The $470B Consulting Bubble Is About to Pop

McKinsey’s $1M slide decks are about to meet their $1,500/month AI-powered match.

The Jig Is Up

Right now, consulting firms are printing money from AI expertise they learned last Tuesday. McKinsey reps become “AI transformation leaders” after a weekend bootcamp, while OpenAI—the company that actually built the tech—burns cash faster than a crypto bro’s portfolio.

The Numbers Don’t Lie:

Global consulting: $470B market

  • McKinsey: 40% revenue now “AI-related”
  • Typical AI transformation: $750K-$3M
  • Actual AI expertise required: Debatable

We’ve Seen This Movie:

  1. Fast & Furious = TurboTax vs. H&R Block: Software ate the tax prep industry
  2. King Kong = DIY Tools vs. Ipsos : DIY research tools crushed traditional firms (in yr/yr growth anyways)
  3. The Sequel = AI platforms vs. consulting armies

The Disruption Playbook:

AI Consulting → Claude Enterprise

  • Why pay $1M for transformation when Claude does it for $1,500/month?

Strategy Consulting → Research Platforms

  • Gartner’s TechNavigator replaces those beautiful, expensive insight decks

Operations Consulting → Process Tools

  • Celonis automates operational audits that used to cost $1M

IT Consulting → Low-Code Builders

  • Mendix cuts custom development by 80%+

The Innovator’s Dilemma Strikes Again!

McKinsey has QuantumBlack. BCG has Gamma. But here’s the rub: they’re selling $1M solutions while building $1,500 replacements. Classic innovator’s dilemma—they can’t cannibalize their golden goose.

The winners? Venture-backed startups with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Real Opportunity:

This isn’t about better tools—it’s about democratizing expertise. Millions of companies can’t afford $1M consulting engagements but desperately need strategic insights.

The Decision Is Simple:

  • Traditional engagement: $500K-$1M
  • AI platform: $1,500-$15,000/month
  • Addressable market expansion: 100x

Bottom Line

To the consulting giants: Build the platform that replaces your consultants, or watch someone else cash the check. The clock isn’t just ticking—it’s about to explode.

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Dear Bob Sternfels (McKinsey Global Managing Partner),

Your Data Moat Is Leaking.

McKinsey is printing money from AI consulting. Your firm has become the middleman between Fortune 500 companies and AI technology your consultants can’t possibly be experts at yet.

Congratulations on the greatest consulting grift since Y2K. But the consulting bubble is about to pop.

The Real Threat Isn’t Who You Think

Everyone’s watching the AI platforms. Claude Enterprise. Anthropic. Cohere. But they’re not your biggest threat.

Your real competition is mid-tier consulting firms quietly becoming AI-enabled while still offering white-glove service. They’re bridging the gap between pure technology and human expertise—at half your price.

These firms support the “internal sell” and drive adoption in ways pure AI platforms can’t. They navigate corporate politics. They hold executives’ hands. They make AI digestible for skeptical boards.

Your Unique Advantage: Data + Expertise

You have two competitive advantages no one can match:

  1. 97 years of client data from 85% of the Fortune 5002.
  2. Deep industry expertise across your 30,000 consultants

But you’re squandering both. While you bill millions to implement someone else’s AI, your true assets sit idle. That’s like owning beachfront property in Malibu and living in the garage.

The McKinsey OS: Your Platform Play

You have two options:

  1. Keep selling overpriced AI projects until clients realize they’re paying for PowerPoint
  2. Build the McKinsey OS and turn competitors into clients

The McKinsey OS would:

  1. Train proprietary models on your 97 years of client data with hybrid RAGs for real-time updates
  2. License to mid-tier firms at premium subscription rates
  3. Reserve latest features for McKinsey consultants only

This platform play transforms your threat into your distribution channel. Mid-tier firms become your clients, expanding your TAM beyond Fortune 500 companies.

Your brand becomes even more valuable to top clients—“We don’t just use the McKinsey OS, we have the people who built it."

The $3B Bet

This requires:

  1. $3B investment (one year of your profits)
  2. Acquiring 3 AI startups with complementary tech
  3. Converting consultants to product builders
  4. Cannibalizing your golden goose

Your partners will resist. They’ll cite client relationships and the “McKinsey way.” They’re wrong. AI doesn’t care about your alumni network.

The Platform Economics Are Irresistible

Instead of fighting mid-tier firms, empower them—at a price. They get capabilities they could never build. You get recurring revenue from thousands of firms instead of hundreds.

Your top-tier consulting remains exclusive and premium-priced, now enhanced by proprietary technology no one else has.

Build the platform that powers the entire consulting ecosystem, or watch nimbler firms eat your lunch from below while AI platforms attack from above.