AI Strategy Consulting for Startups

Most startups build AI features. Few build AI strategy. Here's how to design systems that ship, scale, and create defensible moats.

4 AI/NLP Patents
2.1M+ Users Scaled
$30M Exit (BaseHealth)
10+ Years Founder/CEO/President

The Problem: AI Without Strategy Fails Fast

80% of AI projects fail. Not because the models don't work. Because there was no strategy. I've seen it hundreds of times: a founder burns $200k in API costs and realizes six months later they built the wrong thing.
🎯
Wrong Use Case
Building an AI feature nobody asked for. Cool demo, zero adoption.
💸
Cost Death Spiral
Using GPT-4 for everything when a fine-tuned small model would cost 90% less.
🔍
No Evaluation
"Vibes-based" quality assessment. No metrics, no regression detection.
🏗️
No Moat
Competitors clone your prompts in a weekend. No proprietary data advantage.

What You Get

1

AI Product Strategy

What to build, and what not to build. Use case prioritization, build vs. buy vs. wrap decisions, model selection (GPT-4 vs. Claude vs. open-source), UX design that feels like magic, and differentiation strategy.

2

Technical Architecture

Model pipeline design, RAG architecture, systematic prompt engineering, automated evaluation frameworks, and cost modeling that doesn't bankrupt you at scale.

3

Data Strategy & Moat Building

Data flywheel design, fine-tuning strategy, proprietary dataset creation, privacy/compliance (GDPR, SOC 2), and synthetic data when real data isn't enough.

4

AI Agent Architecture

Multi-agent orchestration, tool use design, memory systems (short-term, long-term, cross-session), safety guardrails, and human-in-the-loop patterns.

5

Go-to-Market for AI Products

Positioning beyond "AI-powered," pricing strategy (per-seat vs. usage vs. outcome), demo strategy, trust building, and enterprise sales readiness.


Case Study: 75% Cost Reduction

A startup spending $47/day on OpenAI API calls. At scale: $17k/month — unsustainable for seed stage.
Model Tiering
Route simple queries to Haiku/GPT-3.5, complex ones to GPT-4. Smart routing, not blanket spending.
💾
Semantic Caching
Cache similar queries. Serve cached responses for 60%+ of requests. Instant responses, zero API cost.
✂️
Prompt Optimization
Cut average prompt from 2,000 to 800 tokens without quality loss. Fewer tokens = lower cost.
📊
Quality Framework
Automated scoring on relevance, accuracy, helpfulness. No more "vibes-based" QA.
$47 Before (per day)
$12 After (per day)
75% Cost Reduction
Better Quality

How We Work Together

1

AI Audit — Week 1

Current tech stack review, use case identification, cost analysis, competitive landscape, and data asset inventory. Understand your state before prescribing anything.

2

Strategy Design — Weeks 2-3

AI product strategy document, technical architecture recommendation, model selection and cost projections, data strategy, and 90-day execution roadmap with milestones.

3

Execution Support — Weeks 4-8

Architecture review as you build, prompt engineering guidance, evaluation framework setup, weekly check-ins, and investor pitch support for your AI narrative.


Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need AI in my product?

Maybe not. I'll tell you honestly. Some products don't need AI — they need better UX or a simpler solution. If AI isn't the right answer, I'll say so and save you $200k.

Should I use OpenAI, Anthropic, or open-source?

Depends on your use case, budget, data sensitivity, and latency requirements. I'll help you evaluate with real benchmarks, not blog post opinions.

How much does it cost?

AI audit only: $5k. Full strategy + 8 weeks execution support: $25k-$30k. Scoped after our first call.

Can you build the AI system for me?

I advise and architect, not implement full-time. I can review code, guide your engineers, and connect you with implementation partners.

Do you work with non-technical founders?

Yes. Most of my clients need someone to translate AI possibilities into business strategy. I bridge "what's possible" and "what's profitable."

Ready to Build Your AI Strategy?

30-minute strategy call. We'll discuss your product, your AI ambitions, and whether I can help. No jargon, no sales pitch.

Book a Consultation
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