AI Strategy and Execution for Startups

I help startup leaders shape, prioritize, and execute their AI strategy: finding the use cases that matter, skipping the jargon and hype.

20 Years in ML and AI
Ex-Amazon
2x Startup CTO
MIT PhD

Who I Work With

Startups where AI is becoming central to product direction or fundraising.

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Seed to Scale-up

Startups from early-stage through scaled, where AI strategy and execution shape the next chapter.

Founders & CTOs

Leaders who need a strategic partner to sharpen the roadmap, unblock the team, and execute on AI with real outcomes.

How I Help

Three focused offerings designed to give you clarity, momentum, and results.

Fractional Head of AI

AI leadership without the full-time hire. Strategic sounding board, roadmap and feasibility checks, staffing guidance, and investor support, embedded with your team.

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AI Strategy Sprint

5 weeks to a clear AI strategy. Stakeholder discovery, competitive review, and a 10 to 15 page strategy document your board, team, and customers can rally behind.

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Executive Coaching

Management, team scaling, hiring, delegation, and getting stakeholder buy-in for AI/ML work. For technical leaders growing into the role.

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What Clients Say

Founders and technical leaders I've worked with.

“Diana was a trusted advisor on a generative AI project where our team didn't yet have deep experience in the space. She set up our evaluation infrastructure, helped us think clearly about RAG, and coached our engineer through to a successful POC.”

Matt

CEO, Masterpoint

“I trust Diana as an advisor on the most difficult technical problems I encounter. She's a rare triple threat in terms of: the fundamentals and mental horsepower of a researcher, the pragmatic craft of a consummate engineer, and expert communication with a high content-to-word ratio.”

Gautam

Co-Founder and CTO

“Diana's empathetic approach to coaching made Diana a partner who helped me to be a confident leader by understanding and resolving technical, people and self-made blockers. Her understanding of management and technical skills helped us to navigate all types of challenges together.”

Balazs

Head of Engineering @ Superlinked

“Diana's biggest impact was introducing me to two mental models: One that I use daily to make high-stakes decisions, and the second that has helped me run a tighter execution cycle with my team. She stands out in her ability to introduce frameworks that dovetail with the context presented to her rather than merely cargo-cult or anchor to her past experience.”

Kao

CTO, Coverbase

From the Blog

Practical thinking on building AI products that work.

Red flags when building AI

Common red flags that lead to AI builds dragging on indefinitely or features falling flat on launch, and how to distinguish them from the expected discomfort of building probabilistic systems.

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Feeling stuck with your AI direction or execution?

Book some time to chat. No expectations, I'd love to hear about your situation.

Book an Intro Call