Park City, Utah  ·  40.6461° N, 111.498° W

Get your team using AI without betting the company on it.

Switchback helps leadership teams plan, govern, and roll AI into everyday workflows. I sell no software and take no vendor fees, so the only thing I optimize for is your outcome.

Six years advising via GLG & Pro Sapient
Wharton AI Strategy & Governance
Vendor-neutral by design
Based in Park City, UT
How it worksThe ascent

Four switchbacks from interested to in production.

A switchback is the trail engineering that makes a steep climb walkable. Same idea here. We take the hard, all-at-once leap and turn it into a route you can actually follow.

Switchback 01

Assess

Map where AI actually fits your operations, what's a quick win, and what's a risk. You get a clear readiness picture, not a sales pitch.

Switchback 02

Govern

Put the guardrails in first. An acceptable-use policy, data-handling rules, and a risk framework built on NIST so adoption never creates exposure.

Switchback 03

Roll out

Pick a contained pilot and build the workflow. Where it helps, I'll wire up the working automation myself rather than hand you a slide deck.

Switchback 04

Measure

Prove the rollout worked, then decide what climbs next. This is the part that justifies the next year of investment.

Services

A menu, not a package.

Start with a single hourly session or a short assessment. Most engagements grow from there into ongoing advisory. Here's the full range to pull from.

A

Start here

AI Strategy Session

A paid working session for leadership that doesn't know where to begin. You bring the questions, you leave with direction and a short follow-up summary.

Readiness & Opportunity Assessment

A short diagnostic of where AI realistically fits, what's low-hanging, and what's risky. The thing that surfaces everything else below.

B

Governance & policy

AI Use Policy

The policy that tells your team which tools they can use, what data can and can't go into them, and what's off limits.

Governance Framework

A NIST-based structure: risk-tiering of use cases, human-in-the-loop rules for consequential decisions, and a vendor evaluation rubric.

Shadow AI Audit

Surface what your people already use unsanctioned, then bring it under policy instead of banning it. Every company has this.

C

Workflow & rollout

Workflow Mapping

Take one department, map the real tasks, and flag what can be automated or augmented, with specific tool recommendations.

Vendor & Tool Selection

Choose tools on security, data handling, and fit. Worth a premium precisely because I sell nothing, so the recommendation is yours to trust.

Pilot Design & Build

Design a contained pilot with real success metrics, and where it helps, build the working automation or prototype myself.

Prompt Libraries & Playbooks

Reusable prompts and SOPs for a specific team so adoption sticks long after I'm gone.

D

Enablement & ongoing

Team Training & Workshops

Role-specific sessions that get employees actually using the tools, not just aware of them. Repeats across departments.

Leadership Briefings

Keep the exec team current on the landscape and the shifting regulation. The natural on-ramp to a monthly retainer.

Adoption & ROI Review

Close the loop and prove the rollout worked. This is what protects and justifies the next year of spend.

Where I go deep

Two areas I know from the inside.

Specialty

AI for Sales & GTM

This is my day job. Helping revenue teams adopt AI for prospecting, outreach, CRM hygiene, and pipeline work, with results you can actually measure. I've built this tooling myself, so I can speak to it more credibly than a generalist.

Specialty

AI for Education & Edtech

Years selling into K-12 districts, community colleges, and universities across the Mountain West. I understand the sector's constraints, FERPA included, in a way most AI consultants simply don't.

About
Principal Advisor
Jake Thelen
Founder, Switchback AI Advisory
  • 12 yrs Sales experience in tech
  • 06 yrs Independent advisory via GLG & Pro Sapient
  • Cert AI Strategy & Governance, The Wharton School
  • Builds Automation, internal sales tooling, data pipelines
  • Base Park City, Utah · works remote

You're working with one person, not an account team and a deck of subcontractors.

I've spent six years as an independent advisor through GLG and Pro Sapient, alongside 12 years of sales experience in tech. I hold a certificate in AI Strategy and Governance from the Wharton School.

The part that makes the advice different: I build. Automation, internal tools, data pipelines. So when I recommend a workflow, I've usually wired one up myself. You get a strategist who can also hand you something that runs, and who has no software to sell you on the way out.

FAQ

Questions people ask before reaching out.

What does Switchback AI Advisory do?

Switchback AI Advisory is an independent AI consulting practice. I help leadership teams plan, govern, and roll out AI inside their everyday employee workflows. I don't sell software and I don't take vendor referral fees, so the guidance is built around your outcome, not a product quota.

What does vendor-neutral AI consulting mean?

It means I have nothing to sell you and no financial relationship with any AI tool or platform. When I recommend a tool or a workflow, the only thing driving the recommendation is what fits your team, your data, and your risk tolerance.

How much does AI consulting cost?

Engagements start hourly, so there's a low-commitment way to begin. From there, work often grows into fixed-scope assessments or a monthly retainer. I share rates on our first call once I understand what you're trying to do.

Do you help with AI governance and policy, not just tools?

Yes. Governance is often the starting point. I build acceptable-use policies, data-handling rules, and risk frameworks based on the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, so your team can adopt AI without creating legal or security exposure.

Who do you work with, and do you work remotely?

I work with leadership teams at mid-market companies, with deep specialties in sales and go-to-market organizations and in education and edtech. I'm based in Park City, Utah, and work remotely with clients across the Mountain West and nationwide.

How is this different from a consultant who only advises?

I build. Alongside the strategy, I can design and wire up the actual automations and pilots myself, so you get working systems, not just a slide deck and a bill.

Get in touch

Let's see if there's a fit.

Engagements start hourly, so there's a low-commitment way in. Book a short intro call or send a note and I'll get back to you within a business day.

Book an intro call →

[email protected]
Engagements start hourly · rates shared on our first call