Why the Underdogs Are Winning in AI Consulting

How newer, faster, and more agile consultants are beating the big players at their own game

June 20, 2026
Read Time: 7 minutes

Scotland is ranked 40th in the world.

They just beat Haiti at the World Cup.

Nobody expected it. The bookmakers didn't fancy them. The pundits weren't backing them. But they had a game plan, they executed it, and they won.

That's exactly what's happening in AI consulting right now.

The underdogs are winning. Not because they have the biggest brand, the most experience, or the deepest pockets. Because they're agile, fast-moving, and executing with the right systems at exactly the right moment in history.

And this week, we got the most extraordinary proof of that yet.

The Win That Changes Everything

Didac Fernandez founded his AI consulting company just under a year ago.

This week, it was acquired for six figures. It's now the AI division of an Australian holding group of companies, and Didac has accepted the role of Group Head of AI.

Let that sink in. Under twelve months from starting an AI consulting business to a six-figure acquisition and a Group Head of AI role at a holding company.

And in his own words: "Someone hands you a portfolio of operating companies and says 'automate the shit out of all of them.' If you actually love working with AI, there is no more exciting project than this one."

This isn't a wind-down. It's a launchpad. And it's the clearest possible proof that the opportunity in AI consulting is real, it's massive, and it's happening right now.

Why the Underdogs Are Winning

Here's what the big consulting firms, the McKinseys and the Deloittes of the world, don't want you to know: size is a liability in a fast-moving market.

When AI is evolving at the pace it's moving right now, the ability to adapt quickly is worth more than decades of brand equity. The ability to move fast is worth more than a thousand-person headcount. The ability to go deep in a niche is worth more than a generalist approach that serves everyone and specializes in nothing.

That's the underdog advantage. And it's exactly why newer consultants are closing deals that the big players can't.

Think about what Didac did. He didn't spend years building a brand. He didn't wait until he had a team of fifty people. He picked a niche, built the skills, executed the process, and delivered results so good that a holding company decided it was easier to acquire him than compete with him.

That's the game. And it's available to everyone reading this.

The Pattern Is Everywhere

Didac isn't an outlier. He's the most dramatic example of a pattern we see playing out in this community every single week.

Elliot closed his first deal on day one. He felt like an imposter. He sent one message anyway. The client said yes.

Jakub closed his first audit on day two. He didn't even pitch anyone. He was on a catch-up call with an existing client, mentioned what he was working on, and they asked if he could start right away.

These aren't lucky breaks. They're the natural result of showing up with the right offer, at the right time, in a market that is desperately hungry for what AI consultants provide.

The businesses are ready. The demand is there. The only question is whether you're going to show up and take it.

What the Big Players Can't Do

Here's the thing about the McKinseys and the Big Four firms of the world: they're slow, expensive, and generic.

They take months to scope a project. They charge fees that only the Fortune 500 can afford. And they deliver solutions that are built for the average client, not the specific one sitting in front of them.

You can do none of those things. And that's your advantage.

You can start an audit this week. You can charge a fraction of what the big firms charge and still deliver more value. And because you're niche-specific, you understand your client's industry, their language, and their problems in a way that a generalist consultant never will.

OpenAI and Anthropic just launched billion-dollar deployment companies to go after the enterprise market. They're going upmarket, chasing the Fortune 500, building for the biggest companies in the world.

That leaves the entire mid-market, the $10M to $100M businesses, the local professional services firms, the manufacturing companies, the agencies, completely wide open for consultants like you.

The big players are playing a different game. You don't need to compete with them. You just need to show up in the market they're ignoring.

The Systems That Level the Playing Field

The other reason underdogs are winning right now is tools.

A solo consultant with Consultix, Claude, and a solid outreach system can deliver the same quality of work as a ten-person consulting team. The audit process that used to take fifteen hours now takes fifteen minutes. The deliverables that used to require a team of analysts can now be produced by one person with the right platform.

This is the great equalizer. The barriers that used to protect the big firms, their scale, their resources, their teams of analysts, are disappearing. And in their place, agility, speed, and niche expertise are becoming the new competitive advantages.

Scotland doesn't need to be Brazil to win a game. They just need to be better prepared, better organized, and better executed on the day.

That's exactly what's happening in AI consulting. You don't need to be McKinsey. You just need to show up with the right process, the right tools, and the right offer.

The Window Is Wide Open

Didac built and sold an AI consulting company in under a year. Elliot closed his first deal on day one. Jakub closed his on day two.

These aren't stories about exceptional people with exceptional backgrounds. They're stories about ordinary people who showed up, followed the process, and executed in a market that was ready and waiting for them.

The World Cup reminds us every four years that the underdog can win. That preparation beats pedigree. That execution beats reputation. That the team nobody expected can walk onto the pitch and beat the host nation.

That's the AI consulting opportunity in 2026. The market is wide open. The demand is real. The tools are better than ever. And the underdogs are winning.

The only question is whether you're going to be one of them.

See you next week,

Andrew.