Anti-McKinsey: Why We're Flipping the Consulting Model

When someone asks me what Till Freitag actually does

I usually say: "We're the anti-McKinsey of the AI era."

That sounds provocative. It is. But it captures the essence better than any elevator pitch I've ever heard.

McKinsey sells PowerPoint decks for six-figure sums. We build working systems in four weeks. McKinsey sends junior consultants at senior day rates. Everyone on our team has personally built what they recommend. McKinsey optimizes structures. We blow them open.

It's Time for Change

The consulting industry has a problem. Not because the people there aren't smart – quite the opposite. But because the model is upside down: it rewards prolonging problems rather than solving them. The longer the project, the higher the revenue. The more complex the recommendation, the more indispensable the consultant.

We believe in the opposite: our success is measured by how quickly you no longer need us.

That's what drives us. Every single day. Breaking open the old, encrusted structures – not with manifestos on office walls, but with working code that was still an idea on a whiteboard yesterday.

What We Do Differently – and Why

1. We Predominantly Hire Women

Not because it's trendy. Not for a photo on the "About Us" page. But because the tech industry has a diversity problem that won't be solved by lip service.

In AI and tech consulting, women are massively underrepresented. That's not just unfair – it's bad for business. Homogeneous teams produce homogeneous solutions. And homogeneous solutions fail in a reality that is, by nature, diverse.

That's why our hiring strategy is clear: given equal qualifications, we prefer women. We design job postings that don't just appeal to the stereotypical tech bro. We offer flexible work models that are compatible with real life – not the LinkedIn lifestyle.

This isn't a quota. It's common sense.

2. We Charge Certain Clients Double

Yes, you read that correctly.

When a company comes to us whose values fundamentally contradict ours – but whose money we can still take because the work is legal and the project is doable – we do it. But at double the price.

Why? Because we're honest. We don't say "we won't work with you" and then quietly take the next client doing the same thing. We say: "We'll do it – but it costs you more. And the premium goes to organizations that represent the opposite of what you stand for."

This isn't charity-washing. It's Robin Hood pricing.

3. We Donate Profits from "Questionable" Projects

The premium from point 2 goes directly to NGOs that hold opposing positions. A project for a company with a questionable climate record? The extra profit goes to climate protection organizations. A contract from an industry with a diversity problem? The money flows into support programs for underrepresented groups.

We call it the "karma offset." No company is perfect – neither are we. But we can make sure that even the work that makes us grit our teeth ends up doing some good.

4. Humanity Over Methodology

McKinsey decides by framework. MECE, 2x2 matrix, scoring model. Everything measurable, everything defensible, everything interchangeable.

We sometimes decide by gut feeling. Who fits the team? Who do we trust? Which approach feels right – even when it doesn't fit neatly into a matrix?

Social skills aren't a nice-to-have for us. They're the first hiring criterion. Because the best tools in the world are useless if the collaboration doesn't work. And sometimes the right call is the one no framework predicts – but the one someone with 15 years of experience feels in their gut.

This Isn't Feel-Good Marketing

I know how this sounds. Like one of those LinkedIn posts that start with "Unpopular opinion:" and then say something everyone agrees with.

But this is different. This costs us money. This costs us clients. This means rejecting applicants who are technically brilliant but culturally wrong. This means some companies think we're arrogant.

And that's exactly the point.

If your values cost you nothing, they're not values. They're slogans.

Build > Advise

In the end, it all comes down to one sentence Till repeats at every team meeting:

"We build what consultants just present."

That's not arrogance. It's an invitation. To everyone tired of strategy decks without execution. To everyone who knows AI is changing the rules. To everyone ready to break open encrusted structures.

Not tomorrow. Today.

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