Expected X

70% of AI projects fail to deliver ROI. Most fail before the first line of code—wrong use case, wrong architecture, wrong build vs. buy decision. We help startups and SMBs avoid becoming a statistic. As a Fractional Chief AI Officer, we bring the same strategic and technical leadership that Fortune 100 companies pay $400K+ for, at a fraction of the cost. Our approach: validate before you build, then build what actually moves metrics. Our Background: 12+ years AI/ML engineering at Levi Strauss, Cisco, Nielsen, Anaconda Lead Data Scientist for US Dept. of Energy hurricane prediction model Designed CV/NLP systems that reduced shipping time at Levi's Trained engineers in ML/AI at Cisco and Anaconda MS Organizational Leadership + Johns Hopkins Data Science Three Ways to Work Together: Deep Dive ($500 | 2 weeks)- Technical audit, market analysis, and product roadmap—with zero obligation to continue. Technical Design ($6,500 | 2 weeks)- Complete architecture, API specs, and security framework your dev team can build from. Fractional CAIO Retainer ($8K-20K/month)- 80 hours/month of hands-on technical leadership: strategy sessions, code reviews, investor prep, team building, and 24-hour emergency response. Perfect For: Non-technical founders needing a technical co-pilot Funded startups needing leadership without full-time overhead SMBs adding AI capabilities to existing operations Anyone tired of vendor pitches and ready for honest guidance Build what works. Scale what's proven. Book a Deep Dive: calendly.com/expectedx/deep-dive