A new take on the age-old consulting gig

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Hello reader,

A running joke between my partner and I is that he should go and become a consultant. He’s got a master’s degree, has great research skills, and is really good at making things up as he goes along.

Also, consultants earn lots of money just for talking and making PowerPoint slides, right?

I kid. For all the jokes we make about consultants, the value they bring is often understated. The right insights and advice can catalyze a significant opportunity for a business that can bring in millions of dollars and cause transformative growth.

That’s why consultants cost a small fortune – you’re paying for a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you get where you want to go, and that adds up quickly.

The startup we’re featuring in today’s premium story wants to change that. What if we could offer consulting – and other professional services – more efficiently and affordably?

That could change the game and make professional services more accessible to businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Today we look at:

• Bld.ai’s mercenary approach to professional services
• The merger of Seek, Jobstreet, and JobsDB into a single platform
• Other newsy highlights such as layoffs at PropertyGuru and Coupang’s latest financial results

Premium summary

A mercenary approach

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Digital professional services firm Bld.ai operates on a few simple rules: Charge by the hour; be very careful about who you lend to; and only work as contractors, even at the CEO level.

This strategy led to the firm recording US$10.4 million in revenue and US$2.2 million in operating profit in 2022. Let’s take a closer look.

Under one roof

Hear it straight from the man who catapulted companies like Dropbox to phenomenal success

Quick bytes