How to Beat the Big Consultancies: The Power of Niche
Prof. Joe O'Mahoney and Christian Barnard on the operating-model gap that's widening between boutiques and the global firms.
The session, in short.
Prof. Joe O'Mahoney (Equity Sherpa) and Christian Barnard (KUNGFU.AI) on why the structural advantage of the big firms is genuinely eroding — and the operating-model gap is widening, not narrowing. ICP-squared (ideal client profile × ideal client project) and the discipline that drove KUNGFU.AI's near-2x revenue growth without doubling cost. The new winning engagement shape: fees mapped to measurable outcomes, senior people in the room, speed. Drinking your own champagne — the AI stack inside a modern boutique (Clay, HubSpot Breeze, Fireflies, CMap, Claude Cowork). Plus bad niches that aren't really markets, and the engagement discipline that compensates for the trust deficit boutiques start every relationship with.
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