An honest map of the AI-transformation market.
The map
Four categories of provider. Where we sit. Where we don't.
| Category | What this category does | What it does well | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI training & advisory | Teaches your people to use AI; coaches your executives | Role-based AI proficiency, monthly operating cadence, vocabulary alignment | You need your people to use AI well; the business underneath is already in good shape |
| Big-firm AI consulting | Multi-year transformation programs with strategic frameworks | Change management at scale, board-ready strategy decks, broad organizational rollout | You need cross-business-unit change on a multi-year horizon |
| AI development shops | Builds AI features for hire on top of what you have | Delivering new AI features quickly | You need new features built fast; the business underneath isn't the problem |
| Business-readiness for AI (us) | Brings the corner of your business that's costing you the most to AI-ready in 3 to 4 months, built under validation that keeps AI drift and hallucination out of the work | Closing the gap between AI strategy and AI that holds in production | Your AI work is blocked by what's underneath it |
We don't compete with category 1. We often pick up where category 2 leaves off — after the strategy is set, we do the work underneath. And we build the foundation that makes category 3's features hold in production, instead of breaking things a quarter after launch.
AI didn't create that problem. It just made it too expensive to keep living with.
How to verify any vendor in this market
Five questions you can ask any provider in any of the four categories. The answers will tell you which category the vendor actually fits — including us.
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"What validation do you run against AI as you build? What does it catch, and does it ship with the work?"
Filters out vendors who don't have one.
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"On the engagements you've done, what has your validation caught before it shipped? Walk us through a recent example."
Filters out anyone who hasn't done the work or hasn't built the validation.
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"How many businesses have you brought to a handoff in the last 24 months? Names if possible."
Filters out training and pure-strategy providers.
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"Where does your engagement end? What do we own when you leave?"
Filters out providers who hook you into permanent retainers.
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"When have you turned down work, and why?"
Filters out vendors who say yes to everything.
Run these against us. Run them against any peer. Compare.