Find the value. Prove it. Scale what works.
We identify the workflows where AI has the most ROI, prove the highest-conviction one with a targeted 100-day pilot, and scale on the pilot's measured numbers.
Three companies, three targets. Each moves to the level its P&L needs.Three portfolio companies, three targets. What ships in one transfers to the next.
- Month-end close, Industrials: moves from Level 1 to Level 2. 14-day close, all by hand. 10-day close, numbers trusted.
- Insurance approvals, Healthcare: moves from Level 1 to Level 3. 45 min per patient, staff on the phone. 20 min, chatbot finds each insurer's rules. 4 min by agent, nurse signs off · est. $310K/yr.
- Renewal quoting, Software: moves from Level 1 to Level 4. 2 days per quote. Same day. 1 hour, agent drafts. Minutes · est. $480K/yr.
- Month-end close, Industrials portco: moves from Level 1 to Level 2. 14-day close at the portco. 10 days; the fund sees numbers a week sooner.
- Insurance approvals, Healthcare portco: moves from Level 1 to Level 3. 45 min per patient, staff on the phone. 20 min, chatbot finds each insurer's rules. 4 min by agent, nurse signs off · est. $310K/yr to EBITDA.
- Renewal quoting, Software portco: moves from Level 1 to Level 4. 2 days per quote. Same day. 1 hour, agent drafts. Minutes · est. $480K/yr · playbook to the next portco.
Three companies, three targets. Each moves to the level its P&L needs.Three portfolio companies, three targets. What ships in one transfers to the next.
- Month-end close, Industrials: moves from Level 1 to Level 2. 14-day close. 10-day close.
- Insurance approvals, Healthcare: moves from Level 1 to Level 3. 45 min each. 20 min each. 4 min · $310K/yr.
- Renewal quoting, Software: moves from Level 1 to Level 4. 2 days. Same day. 1 hour. Minutes · $480K.
- Month-end close, Industrials portco: moves from Level 1 to Level 2. 14-day close. 10-day close.
- Insurance approvals, Healthcare portco: moves from Level 1 to Level 3. 45 min each. 20 min each. 4 min · $310K/yr.
- Renewal quoting, Software portco: moves from Level 1 to Level 4. 2 days. Same day. 1 hour. Minutes · $480K.
Azure
Every engagement runs the same motion.
We identify, we prove, and we scale, through a named team (we call it a pod), the same five steps every build follows (the spine), and a sign-off in writing at each step (the quality gates).
Two postures. Build the ladder: foundation-up, months to quarters. Wrap the incumbent: last mile only, weeks, not quarters.
Every engagement moves through five stages.
If the exit criterion isn't met, the stage repeats.
- 1DiscoverRead the level
- 2DefineScore + target
- 3ValidateProve on real data
- 4BuildShip through gates
- 5RunSustain + expand
| Stage | Key exit criterion |
|---|---|
| 1 · Discover | Workflow inventory with cost/time on top 10; current-state diagram; company placed on L1 to L5. |
| 2 · Define | Top opportunities scored by ROI; architecture review signed; sponsor and operating partner sign the 90-day plan. |
| 3 · Validate | Pilot demonstrated end-to-end on real data; evaluation suite standing; measured results within modeled range. |
| 4 · Build | Quality gates signed; 30 days in production with no P1 incident; KPI movement measured; knowledge transfer complete. |
| 5 · Run | Your team has handled 3+ incidents; KPI tracker is self-service; next expansion identified and scoped. |
Rank first. Then prove. Then scale.
Start where the money is, not where the technology is.
The first weeks are spent ranking, not building: a workflow inventory with cost and time on the top candidates, scored by EBITDA impact, data readiness, and underwritability. The output is a scored opportunity register: the single highest-conviction workflow becomes the pilot.
One targeted pilot. One hundred days. Measured, not promised.
The highest-ROI workflow ships as a production-grade agent: grounded in your data, human-reviewed at the edge, instrumented for cost-per-task from day one.
Expansion is an underwriting decision, not a leap of faith.
With the pilot's numbers on the table, the playbook repeats: the next workflow, the next function, the next company in the portfolio. Every build that scales passes the same seven gates, each signed in writing by a named approver.
Three roles, scaled to scope
No engagement is staffed without all three named, even when the implementor count is one.
- Strategy and alignment
Portfolio Success Partner
Single point of contact for the operating partner and leadership.
- Stakeholder alignment
- Change management
- Board reporting
- The EBITDA tracker
- Architecture and design
Delivery Lead
Technical vision, architecture, and quality-gate ownership.
- Workflow audit
- Data model and system design
- Governance
- Success-metric definition
- Build and ship
Implementors
Production code, automations, integrations, and model deployment.
- Testing
- Observability
- Runbooks
- Pair-programming with your team
The pilot is priced from the workflows it takes on; the estimator shows what a company spends to move a level.
Wrap the incumbent, or build the ladder
| Posture | When it applies | What BOD builds |
|---|---|---|
| Wrap the incumbent | A packaged system already owns the governed data, compliance, and workflows; the gap is a locked capability. | Only the missing layers (orchestration layer, evals, guardrails). Weeks, reversible. |
| Build the ladder | Greenfield, or a weak or ungoverned foundation. | Foundation-up L1 to L5, priced in the estimator. |
Seven gates, each signed in writing
Each with an AI-specific criterion on top of the standard check.
Who owns what
| Org | Key responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Fund leadership | Executive decision-making, capital allocation, gate sign-off, sequencing. |
| PortCo management | Funding, vision, day-to-day decision-making, corporate support. |
| PortCo staff | Operations SMEs, user acceptance testing, tech support, edge-review staffing. |
| BOD pod | Delivery, product, collaboration structure, evaluation suite, governance, EBITDA tracker. |
Common questions.
How does Blue Orange run an AI engagement?
Every engagement runs the same motion: we identify the workflows where AI has the most ROI, prove the highest-conviction one with a targeted 100-day pilot, and scale on the pilot's measured numbers, through a named team (a pod), the same five steps every build follows (the spine), and a sign-off in writing at each step (the quality gates).
How long is the Blue Orange pilot?
The pilot is 100 days. The highest-ROI workflow ships as a production-grade agent: grounded in your data, human-reviewed at the edge, instrumented for cost-per-task from day one. Measured, not promised.
What are the five stages of an engagement?
Discover (read the level), Define (score and target), Validate (prove on real data), Build (ship through gates) and Run (sustain and expand). Each stage has an exit criterion; if it isn't met, the stage repeats. Build exits after 30 days in production with no P1 incident; Run exits once your team has handled 3+ incidents.
Who is on a Blue Orange engagement team?
Three named roles, scaled to scope: a Portfolio Success Partner, the single point of contact for the operating partner and leadership; a Delivery Lead, who owns technical vision, architecture and the quality gates; and Implementors, who write the production code, automations, integrations and model deployment. No engagement is staffed without all three named.
What are the quality gates?
Seven gates, each signed in writing by a named approver and each with an AI-specific criterion on top of the standard check: architecture, data baseline, security, production readiness, knowledge transfer, measurement and sign-off. No AI passes the data baseline gate on ungoverned data.
Do we have to rebuild our systems to use AI?
Not always. Two postures. Wrap the incumbent when a packaged system already owns the governed data, compliance and workflows and the gap is a locked capability: only the missing layers (orchestration layer, evals, guardrails), in weeks, reversible. Build the ladder, foundation-up from our five AI maturity levels (L1 to L5), when the company is greenfield or its foundation is weak or ungoverned: months to quarters.