An AI Diagnostic Built for Operating Companies, Not Deal Teams
This is portfolio company AI value creation done as a proper diagnostic. It applies the same rigor as our AI Readiness Sprint, pointed at how an operating company actually runs (finance back-office, sales, RevOps, supply chain), with management interviews across every function. You walk away with a prioritized value-creation use-case map and a 90-day plan the management team can actually run.
Portfolio company AI value creation usually stalls for a plain reason: the advice was written for the fund. Deal-team use cases do not help a CFO close the books faster or a sales team write better proposals.
So we point the assessment at operations. Same rigor, same vendor-neutral platform decision, same 90-day discipline, aimed at the work an operating company actually does. It is part of our Assess door, sized so a GP can run it across every company it owns.
By Dr. Leigh Coney, Founder of WorkWise Solutions
A Value-Creation Plan, Not a Slide Deck
Everything is written for the people who run the company day to day, and in a format the sponsor can read across the portfolio.
$15,000 fixed, two to three weeks. A deeper, operations-wide version of our assessment, scoped to a whole portfolio company rather than the fund's deal workflows.
Fees credit in full toward any engagement of $25,000 or more booked within 90 days.
Operations Interviews
Short interviews with the management team and function leads across finance, sales, RevOps, and operations. We map where the hours actually go.
Vendor-Neutral Platform Decision
Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude, or Gemini, scored against the company's data and tools. We work on its stack, not a preferred one.
Value-Creation Use-Case Map
Every credible AI opportunity in the business, scored on effort and impact, with the first three flagged. Operations, back-office, and revenue, not deal workflows.
90-Day Plan the Team Can Run
Who does what, in what order, with what budget. Built so the management team can run it without us in the room, with quick wins in month one.
A Sponsor-Readable Format
The output follows one template across every company, so a GP can compare the portfolio at a glance and spot the patterns worth funding firm-wide.
Four Steps in 2-3 Weeks
Scope
Kickoff with the sponsor and the company's leadership. We agree which functions are in scope and request the right documents.
Assess
Interviews with operators and a look at the tools and data they use. We map where time goes and where AI can safely help.
Map and Plan
The platform decision, the value-creation use-case map, and the 90-day plan, written and pressure-tested.
Readout
A readout to management and the sponsor: findings, the ranked use cases, and what to do in the next 30 days.
Run the Diagnostic If...
You are a GP who wants AI value creation across the portfolio, run the same way at every company.
A management team has been told to "do something with AI" and given no plan.
The monthly close, sales operations, or supply chain quietly eats time inside one of your companies.
You want one comparable format across every portfolio company, not ten different vendor decks.
An operating partner is building a value-creation playbook and the AI chapter is missing.
A company is about to buy AI tools and is not sure which ones actually fit its workflows.
In a 2023 study with 758 BCG consultants, people using AI finished tasks 25.1% faster with over 40% higher quality. The gains are real. The diagnostic tells you which jobs inside this company will actually capture them, and what has to be true first.
Source: Dell'Acqua et al., Harvard Business School working paper, 2023
Diagnostic FAQ
How is this different from the AI Readiness Sprint?
Same rigor, different subject and more of it. The AI Readiness Sprint ($8,500) looks at the fund's deal workflows: sourcing, screening, diligence, IR. This diagnostic looks at a whole operating company across finance, sales, RevOps, and supply chain, with management interviews in each function and a deeper data review. That wider surface is why it runs $15,000 over two to three weeks.
Who runs the output, us or the management team?
The management team runs it. The 90-day plan is written so the people inside the company can act on it without us in the room. We can stay involved through the Sustain door if the GP wants ongoing support, but the diagnostic itself hands the plan to the operators.
Can a GP buy this across every portfolio company?
Yes, that is the common case. Because every diagnostic follows one template, a GP can run it across the whole portfolio and compare companies side by side, then fund the AI use cases that show up everywhere. We scope multi-company programs together; ask on the call.
What does it cost?
$15,000 per company, two to three weeks. It is a deeper, operations-wide version of our assessment, scoped to a whole portfolio company rather than the fund's deal workflows. Fees credit in full toward any engagement of $25,000 or more booked within 90 days, including a build or a portfolio-wide program.
Run It Across the Portfolio
Take the diagnostic to see what one company might surface, or book 30 minutes to scope a program across several.
Where It Leads
AI Readiness Sprint
The same assessment pointed at the fund's own workflows: sourcing, screening, diligence, IR. $8,500.
When a Use Case Earns Software
The diagnostic ranks the use cases; the builds that deserve dedicated software live behind the Build door. Scoped per company.
A Portfolio-Wide Program
Keep every company moving after the scan, with ongoing support across the portfolio, not a one-time read.
Secure AI Adoption
Governance built for the operating company, so the plan runs safely. Scoped to size.
Portfolio Company Cohorts
Hands-on training for the management team, run by function on their own work. Scoped to the program.
The Assess Door
Where this diagnostic sits, alongside the firm-side assessments for PE, family offices, and private credit.