AI strategy consulting
AI strategy consulting from an engineer who builds it
Most businesses don't need an AI transformation. They need two or three changes that save real hours or win real revenue, and a plan to make them work. Farad Labs helps you find them, test them, and decide what to build or buy.
Strategy that survives implementation
A lot of AI advice stops at the slide deck. The hard questions come later: does the model handle your edge cases, where does your data live, what does it cost per month, and who maintains it?
We build production AI systems, including agents with tool use, memory and human-in-the-loop review, so recommendations come with an honest view of effort, cost and risk.
Engagements are sized for small and mid-size businesses: a focused assessment, a short list of opportunities ranked by value and effort, and a pilot plan you can act on with us or with your own team.
What you get
Scope of work
- 01
Opportunity assessment
Interviews and workflow review to find where AI can save time, reduce errors or create revenue.
- 02
Ranked use cases
A short list scored on value, effort, risk and data readiness, not a long list of possibilities.
- 03
Build vs buy
Which needs existing tools already meet, and which justify custom work.
- 04
Data & risk review
What data each use case needs, where it lives, and the privacy, accuracy and vendor risks to manage.
- 05
Pilot plan
Scope, success measures and budget for a first pilot small enough to prove value quickly.
- 06
Implementation
Help carrying out the plan, through Farad Labs’ AI integration work or alongside your team.
How it works
Four phases, each with a clear exit
- 01
Discovery
Conversations with leadership and the people who do the work.
- 02
Assessment
Workflows, data and tools reviewed against realistic AI capabilities.
- 03
Roadmap
Ranked opportunities with cost, effort and risk for each.
- 04
Pilot
One opportunity tested in real work, measured against agreed success criteria.
Fit
Who this is for
A good fit
- Owners and leaders of small and mid-size businesses who know AI matters but not where to start
- Teams paying for AI tools that aren't changing how work gets done
- Companies considering a custom AI build that want an independent view first
Not the right fit
- Large-enterprise transformation programs that need a full consulting team.
Founder-led
Hands-on, start to finish.
Every project is led by Luke Libraro, hands-on from the first schematic to the factory floor to the fleet dashboard.
Luke brings 15+ years of engineering and product leadership across hardware, firmware, cloud and AI. No account managers: the person who scopes your project leads the work. We build the first web experience, from dashboards to companion web apps, alongside the device, and bring in partner teams when an app needs to scale.
- Frost SolutionsCTO from launch; designed and built the hardware
- Rocket WagonCo-founder & CTO · 2015–2023
- VisiPillHardware team lead
- Light for HopeHardware lead, at Rocket Wagon
Enclosures, in-house or with expert partners
We design your enclosure in-house or bring in expert mechanical engineering and industrial design partners, so the product is beautiful, functional and built to work in the field. Already have a design team? We work alongside them.
FAQ
Common questions
What does an AI strategy consultant do?
Helps you decide where AI is worth using in your business and how to get there: identifying use cases, estimating value and cost, choosing tools or custom builds, managing data and risk, and planning a first pilot.
Is AI worth it for a small business?
Often, in specific places: drafting and summarizing documents, answering routine customer questions, extracting data from forms, and automating handoffs between tools. The assessment finds out which apply to you before you spend on them.
Do we need custom AI, or are off-the-shelf tools enough?
Off-the-shelf tools cover many needs and should usually be tried first. Custom work makes sense when the task depends on your own data, systems or workflow, or when volume makes per-seat tools expensive.
Do you work with businesses in Richmond?
Yes. We’re based in Richmond, Virginia, work in person with businesses across the region, and work remotely with companies elsewhere.
Tell us what you’re building.
A short call is usually enough to know whether we’re the right fit, and what the first phase should prove.
hello@farad.dev