AI advisor · SME leaders
Make the AI leap. With a leader who's already done it.
I don't sell you theory. I apply RAPID, the AI-integration method I co-wrote, published and deployed in my own companies. You leave with decisions and an action plan, not slides.
In brief
Patrick de Carvalho is an AI advisor for SME leaders. He sells two long-run engagements directly: a monthly advisory at €3,900/month excl. VAT with a three-month minimum commitment, and a Fractional AI Director at €10,000/month excl. VAT on a six-month mandate, for companies that need leadership rather than advice. The two one-off missions that act as the way in, the Express AI Audit at €1,900 excl. VAT and the RAPID Diagnostic at €4,900 excl. VAT, run on the RAPID method he co-wrote and published, and are ordered from Apps Velocity with Pascal Roche. A business owner for nearly 30 years, he has deployed AI at the core of his own companies.
Who it's for, and who it isn't
For you if
- You run an SME and you want to decide on and deploy AI in your company.
- You're looking for a partner who has run and built companies, not a consultant who theorises.
- You want to move fast, without picking the wrong project or wasting budget.
Not for you if
- You're a solopreneur or freelancer: it's not the right scale.
- You're looking for office-software training or an introduction to consumer tools.
- You expect a magic recipe rather than decisions to make and own.
A published method, not a promise
RAPID is the AI-integration method for SMEs and mid-market companies that I co-wrote with Pascal Roche. It's published, in black and white: a book, steps, deliverables. Not a consultant's black box.
It's what structures the diagnostic and the advisory: you know where you're going, what you receive, and why. And behind the method stands the execution capacity of Apps Velocity, the studio I run.
Four ways to work together
Four steps, from the most committing to the lightest. The first two are me, directly. The last two run on the RAPID method and are ordered from Apps Velocity, with Pascal Roche. Each engagement is sold in one place only, and most leaders come in through the last column.
Leadership
Fractional AI Director
€10,000/month excl. VAT
Six-month mandate
You no longer need advice. You need someone who decides.
- The roadmap, the arbitration, the budget
- On your premises every week
- Your in-house team trained to take over
The long run
Monthly advisory
€3,900/month excl. VAT
Three-month minimum commitment
A sparring partner, month after month, to decide fast.
- Three steering meetings a month
- Direct access between meetings
- The human side included
The framing With RAPID
RAPID Diagnostic
€4,900 excl. VAT
One-off engagement · 2 weeks
Two weeks to know what to do, and in which order.
- Processes, team, data, tools
- Roadmap presented live
- The RAPID method, published
The way in With RAPID
Express AI Audit
€1,900 excl. VAT
One-off engagement · 5 working days
Five days to put numbers on it before committing to anything.
- Five use cases costed
- A 90-day roadmap
- Deducted from the diagnostic within 30 days
What each offer includes
Fractional AI Director €10,000/month excl. VAT
When AI stops being a steering-committee topic and becomes a permanent programme, you need leadership, not advice. I hold the role on a fractional basis: I own the roadmap, I arbitrate, and I answer for the timeline in front of your executive committee.
- I am on your premises every week, inside your governance rather than alongside it. You are not buying a presence: what is committed is the roadmap and its timeline.
- Ownership of the AI roadmap, of tool and vendor arbitration, and of the associated budget.
- Hiring and upskilling the in-house team that will take over. The goal is to make the role unnecessary.
- I do not take on companies looking for a proof of concept. I take on those that have decided and want someone to hold the decision.
Monthly advisory €3,900/month excl. VAT
The leader's sparring partner, month after month. I help you decide fast, steer the RAPID rollout and avoid costly dead ends, without hiring.
- Three AI steering meetings a month, focused on your decisions. They last as long as deciding takes.
- Asynchronous access: your questions between sessions get answered.
- Long-term steering: the RAPID roadmap stays alive, month after month.
- The human side, owned: your own decision as a leader and change management within your teams sit inside the steering meeting, not in an optional module.
RAPID Diagnostic €4,900 excl. VAT
Two weeks to map your company and prioritise, following the RAPID method. An audit of processes, team, data and tools, then a concrete roadmap, presented live to the leader. The €1,900 audit fee is deducted if you commit within 30 days.
- Full company audit using the RAPID method: processes, team, data, tools.
- Prioritisation of the highest-return use cases for your business.
- A RAPID roadmap you can use immediately, with or without me afterwards.
Express AI Audit €1,900 excl. VAT
The entry step, to find out where you stand before committing to anything. Five working days between your order and the debrief. The €1,900 is deducted from the RAPID Diagnostic if you carry on within 30 days.
- Three 45-minute interviews and a map of the processes that eat the most time.
- Five use cases costed in hours and euros, not in promises.
- A 90-day roadmap. In the Article 50 variant, the same format applied to your regulatory exposure and your AI system register.
Beyond advice: deploy and build
When it is time to execute, I do not leave you on your own. Deployment runs through Rapid, and development through AI Coder Squad, the team I lead.
How it works
-
You book a slot, we talk
A 30-minute conversation, free of charge, to check that I can be useful to you. If I can't, I'll tell you.
-
We pick the right step
Express audit to find out where you stand, diagnostic to frame things, advisory to move forward over time, fractional direction when the programme becomes permanent. We take the lightest one that genuinely fits your situation.
-
You decide, you deploy
You keep control of your decisions. I stay by your side if it helps, for deployment and building.
Why me
Not a pose, a track record. Nearly 30 years running companies and building products at every tech wave.
- Nearly 30 years running companies, from the field.
- Products built and put into production at every wave: home automation, web, mobile, AI.
- AI deployed at the core of my own companies, not in theory.
- Co-author of RAPID, the AI-integration method for SMEs and mid-market companies, published with Pascal Roche.
- Author of « Je ne perds jamais ».
Frequently asked questions about working together
What is an AI advisor?
An AI advisor is a leader or expert who helps a business owner decide where and how to deploy AI. The difference with a vendor: they don't sell a solution first, they help you make the right decisions, from your own context and constraints.
How is this different from a consultant?
A classic consultant delivers an analysis and recommendations. As an advisor, I'm a sparring partner: I've run and built companies, I've deployed AI in my own, and I stay by your side to decide fast and avoid costly dead ends. You keep control, I help you pick the right project.
For what company size?
For SME leaders who want to decide on and deploy AI in their company. It's not suited to solopreneurs or freelancers: the value comes from the organisation, team and process challenge, which assumes a structure.
How much does it cost?
I sell two engagements directly: the monthly advisory at €3,900/month excl. VAT, with a three-month minimum commitment, and the Fractional AI Director at €10,000/month excl. VAT on a six-month mandate. The two one-off missions that act as the way in are run by Apps Velocity: the Express AI Audit at €1,900 excl. VAT for five working days, deducted from the diagnostic if you carry on within 30 days, and the RAPID Diagnostic at €4,900 excl. VAT for two weeks, deliverable included. They are ordered on rapid.appsvelocity.com. Full rollout is quoted according to scope. Prices are published because you are a business leader: you have better things to do than fill in a form to get a rate.
Do I need technical skills in-house?
No. My role is to help the leader decide, not to turn your team into developers. When it's time to deploy or build, we rely on Apps Velocity, the studio I run, with or without your internal teams.
What is a Fractional AI Director?
It is the AI leadership role, often called CAIO (Chief AI Officer), held under a mandate rather than filled by a full-time hire. You get ownership of the roadmap, tool and vendor arbitration and budget steering, without the cost or the lead time of hiring an executive. The stated goal is to train the in-house team that will take over.
Do you do executive coaching?
The human side is part of the engagement, it is not sold separately. Your own decision as a leader and change management within your teams sit inside the monthly steering meeting, because an AI project rarely fails on the technology and often fails on buy-in. I do not sell coaching detached from a real programme.
Book a 30-minute conversation
Tell me where you stand with AI in your company. We'll check together, free of charge, what I can bring you.
Book a 30-minute conversation