Assessment Usual first step
Two to three weeks. A fixed look at where AI belongs in that client’s work, ending in one recommendation you can defend in the room.
$15 to 25kClient pays
For vCIOs
You’re already the one they ask about AI.
Clients have moved past “should we turn on Copilot” to “where else can this help us.” That question lands in your roadmap meetings first, and it usually lands outside IT scope.
Free. Twenty minutes. If you want your owner in the room, bring them.
- You keep the advisory seat.
- Your firm keeps the client, the brand and the margin.
- We bring the AI strategy, use cases and builds behind you.
A roadmap you can walk in with
Harborline
For your next client meeting
Harborline roadmap: where AI belongs in your work
What to pilot, what to leave alone, and what we review next month. Prepared for the meeting you already have.
2-3 wks
A recommendation
1 workflow
The pilot
Monthly
You stay in it
Powered by Outsized Outcomes
Walk in with this →
Your week
Where this shows up in your week
Not a future state. These are the meetings you already have.
An AI line shows up on a QBR agenda you did not set.
A client asks if staff can paste files into ChatGPT.
A CFO wants to know which AI tools are worth paying for.
Copilot licenses went quiet a month after rollout.
An outside AI agency is pitching a client you already advise.
Their insurer wants an AI policy before renewal.
The gap
You own the answer. There is no offer behind it.
Clients hold you to the advice. The firm does not yet have a packaged way to give it. Stall, name a tool, or watch another firm sit down in the account.
01Stall
This quarter
The question comes back, with less patience
02Recommend a tool
A few days
A license, and the same question next quarter
03Watch them hire out
A few weeks
An AI shop now sitting in your account
04Walk in with an offer
Six weeks
The seat, and a line your firm can sell
What you bring
Three steps you can walk into the meeting with
Assessment, one pilot, then a monthly review. You carry it in. The client pays your firm. The leave-behind is a one-page roadmap under your firm’s name, like the sample at the top of this page.
Pilot
One workflow, with a written definition of done. Typically six to eight weeks. Your engineers can build it, or we can.
$30 to 75kClient pays
Monthly review
After it is live. You stay in the review. The work is checked against what it was supposed to do.
$4 to 15k/moClient pays
These are typical client-paid figures, not a rate card.
In writing
The client stays with your firm
- 12 months
- We never go after your firm’s clients, during the work and after it, except companies we already work with, which we disclose up front
- $0 fixed
- No subscription or fixed starting cost
- 6 weeks
- Target from kickoff to the first pitch
- Every deal
- Your firm approves every deal before it reaches a client
If you run the firm, start here.
The short version. Your vCIO stays the advisor. You keep the client.
- What it is
- An AI advisory line your firm sells under its own name. Your vCIO stays the advisor. We do the strategy, the use cases, and the builds behind them.
- Cost to start
- Nothing fixed. No subscription and no setup fee.
- What you earn
- The client pays your firm. Typical ranges: $15 to 25k for an assessment, $30 to 75k for a pilot, and $4 to 15k a month after that.
- What stays yours
- The client, the brand, the price, and approval of every deal.
- Our promise
- We never go after your clients. That holds during the work and for 12 months after, except companies we already work with, which we disclose up front.
- First pitch
- About six weeks from kickoff.
Owners who want the longer version can read the full partner overview.
Straight answers
What vCIOs ask before they send this up
I’m not the owner. Is this for me?
Yes. You are who clients ask, and leadership signs the partnership. The box above is the short version, so that conversation is easy to start.
Will this make me look like I’m outsourcing my job?
No. You lead the client conversation, under your firm’s name. We work behind you. The client still hears your recommendation.
How is this different from rolling out Copilot?
Copilot is a license. This is a point of view on the client’s work: where AI belongs, one workflow in production, then a monthly review. You bring that into the roadmap meeting. The license is not the answer they are waiting on.
What if a client wants to work with you directly?
We point them back to your firm. We never go after your clients. Your clients are not our prospects, except companies we already work with, which we disclose up front. That holds during the work and for 12 months after.
Can our engineers do the implementation work?
Yes. If they want the build, they take it. We stay on the strategy and the enablement.
How much of my time does this take?
You stay in the meetings you already have. We do the prep and the materials. You review them before anything reaches the client. Most of the new time is the roadmap conversation you are already being asked to lead.
1 / qtr
If one client a quarter asks for a real AI answer, it’s worth 20 minutes.
Free. No preparation.