Services & fees
Published prices. Fixed scope.
I price the outcome, not the hour. Every engagement is a fixed fee agreed before work starts. No hourly rates, no estimates that move, no success fees, no discounts.
| Engagement | Fee | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Paid Strategy Session A working session on your system: recorded, one-page memo, three prioritized recommendations with the first step scoped. Credited toward the diagnostic if you sign within 14 days. | $1,500 | 90 minutes |
| 02 | AI Production Diagnostic Whole-stack audit, cost and latency model, risk register, 90-day roadmap, go/no-go. | $12,500 | 2 weeks |
| 03 | LLM Cost & Latency Sprint Measurable reduction in cost and/or latency, with production-safe changes and an eval harness. | $35,000 | 4 weeks |
| 04 | Pilot-to-Production Sprint One AI workflow running in production with evals, guardrails, observability, and handoff. | $75,000 | 6–8 weeks |
| 05 | AI System Build Full product or agent platform, production-grade, milestone-based, with a 30-day shadow period. | $150K–$250K | 3–6 months |
| 06 | Fractional AI Architect Senior AI leadership 4–6 days a month: architecture, hiring, vendor selection, board reporting. | $15K–$25K/mo | 3-month minimum |
| 07 | Technical Due Diligence Code and architecture review, scalability, security, cost, team, IP, and model risk. Red-flag memo. | $25K–$50K/deal | 1–2 weeks |
| 08 | Executive AI Workshop AI opportunity map, build-vs-buy, risk framework, and a 90-day plan for the leadership team. | $10,000/day | 1 day |
All fees in USD. Regulated verticals add 10–15% when compliance work is included. Rush starts under two weeks add 15–25%.
01 — The entry point
Paid Strategy Session
$1,500 · 90 minutes
A working session on your system, not a sales call. You bring the architecture, the failing eval, the cost curve, or the decision you are stuck on. I bring the questions and the pattern library.
The credit
The full $1,500 is credited toward the $12,500 AI Production Diagnostic if you sign within 14 days. If the diagnostic is not the right next step, the session still stands on its own.
You get, in 90 minutes
- →A recorded working session on your system, not a pitch.
- →A one-page memo you keep — the problem, the evidence, the decision.
- →Three prioritized recommendations, with the first step scoped.
- →A clear answer on whether the diagnostic is the right next step.
- →A memo you can take to your CEO or CFO to unlock the diagnostic.
Bring: the system diagram or repo access, one failing example, the current cost/latency number if you have it, and the decision you are trying to make.
02 — The next step
AI Production Diagnostic
$12,500 · 2 weeks
The core offer. A whole-stack audit, not a pitch. You get a written document that tells you where the system breaks, what it costs, and what to do first. Most clients start with the $1,500 session; the fee is credited here.
The guarantee
If the diagnostic does not identify at least three opportunities worth 10× the fee, I refund it. 50% of the fee is credited toward a sprint or build signed within 30 days.
You get, in one document
- →Whole-stack audit: data and retrieval, model and inference, orchestration and evals.
- →Cost and latency model with every assumption labelled.
- →Eval gap analysis against your real examples.
- →Risk register: quality, security, compliance, vendor lock-in, cost.
- →90-day prioritized roadmap and a go/no-go recommendation.
- →45-minute readout session and one written round of questions.
You give me read access to the relevant systems or documentation, one hour of someone's time in writing, and any existing AI or automation spend.
Start the diagnostic — $12,500The ladder
What comes after the diagnosis.
The diagnostic produces the scope for everything else. I do not quote a build before I have read the systems.
LLM Cost & Latency Sprint
$35,000
4 weeks
Measurable reduction in cost and/or latency, with production-safe changes and an eval harness.
Pilot-to-Production Sprint
$75,000
6–8 weeks
One AI workflow running in production with evals, guardrails, observability, and handoff.
AI System Build
$150K–$250K
3–6 months
Full product or agent platform, production-grade, milestone-based, with a 30-day shadow period.
Fractional AI Architect
Senior AI leadership 4–6 days a month: architecture, hiring, vendor selection, board reporting.
Technical Due Diligence
Code and architecture review, scalability, security, cost, team, IP, and model risk. Red-flag memo.
Executive AI Workshop
AI opportunity map, build-vs-buy, risk framework, and a 90-day plan for the leadership team.
Terms
What I will and will not do.
The terms are short because the offer is fixed. Everything is agreed in writing before work starts.
Payment
- Diagnostic and sprint: 50% upfront, 50% on delivery.
- Build: 30% upfront, 30% at midpoint, 40% on acceptance.
- Retainer: monthly in advance. Net 15.
- Currency: USD. Invoicing via Indian entity / Skydo. W-8BEN provided.
What I won't do
- Hourly billing.
- Free discovery calls or free proposals.
- Discounts. Reduce scope or phase the work instead.
- Unlimited revisions or open-ended scope.
Why is the strategy session $1,500?+
Because the preparation is the work. It is a 90-minute working session on your system, recorded, with a one-page memo and three prioritized recommendations. The full fee is credited toward the diagnostic if you sign within 14 days, so it costs nothing extra if you continue.
Can I get a build without the diagnostic?+
No. I will not quote a build before I have read your systems. Every build quoted without an assessment has been wrong about scope.
Why is the diagnostic $12,500?+
It takes two weeks of senior attention and replaces the work most firms spread across three meetings and a proposal. It is priced so only people who intend to act buy it.
Will you sign an NDA?+
Yes. Send yours. I do not train on client data, and I work inside your environment.
Do you take referral fees or resell software?+
No, on both. I do not sell product and I do not take money from vendors to recommend them. When the right answer is a product you buy without me, I say so in writing.
Do you work hourly?+
No. I price the outcome. If procurement needs a format, send the form and I will fill it in — but nothing is invoiced by the hour.
What if the build misses the target?+
Every build starts with an accuracy target agreed in writing on a held-out set of your real examples. If it misses, I keep working until it meets the target at no extra fee, or refund 50% where the baseline is under my control.
Do you take calls?+
Not for free. The paid strategy session is the entry point: 90 minutes, recorded, with a one-page memo and three recommendations — a working session on your system, not a sales call. The full fee is credited toward the diagnostic if you sign within 14 days.
Do you work outside the United States?+
The engagement model is built for US companies. If you are elsewhere and the problem is interesting, write anyway.
Start with the session.
Book the session — $1,500