company, Ben and Justin explained, “We are both super bullish on AI, the economy is growing, and people are blindly giving really high valuations on AI startups.” Propagentic amassed $100,000 in their first round of fundraising, and this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the capital they hope to receive. They are always looking for new clients and investors to help increase their brand and worth. 

Ben and Justin explained that this job is not just a college gig for them, but rather something that they believe in and may turn into a future career. As parting advice to Gilman students, Ben commented, “It’s harder to get high finance internships. Look around at local startups. They need support, and it’s some of the best experience you can get.” 

The News wishes Ben and Justin the best of luck with their work at Propagentic!