The “Autom” & the Owl

February 22, 2026
News & Updates
2 min read

Why the Name Autom Became More Than Automation

Autom started as a simple abbreviation for automation. It was sharp, modern, and pointed exactly where I knew I wanted to go. Toward systems, efficiency, and a better operational foundation for organizations.

At first, that was enough. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized I wasn’t trying to build a company around a task. I was trying to build it around a way of seeing. Automation is what we do. It’s not the reason we exist.

If a name is going to carry the weight of a vision, it has to hold identity, not just the capability we bring.

When a Name Starts Describing You

That shift happened through a conversation with one of my closest mentors. He sent me a numerological meaning of the word Autom. I wasn’t searching for symbolism or confirmation, but the description stopped me.

It spoke of someone intellectually driven, inquisitive, independent, deeply intuitive. A planner more than a performer. Someone who sees architecture before others see structure. Reflective. Analytical. Always looking beneath the surface.

It didn’t just describe a company. It described how I’m wired. That mattered, because Autom was never supposed to be a brand I hid behind. It was supposed to be an extension of how I think and how I work.

I’m not built for noise. I’m built for clarity. I think in systems. I ask why before how. I look for structure under chaos. I care about truth more than performance. That posture shaped everything that followed.

The Moment the Symbolism Became Real

At the beginning of the year, in a season of fasting and intentional reflection, something happened that made the alignment unmistakable. An owl flew up and landed on a branch directly above me. It did not startle and leave. It stayed still and watched me.

Owls have always symbolized discernment. They see in low light. They move with precision, not impulse. They observe before they act. Their power is quiet, but it’s decisive. That image mirrored everything the name had begun to mean.

Why It Became Autom Insights

The company isn’t just Autom. It’s Autom Insights. Because automation alone doesn’t create transformation. Insight does. The owl doesn’t just watch. It sees.

Insights are what come after observation. They’re what emerge when noise is removed and patterns become visible. They’re the bridge between information and confident action.

Autom is the foundation — the architecture, the system, the discipline of building correctly.
Insights are the outcome — the clarity leaders need to move forward with confidence.

Autom is where structure and vision meet.
Where intellect and intuition work together.
Where analysis is guided by discernment.

Insights are the clarity that rises out of that structure. And the owl represents the posture behind it all: Wisdom before speed. Discernment before expansion. Clarity before action. The name fits because it reflects both the mission and the person building it. That alignment wasn’t accidental. It was intentional.

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Thor Muller

Visionary AI & Business Strategist

Thor is the Co-founder and CEO of White Rabbit, a bioregional accelerator and community space in Ashland, Oregon that supports entrepreneurs and technologists across domains well-suited to Southern Oregon. He co-founded the Rogue Valley AI Lab and Rova, an AI platform for the Experience Economy that helps businesses plan and connect with audiences through live events and other programming.

These ventures build on a career defined by community-powered technology. Thor is a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits — including Get Satisfaction, a pioneering customer community platform acquired by Sprinklr. He founded the Internet practice at renowned product design studio Frog Design, which acquired his pioneering web firm, Prophet Communications, and went on to serve as Entrepreneur-in-Residence and AI Strategist at Mach49, where he set up and ran multiple incubators, accelerators, and venture competitions for Global 1000 firms.

Beyond his own ventures, Thor advises companies spanning technology media, legal tech, and renewable energy — including VentureBeat, Pacerpro, and Zola Electric — and previously advised hardware incubator Highway 1 and Code for America. He is a New York Times bestselling author whose work consistently lives at the intersection of technology, social impact, and culture — driven by a belief that practical innovation should deepen human connection and regional resilience.

Aaron Moffatt

Head of Technology

Aaron is a leader at the crossroads of emerging technologies, data systems, and community transformation. He has spent 20 years at the intersection of data, visualization, and emerging technology, turning complex, fragmented data into intuitive interactive experiences.

As a full-stack architect and AI systems designer, he has led projects spanning scientific data visualization, GPU-accelerated rendering, and large-scale data pipelines. This has included working with partners locally (ScienceWorks, White Rabbit) and globally (Apple, Tableau, HTC, Factset).

His work in flow cytometry delivered tools that let labs visually analyze billions of data points at a time, and as CTO of Immersion Analytics he continues to build frameworks for exploring massive datasets in immersive 3D environments.

Working with Autom Insights, he designs and builds infrastructure that ingests raw data, transforms it, and delivers it as clear, actionable insight.

James G. Fong

Strategic Consultant / Systems Transformation Leader

Jim is a strategic advisor specializing in systems integration, organizational and community learning, leadership development, and innovation. He works within and across the private, public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors, forging high-impact partnerships that deliver measurable organizational and community-wide results.

A nationally recognized leader in the applied use of longitudinal data analytics, Jim works with organizations and communities to strengthen how they measure, manage, and accelerate impact. He integrates real-time, data-informed decision-making into the core of strategy and governance embedding adaptive learning systems from boardrooms and policy tables to executive teams, middle managers, and frontline staff. By transforming data from a retrospective reporting tool into a forward-looking engine for alignment and performance excellence, his work helps establish a higher standard for organizational effectiveness – one grounded in continuous learning, shared ownership, and sustained system-level transformation.

Through his work with Autom Insight, Jim leverages advanced analytics platforms to translate complex data into actionable insight. He partners with clients to align data strategy with vision, mission, strategic priorities, outcomes, and performance indicators – ensuring that insight informs strategy, strategy drives execution, and execution delivers impact.

Tanner Ulrey

Brand & Marketing Coordinator

Tanner is a Southern Oregon native with a background spanning business, design, and data-driven problem solving. His work helps organizations make sense of complex information – through scalable design systems, structured data models, and dashboards that turn data into clear, actionable narratives.

At Autom Insights, Tanner translates complex business and communications requirements into clean, functional deliverables. He brings a systems-oriented mindset to every engagement, blending design precision with analytical rigor to produce solutions that are consistent, usable, and built to last.

A graduate of the University of Providence with a BS in Business Administration and academic honors, Tanner also competed as a collegiate wrestler – an experience that shaped the discipline, resilience, and competitive focus he brings to every client relationship.

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