The AI Consulting Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Today's guest is Babak Hodjat, CTO of AI at Cognizant, the AI services giant. Babak joins us on today's podcast to discuss how large language models might bring value to the enterprise. In this conversation with Daniel Faggella, CEO and Head of Research at Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research, Hodjat explores how a series of specialized models could streamline entire segments of business workflows. He paints a compelling vision of how these models might work together to improve quality across entire parts of a job, not just isolated tasks. If you're interested in how AI can add value to business, this episode offers a valuable perspective. To discover more AI use cases, best practice guides, white papers, frameworks, and more, join Emerj Plus at emerj.com/p1.

In today’s episode, we speak with a founder who profitably grew by finding product-market fit early in a profitable niche. Our guest is Siva Pullabhotla, Co-Founder & CEO at Docskiff Inc. Docskiff focuses on contract intelligence in the procurement space. In this episode, Siva discusses the kinds of assumptions you should begin with if you’re looking to find a product-market fit fast. He also talks about pivoting based on your initial customer engagement to double down on success and use it to fuel your growth. As a past Catalyst member and current Emerj Plus member, we are grateful to have Siva in our community and here on the show. Join Emerj Plus at emerj.com/p1 to discover more AI use-cases, best practice guides, white papers, frameworks, and more.

This week’s guest is Graham Holt, GM at Daitan. Founded in 2004, Daitan was recently acquired for an undisclosed amount after being ranked as one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Financial Times. Today, Graham shares his insights on what it looks like to scale talent and processes, procedures, and departments. He also discusses how Daitan experimented with different models for services from their traditional IT and digital product business. If you’ve benefitted from the insights shared in this episode, consider supporting us by leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and let us know what episode you found most helpful or what you’d like to hear more about in the future.

Today’s guest is Nikola Mrkšić, CEO and Co-Founder of PolyAI. PolyAI is an AI voice company based in the United Kingdom. Nikola previously appeared on an episode with us to discuss the future of voice AI for the customer experience. Today, Nikola dives into the use-case of appointment-setting with AI for voice. He talks specifically about the technical constraints, AI capabilities, and how to create workflows that add real value to the business. This episode is sponsored by PolyAI. If you run a disruptive AI firm and you’re looking to reach a global audience of AI-interested leaders, be sure to visit emerj.com/ad1 to learn more about Emerj’s Creative Services.

This week’s guest is Roey Mecherez, CTO of BeyondMinds and Ph.D. from the Israeli Institute of Technology and Electrical Engineering. In this episode, Roey shares his business knowledge and experience at BeyondMinds, which has raised approximately $15M to date. Roey also discusses how to explain the technical nuances around preparing data, training algorithms, the iteration process, and more in a way that conveys complexity in non-technical terms. Roey is also a valued Emerj Plus member. Emerj Plus is our private platform where we share our AI best practice guides, frameworks for AI ROI, and other specific resources for AI consultants. If you’d like to learn more, visit emerj.com/p1.

This week’s guest is Vish Rajalingam, AI Solutions Architect at MulticoreWare, a 250-person AI services firm focused primarily on smart cities and autonomous vehicles. Vish also holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science, focusing on Artificial Intelligence from UT Arlington. Today, Vish shares his insights from his experience working on and understanding algorithms and interacting with clients and customers to set realistic expectations about measuring AI success and potential capabilities. To explore this episode’s topics more, visit emerj.com to read our popular AI best-practice guide, “Setting the Right AI Expectations – A Key for Turning Pilots into Deployments.”

Today’s guest is Sam Daish, Head of AI and Data Science at Qrious, a technology services firm based in New Zealand. Sam didn’t start his career in consulting and shares what it was like to learn today’s skills. Sam also discusses some considerations for AI fluency for mid-size firms and effective strategies for starting conversations that transform into real AI projects. We’re grateful to have Sam in the Emerj Plus community, where members gain access to our entire library of AI use-cases, AI whitepapers, frameworks, and best practice guides. If you’d like to take your AI fluency to the next level and deliver more value for your clients, be sure to visit emerj.com/p1.

Today’s guest is Joseph Suquet, Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, Partner, and Board Member at Fligoo, a 50-person AI Services firm that focuses on AI projects for companies such as Mastercard, Coca-Cola, and more. Today, Joseph speaks about some of the common misconceptions he sees in the enterprise world regarding AI strategy and how consultants can tactfully help clients achieve better results. Joseph also shares business lessons useful for consultants and business leaders on how to get building AI strategy right. To unlock access Emerj’s non-technical guide for getting started with AI deployment, check out emerj.com/beg1.

Today’s guest is Ash Fontana, Managing Director of Zetta Venture Partners, a firm based in San Francisco. Ash was also a previous guest on our AI in Business Podcast. Today, he gives his recommendations for companies looking to transition from being service-oriented with AI to becoming more product-oriented. Ash also shares some lessons from his experience investing in AI firms and insights from his recently published book, “The AI-First Company: How to Compete and Win with Artificial Intelligence,” on what it takes to iterate and find a scalable business model. Download our whitepaper “Beginning with AI” to learn more about the practical steps for AI deployment at emerj.com/beg1.

Today’s guest is Bhaskar Roy, Client Partner of the APAC region and AI Consultant at Fractal Analytics. Bhaskar has previous experience working on analytics projects at Accenture and Target and now takes on both analytics and AI projects at Fractal Analytics. Today he shares how he thinks about the art and science behind transforming customers’ initial intentions into a first AI project that can turn into long-term business value. To learn about Emerj’s frameworks for AI readiness, ROI and strategy, visit Emerj Plus at emerj.com/p1.