AI Driven Marketing and Sales - ON-1105

Project type: Innovation
Desired discipline(s): Computer science, Mathematical Sciences, Business, Social Sciences & Humanities, Economics
Company: CAD COW INC.
Project Length: 4 to 6 months
Preferred start date: As soon as possible.
Language requirement: English
Location(s): ON, Canada
No. of positions: 1
Desired education level: Master'sPhDPostdoctoral fellow
Open to applicants registered at an institution outside of Canada: No

About the company: 

CAD COW is a startup that is developing a multi-sided online platform, primarily as a work marketplace to facilitate the connection between individuals and companies. We are moving to becoming more of a software as a service company. We currently operate witin the Architecture, Interior Design and Engineering industry but moving to generalisation.

Describe the project.: 

This research project aims to design and validate an AI-powered marketing and sales engine for integration into the next phase of our multi-sided work marketplace platform. Our objective is to explore and prototype a scalable, automated growth system that leverages artificial intelligence to accelerate user acquisition, engagement, and monetization.

The proposed system will investigate how AI can activate existing users to refer and onboard peers from their personal and professional networks, while simultaneously identifying and reaching new potential users through intelligent outreach. Areas of exploration include AI-assisted lead generation, dynamic sales cadences, predictive user segmentation, referral program optimization, and automated content generation for multi-channel campaigns.

A key research outcome will be to identify technical pathways for implementing these strategies directly into the platform’s core infrastructure—creating an always-on, intelligent marketing loop. The project will analyze best practices in growth hacking, examine current generative and predictive AI tools, and prototype features such as: AI-driven referral engines, behavioral segmentation for targeted messaging, and autonomous outreach agents capable of initiating personalized communication with prospective users.

Although positioned as a research initiative, the project will place equal emphasis on technical application—translating findings into implementable features that can be embedded into the platform. The anticipated outcome is a blueprint for an integrated AI marketing and sales stack that enhances the platform’s ability to grow sustainably and competitively in new and existing markets.

This work will contribute both to academic understanding of AI-enabled growth mechanisms and to the commercialization potential of our platform—supporting Canadian innovation, global competitiveness, and digital economy leadership.

Required expertise/skills: 

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
• Experience with supervised and unsupervised learning techniques.
• Familiarity with AI frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
• Ability to build and train models for user behavior prediction, segmentation, and lead scoring.
Data Science & Analytics
• Strong knowledge of data wrangling, cleaning, and visualization.
• Experience in developing recommendation systems and A/B testing frameworks.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, or R for data analysis.
Growth Marketing & Sales Strategy
• Understanding of growth hacking principles, referral mechanics, sales funnels, and lifecycle marketing.
• Experience designing and testing digital campaigns across email, social, and paid channels.
Product Development & UX
• Familiarity with agile product development and lean experimentation.
• Skills in translating AI insights into user-facing features (e.g., smart onboarding, automated outreach).
Software Development
• Experience with full-stack or backend development, especially in integrating AI models into web applications.
• Knowledge of APIs, cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS, GCP), and automation tools.
Human-Centered Design & Research
• Capability to conduct user research, map user journeys, and ensure solutions are intuitive and impactful.
Ethics & Responsible AI (Optional but valuable)
• Understanding of ethical considerations around user data, automation, and consent in AI systems.