Ways to start.
We are a senior advisory firm, small by design. Most work starts with a bounded, fixed-fee engagement or a monthly retainer, and sometimes a focused MVP or proof of concept. No large teams, no open-ended hours.
- Advisory
AI adoption assessment
An evidence-based read of your AI adoption across teams and vendors, placed on our AI-SDLC maturity framework, with a roadmap to the next level.
Who it is for: CIOs, CTOs and center leaders who need one honest picture of where AI stands across teams and vendors.
Take the two-minute self-check- Duration
- 2 to 4 weeks
- Fees
- Fixed fee, agreed before we start
What you get
- A maturity scorecard for each team and dimension, with the evidence behind every score
- The constraint holding the rest back, and what moving it would unlock
- A sequenced roadmap with owners, investment and the return each step should bring
- A summary your leadership team and board can act on
What we need from you
- Time with leaders and a sample of teams
- Read access to delivery data and policies
- A sponsor who can make decisions
- Assurance
Production-readiness audit
An independent, in-depth review of code and security for one product or service, using our 20+ engineering checks, beyond out-of-the-box scanning.
Who it is for: CTOs and engineering leaders who need confidence in AI-written code before it reaches production or a customer review.
- Duration
- 2 to 4 weeks per product or service
- Fees
- Fixed fee, agreed before we start
What you get
- Findings ranked by real risk, with evidence and a clear fix order
- A readout with your engineering leads
- Re-verification of the fixes you make
- The checks that matter, ready to build into your pipeline
What we need from you
- Access to code and pipelines, in your environment and under your security policies
- Time with the engineers who know the system
- Advisory
Delivery, estimation and pricing diagnostic
A focused look at how work flows, how it is estimated and how it is priced, with practical models your teams can keep using.
Who it is for: COOs, delivery heads and services leaders whose plans, prices and reviews were built for a world without AI.
- Duration
- 2 to 4 weeks
- Fees
- Fixed fee, agreed before we start
What you get
- A map of your delivery flow and where work waits
- An estimation approach for AI-era work, built on your own evidence
- Commercial model options, from time and materials to outcome-based
- The delivery signals worth reading continuously
What we need from you
- Time with delivery, commercial and engineering leads
- Read access to delivery and commercial data
- Focused build
Idea to launch: MVP or proof of concept
A small, focused build led by our founder and run the forward-deployed way, from shaping the idea to a working MVP or proof of concept.
Who it is for: Leaders who want to prove an idea, or a new way of working, with working software rather than a slide deck.
- Duration
- Scoped in weeks, not quarters
- Fees
- Fixed fee per milestone
What you get
- Working software that proves, or disproves, the idea
- Solid foundations: architecture, quality gates and AI tooling set up properly
- A clear view of what it would take to scale
- A clean handover to your team or chosen partner
What we need from you
- A business owner for the idea
- An environment and tools that meet your security policies
- Advisory
Advisory retainer
A fractional senior advisor on AI adoption, delivery and engineering: in your key decisions, reviews and leadership conversations.
Who it is for: Leaders who want senior, independent counsel on AI in delivery over months, not a one-off report.
- Duration
- Monthly, typically three months or more
- Fees
- Monthly retainer
What you get
- Regular working sessions with you and your leadership team
- Reviews of key decisions, plans, vendor proposals and contracts
- Help shaping teams, roles and the growth of forward-deployed engineers
- An independent view when you need one
What we need from you
- A clear sponsor
- Agreed priorities for each quarter
- Advisory
Leadership working session
A half or full day with your leadership team on where AI is helping, where it is not, and what to do next.
Who it is for: Leadership teams that want a shared, honest picture of AI in their delivery, and the next few moves.
- Duration
- Half or full day
- Fees
- Fixed fee
What you get
- A shared picture across the leadership team
- The top three moves, with owners
- A short written summary
What we need from you
- The leaders who own delivery, engineering and the budget in the room
Our commitments
Independent, careful with your code, and clear about what we are.
Our independence rules
- 1If we built it, we do not audit itWe never independently audit software we built for the same client. We will recommend someone who can.
- 2No tool resale, no referral feesWe do not resell AI tools or take referral fees from tool makers or services firms, so our advice carries no commission.
- 3One side of the tableWe never advise both a buyer and its provider on the same contract.
Your code and data
- We work within your security policies: your environment, your approved tools and your data rules.
- We use AI tools on your code and data only where your policies allow, and only with your approval.
- Anything we build for you is yours. At the end of an engagement we return or delete what we hold, and confirm it in writing.
- We are happy to sign your NDA, and we never name clients without written permission.
Frameworks our work aligns with
- ISO/IEC 42001AI management systems
- NIST AI RMFAI risk management
- NIST SSDFSecure software development (SP 800-218)
- OWASPTop 10, ASVS and Top 10 for LLM applications
- ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2Information security and change management controls
- EU AI Act and India DPDP ActWhere they apply to your systems and data
We do not certify. We help you get ready for those who do.
Not sure which fits?
Tell us what you are seeing. We will suggest the smallest useful first step, and quote a fixed fee before any work begins.