633.Tarek Matar, Introducing Scalar.AI
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Release Date: 02/02/2026
640. Raman Julka, The AI Platform Turning Raw Business Data into Consulting-Grade Insights in Under 10 Minutes
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Raman Julka is the founder and CEO of ValueChaser AI Labs and a former McKinsey Partner, where he served clients on operations, procurement, and digital topics and was a leader in McKinsey's procurement analytics practice. ValueChaser.ai is an AI-powered strategy and diagnostic platform that transforms raw business data into consulting-grade insights in under 10 minutes — work that typically takes analysts and consultants 1–3 weeks. Unlike generic AI tools, ValueChaser produces structured, benchmarked, auditable outputs: full diagnostic reports with health scoring, value...
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639. Fred Brouillet, LearningFrontier.ai: Turning Books into AI Avatar Consultants
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Learn Directly from Authors on LearningFrontier.ai Fred Brouillet, founder of LearningFrontier.ai, explains how the platform works and how it helps users. Fred describes the current version of Learning Frontier.ai as an AI tool that allows users to interact with AI clones or avatars of famous authors in the Lean space. Users can also access avatars of great thinkers from the past, including Freud, Nietzsche etc. The platform aims to transform static knowledge from books into dynamic, interactive experiences, enhancing coaching and implementation. Fred highlights the scalability...
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638. Nir Eyal, Author of Beyond Belief
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable, talks about his new book Beyond Belief. Nir explains the inspiration for writing the book and the book's purpose: to help people process information and put it into practice. Nir shares his motivation for writing the book, focusing on the psychology of motivation and the importance of perseverance and adaptability. He talks about the missing component in moving from belief to action, and discusses the concept of motivation as a triangle, emphasizing the role of belief in sustaining motivation. Beliefs Affecting Perception The...
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637. Erin-Michael Gill, Founder of Genaesis on GovCon M&A
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Erin-Michael Gill, founder of Genaesis, shares his upbringing in Middletown, Maryland, and his education at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he studied astronomy and physics. He describes working at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office while pursuing graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in applied physics, and later earning an MBA from MIT. Erin-Michael explains how his early exposure to patentability analysis shaped his view that intellectual property strategy often matters as much as the underlying technology. Working as a Patent Examiner Erin-Michael...
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636. Sarah Pomeranz, The Consultant’s Guide to Working with Nonprofits
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Sarah Pomeranz, founder of Consultants for Impact, provides an overview of the organization. Sarah explains that Consultants for Impact was born out of her own struggle as an early-career consultant at Accenture during the COVID-19 pandemic. She felt a dissonance between the problems she solved at work and broader societal issues, leading her to explore how her skill set could address global challenges like pandemics, climate crises, and democracy preservation. Sarah took a one-year leave of absence from Accenture to explore opportunities for high-impact work and decided to help...
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635. Richard Millington, Contrarian Consulting Advice: That Really Works
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Richard Millington talks about his Substack and consulting practice, Fever B. Richard shares his journey of starting his consultancy practice in 2009 or 2010, focusing on building online communities. During the pandemic, Richard received many requests for advice on becoming a consultant, leading him to start his Substack in April 2023. Richard explains how his Substack has become a side hustle, allowing him to reflect on his experiences and share valuable insights with his audience. Defining Community Consulting Richard defines community consulting, which involves building...
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634. Angie Lu, Founder of CasewithAI, an AI-powered Case Interview Prep Platform.
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Angie Lu highlights her background as a McKinsey alum and founder of CasewithAI. Angie explains that CasewithAI is an AI-powered platform designed to help with case interviews, providing practice cases and drills. The platform offers objective feedback to improve case performance. Angie mentions starting a YouTube channel during COVID-19, which led to a high demand for consulting tips and coaching. The Development of CasewithAI Angie discusses the inspiration behind CasewithAI, including the success of Chat PRD, an AI tool for product managers. She explains the decision to build an...
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633.Tarek Matar, Introducing Scalar.AI
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes Tarek Matar, founder of Scalar AI, explains the tool's purpose. He describes Scalar AI as an AI engine designed for consultants to build McKinsey level, end-to-end slides and presentations. The tool is differentiated from general AI tools like ChatGPT and GPT-3 by focusing on consulting-grade presentations. The founders include a research scientist from Google Brain and two other experienced professionals. Features and Functionality of Scalar AI Scalar AI automates the entire research, analysis, structure, and visualization process for consultants. The tool can create single slides...
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632. Jason Baumgarten, How to Position Yourself for Board Roles
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Jason Baumgarten is a partner at Spencer Stuart where he is also the global head and CEO of board practice. He assists businesses in all sectors to identify and evaluate CEOs who motivate senior leadership teams to reach their full potential. Additionally, he assists boards with CEO succession planning, director recruitment, and identifying future leaders. How to Join a For-profit Board Jason talks about the range of roles on a board and the specific roles a board might be looking to fill. He explains that the specificity of board roles varies based on the scale and maturity...
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631. Stacey Dietsch, Learning Journeys at McKinsey Academy
Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Show Notes: Stacey Dietsch talks about her 18-year tenure at McKinsey, focusing on human behavior and organizational performance. She highlights the importance of connecting investments in talent and culture to business performance and economic results. The Creation of McKinsey Academy Stacey emphasizes the role of learning in organizational change and the need for effective talent development. She discusses the creation of the McKinsey Academy, an external learning platform for clients. The Academy aims to translate McKinsey's internal training into offerings for clients, focusing on...
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Tarek Matar, founder of Scalar AI, explains the tool's purpose. He describes Scalar AI as an AI engine designed for consultants to build McKinsey level, end-to-end slides and presentations. The tool is differentiated from general AI tools like ChatGPT and GPT-3 by focusing on consulting-grade presentations. The founders include a research scientist from Google Brain and two other experienced professionals.
Features and Functionality of Scalar AI
Scalar AI automates the entire research, analysis, structure, and visualization process for consultants. The tool can create single slides or entire decks based on user prompts.It offers various modes: AI generation, text to slide, and sketch to slide, allowing flexibility in input methods. The tool includes a custom brand identity feature, allowing users to upload and customize their firm's PowerPoint templates.
A Scalar.AI Demonstration
Tarek demonstrates the tool by creating a slide and a deck.
Adding Prompts
Adding custom brand identity
Tarek creates a waterfall slide showing the top five countries by international tourist arrivals.
Detailed data and insights
The tool generates a visually appealing slide with detailed data and insights. Tarek explains the process of editing and refining the generated slides to meet specific needs.
The Text to Slide Mode
Tarek demonstrates the text to slide mode by pasting a long text about key success factors for post-merger integration in banking.
Data generation
The tool summarizes the text into a concise slide with bullet points and icons. They also show the sketch to slide mode by uploading a hand-drawn image, which the tool converts into a PowerPoint slide. The tool supports various image formats, including JPEG, PNG, and PDF.
The Custom Brand Identity Feature
Tarek explains the custom brand identity feature, which allows users to upload their firm's PowerPoint templates. The tool can save and apply custom colors, fonts, and slide masters. A prompting guide and video tutorials are available to help users effectively use the tool. Tarek mentions the importance of proper prompting to get the best results from the AI.
Pricing and Subscription Details
Tarek talks about the pricing and mentions discounts available for annual subscriptions and partnerships. The tool is designed for B2B clients, including consulting firms and independent consultants. Tarek discusses the possibility of working with freelancers and organizations like Umbrex to offer special pricing. The tool is integrated with PowerPoint, making it easy for users to access and use.
Security and Data Privacy
Tarek addresses concerns about data security and privacy when using Scalar AI.
The tool uses enterprise LLMs and follows strict data retention policies, ensuring data is encrypted and anonymized. The tool generates slides on the user's device, not on Scalar AI's servers, maintaining data privacy. Tarek mentions that the tool is compliant with GDPR and can meet the security requirements of government entities.
The Genesis Story of Scalar.AI
Tarek shares the background of Scalar AI, including his experience as a consultant and his co-founders' technical expertise. The idea for the tool came from the need to automate workflows and create professional slides for consulting clients. The founders spent a significant amount of time in stealth mode, refining and testing the product. The tool is now entering the commercialization stage, with plans to expand its user base and features.
Scalar.AI and the Consulting Industry
Tarek discusses the potential impact of Scalar AI on the consulting industry. Tarek emphasizes the tool's ability to save time and improve productivity for consultants. They plan to continue refining the tool and exploring partnerships with organizations like Umbrex.
Timestamps:
02:21: Features and Functionality of Scalar AI
02:37: Demonstration of Scalar AI's Capabilities
04:11: Text to Slide and Sketch to Slide Modes
22:15: Custom Brand Identity and Prompting Guide
22:36: Pricing and Subscription Details
31:08: Security and Data Privacy
36:14: Backstory and Development of Scalar AI
Links:
Website: getscalar.ai
This episode on Umbrex: https://umbrex.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=unleashed#:~:text=https%3A//umbrex.com/unleashed/240677/
Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.
*AI generated timestamps and show notes.