Building Unity Advisory, a disruptive, AI-enabled consulting firm

Marissa Thomas, CEO and Co-founder of Unity Advisory, joined Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast to discuss the learnings and challenges of combining deep expertise with AI-enabled delivery to create a new advisory firm that's fit for the modern market.

Marissa shared her insights on the following matters and more:

• How co-founders Thomas and Steve Varley saw a disruptive opportunity from three angles—AI and other exciting technologies, what experts want from their careers, and what clients really need—to launch Unity Advisory in March 2025.

• One benefit of launching a firm in today's landscape is being able to take a comprehensive AI approach: Unity Advisory is "AI born, not AI-retrofitted".

• Unity strives to focus on the service areas where clients want more choice, feel there is a supply shortage, or are inconsistently served.

• Having found that the traditional hours and rates model is not well-loved by clients, Unity is using a combination of fixed and outcomes-based fees, including fees linked to metrics like satisfaction and cost savings.

• The combination of engineering or coding skills and deep technical knowledge in areas like finance or tax is becoming an increasingly valuable asset when forming a team of experts.

If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about how to be a truly authentic leader in a time of volatility like today.