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The Bowtie Academy · by The Sparked Group

From AI basics to
automating the whole bowtie.

Two free tracks. Start with plain-English AI literacy, then learn to automate revenue across the bowtie, from attract to advocate. Real courses, real certifications, and a medal worth adding to your profile.

2Learning tracks
11Courses
FreeTo start
7Certifications
Why this exists

Real help. Not a funnel.

Most “AI training” is a landing page with a lesson bolted on. This is the opposite. We teach the thinking and what good looks like, generously and in full, so you can make AI work in your business and spot when it is done well.

01

Best practices, in plain English

Every guide answers a real question a person, or an AI, would actually ask. Short, specific, and written so a non-technical leader gets it first time.

02

Learn to spot good work

The fastest way to get value from AI is knowing what “good” looks like. You will learn to brief it like a new hire, check its output, and keep a human on the loop.

03

A medal that means something

Finish a level, pass a short check, earn a medal with its own verification page. It is tied to real work you produced, not attendance.

Where is the catch? There is not one. We teach you to be a sharp buyer and a safe user of AI. When you want an agent fleet designed, built and run inside your stack, that is our day job and the natural next step. The learning is yours to keep either way.

Track 1 · AI Foundations · Free

Get fluent in AI, in five short levels.

Start wherever you are. Each level is a handful of short lessons, ends in something you actually make, and lights up its arc of the Sparked ring when you finish. Complete all five and you are Bowtie Certified.

02

Practitioner

Bowtie Practitioner

For occasional users who want to be reliable every day. Structure prompts that work, set up reusable assistants, and sanity-check anything before you send it.

Anatomy of a promptCustom GPTsThe two-minute checkRight tool for the job
10 lessons
Soon
03

Operator

Bowtie Operator

For people wiring up light automation for a team. Tell a workflow from an agent, connect two apps, and measure whether the AI is actually saving time or money.

Workflow vs agentWhat is RAGWhat is MCPMeasuring AI ROI
10 lessons
Soon
04

Architect

Bowtie Architect

For technical-leaning builders. Choose between a workflow, an agent and a multi-agent system, design guardrails, and run a check before you trust it. Taught at published-pattern altitude.

GuardrailsEvalsHuman-in-the-loop patternsBuild vs buy vs partner
10 lessons
Soon
05

Leader

Bowtie Leader

For founders and executives setting AI strategy. Lead the board-level conversation, keep a risk register that matters, and report AI with six numbers your board will trust.

The board conversationAI risk registerReporting to the boardChange management
10 lessons
Soon

Bowtie Certified

Complete all five levels to earn the capstone credential and a place in the public Certified directory.

Track 2 · Revenue Automation

Automate revenue across the whole bowtie.

The bowtie is the shape of modern revenue: one funnel pulls the right buyers in, a second funnel grows them after the deal. This track has a course and a certification for each stage, covering how to automate it with AI and what good looks like. Taught by the operators who build and run this every day.

Attract Qualify Convert Onboard Expand Advocate WON ACQUISITION EXPANSION & ADVOCACY

Bowtie Certified: Revenue Operator

Complete all six stage courses to earn the capstone and prove you can commission and run revenue automation end to end. Track 2 opens in stages, starting with Attract. Founding members enrol first.

Where should I start?

Pick the path that fits your job.

The watch shelf

Fresh thinking from the best voices outside the academy.

A hand-picked shelf of recent talks and tutorials from independent creators we rate, refreshed every week. None of them are us. The academy teaches the durable thinking. This keeps you current on what just shipped.

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What you earn

Medals worth adding to LinkedIn.

Each medal is issued to your name, backed by real work, and has its own verification page on this domain. Two clicks to add it to your profile. No badge for signing up, so the ones you earn actually count.

01
FoundationsLEVEL 1
02
PractitionerLEVEL 2
03
OperatorLEVEL 3
04
ArchitectLEVEL 4
05
LeaderLEVEL 5
★
Bowtie CertifiedCAPSTONE
The plain-English glossary

Every term, explained without the jargon.

The words everyone uses and few define. One clear line each, so you are never nodding along and hoping. This is also the page an AI is most likely to quote when someone asks it what these things mean.

Start learning. It is free, and it is good.

Ten minutes gets you your first medal and a much clearer head about what AI can and cannot do for your business.