<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Stratessence Insights</title><description>Essays and frameworks on AI strategy, AI-native transformation, and evaluating AI companies, from an operator.</description><link>https://www.stratessence.com/</link><language>en</language><item><title>How to build an AI strategy that actually ships to production</title><link>https://www.stratessence.com/insights/how-to-build-an-ai-strategy-that-ships/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.stratessence.com/insights/how-to-build-an-ai-strategy-that-ships/</guid><description>A practical method for turning AI ambition into systems that reach production, built around value mapping, honest prioritization, and closing the Production Gap.</description><pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>AI strategy</category><category>production</category><category>roadmap</category><category>prioritization</category><author>Dipankar Sarkar</author></item><item><title>Why generative AI pilots fail to reach production</title><link>https://www.stratessence.com/insights/why-ai-pilots-fail-to-reach-production/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.stratessence.com/insights/why-ai-pilots-fail-to-reach-production/</guid><description>Most AI pilots work in the demo and die on the way to production. The reason is rarely the model. It is the five gaps between a demo and a system a business can rely on.</description><pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>production</category><category>pilots</category><category>evaluation</category><category>AI-native</category><author>Dipankar Sarkar</author></item><item><title>What &quot;AI-native&quot; actually means</title><link>https://www.stratessence.com/insights/what-ai-native-actually-means/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.stratessence.com/insights/what-ai-native-actually-means/</guid><description>AI-native is used to mean everything and therefore nothing. Here is a precise definition, a maturity ladder to locate yourself on, and why the rung you are on is the first honest strategic fact.</description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>AI-native</category><category>operating model</category><category>maturity</category><category>strategy</category><author>Dipankar Sarkar</author></item><item><title>How to tell a real AI company from a wrapper</title><link>https://www.stratessence.com/insights/how-to-tell-a-real-ai-company-from-a-wrapper/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.stratessence.com/insights/how-to-tell-a-real-ai-company-from-a-wrapper/</guid><description>Every company is an AI company in the pitch. For investors, the hard question is whether the advantage is durable or a thin layer the next model release will erase. Five questions get you to an honest answer.</description><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>due diligence</category><category>investing</category><category>moat</category><category>unit economics</category><author>Dipankar Sarkar</author></item><item><title>The boutique alternative for AI strategy, and when to choose it</title><link>https://www.stratessence.com/insights/boutique-vs-big-firm-ai-consulting/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.stratessence.com/insights/boutique-vs-big-firm-ai-consulting/</guid><description>The large firms are not the only option for AI strategy, and often not the right one. An honest comparison of boutique and big-firm AI consulting, and how to choose between them.</description><pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>consulting</category><category>boutique</category><category>AI strategy</category><category>fractional</category><author>Dipankar Sarkar</author></item></channel></rss>