Operand

We envision a world where businesses transcend traditional consulting limitations through AI-driven insight and scalable decision-making. Our mission is to empower e-commerce and retail brands with deep, actionable intelligence that transforms how they optimize pricing and growth strategies.

By intertwining cutting-edge machine learning, large language models, and human expertise, we build adaptive analytics that evolve with the complexities of modern markets. We are not just creating tools but enabling a future where decisions are continuously refined to generate real, measurable business impact.

At Operand, we are pioneering a shift from static recommendations to dynamic, expert-verified analytics workflows that empower organizations to thrive in competitive environments, redefining how strategy and execution unite through data and trusted insight.

We'll be honest — when we first heard about Operand's pitch to "replace management consulting with AI," we rolled our eyes a bit. Another startup promising to disrupt an entire industry? But after digging into what they're actually building, we found ourselves genuinely intrigued by their approach.

The Smart Play: Starting Small, Thinking Big

Rather than trying to solve every business problem at once, Operand's laser focus on pricing and discount strategies for e-commerce brands is refreshingly specific. They're tackling something measurable — profit optimization — where success is crystal clear in black and white numbers.

What caught our attention is their claim of delivering six-figure P&L improvements for early customers. That's the kind of concrete result that makes CFOs pay attention, not just flashy AI demos.

The Human-AI Hybrid That Actually Makes Sense

Here's where Operand gets clever: they're not just throwing LLMs at business problems and hoping for the best. They've brought in former McKinsey, BCG, and Bain consultants to verify their AI's recommendations before they reach clients.

It's like having a safety net that speaks MBA. The AI does the heavy lifting on data analysis across competitors, inventory, and advertising, but experienced humans ensure the insights actually make business sense.

Room to Grow (And Questions We'd Ask)

Operand's still in early-stage funding, which means they're proving their concept but haven't reached the scale-up phase yet. That's both exciting and risky — early customers get white-glove treatment, but there are fewer case studies to judge long-term success.

We'd love to see more details about their data integration capabilities. E-commerce brands juggle dozens of platforms, and the real magic happens when you can seamlessly pull insights from all of them without IT headaches.

Who Should Pay Attention

If you're running an e-commerce or retail business that's moved beyond startup phase but isn't quite enterprise-level, Operand could be worth a conversation. They seem positioned for brands that need more sophisticated analytics than basic tools provide, but can't justify a full McKinsey engagement.

The Vancouver-based team's focus on continuous, customized workflows rather than one-off consulting projects suggests they're building for companies that want ongoing optimization, not just a quarterly strategy refresh.