Frequently Asked Questions

Helm Strategy is a complete AI consulting firm in one platform. You get a dedicated AI client partner (Mary) you can speak with face-to-face via live video, named specialist consultants across 21 service lines covering 6 business domains, an Executive Operating System with six connected decision modules for senior leaders, 35+ interactive strategic frameworks, continuous intelligence monitoring with auto-refresh, and quality-assured deliverables -- all available 24/7.

Unlike traditional consulting firms: (1) You have a dedicated AI client partner you can speak with face-to-face via live video 24/7 -- no scheduling, no availability constraints, (2) The platform learns your business over time -- every document, question, and analysis compounds your institutional knowledge, (3) The system proactively tells you what to worry about by cross-referencing all your data for blind spots, (4) Industry analysis is delivered in under 1 hour with 7-day auto-refresh, (5) You can rehearse tough conversations with AI-simulated stakeholders before real meetings, and (6) Pricing is a fraction of traditional consulting fees with unlimited strategic Q&A.

Once approved for the pilot program, onboarding takes approximately 30 minutes. You'll set up your account, optionally upload company knowledge documents, and can immediately start using any of our 19 capabilities. Most users generate their first deliverable within the first hour.

No technical expertise required. Our platform is designed for business leaders, strategists, and executives. Simply describe your strategic need in plain language, choose from our capability library, or select from 35+ proven frameworks. The AI handles all the complex analysis behind the scenes.

You receive tangible, board-ready outputs including: (1) Industry Intelligence Reports with 7-day auto-refresh, (2) Competitor Monitoring Dashboards with weekly updates, (3) Market Signals with real-time alerts, (4) Board Briefing Packs (executive summary + talking points + Q&A), (5) Decision Tree Analysis with scenario modeling, (6) M&A Target Longlists with strategic fit scores, (7) Strategic Plans via 35+ frameworks (SWOT, Porter's, BCG, etc.), and (8) Custom strategic analysis for unique challenges.

It depends on the capability: Industry Intelligence Reports automatically refresh every 7 days. Competitor Monitoring updates weekly with real-time alerts for significant moves. Market Signals provides continuous monitoring. Strategic frameworks and custom analysis are generated on-demand. You can manually trigger a refresh anytime or adjust auto-refresh schedules to fit your needs.

Absolutely. While we provide 35+ proven frameworks (SWOT, Porter's Five Forces, BCG Matrix, Ansoff Matrix, Business Model Canvas, and more), you can customize inputs, adjust parameters, and combine multiple frameworks into Strategic Chains. You can also upload your company's proprietary frameworks and methodologies to the knowledge library, and the AI will apply them to your analysis.

Yes -- this is one of our most distinctive features. Mary is your dedicated AI client partner and relationship manager. You can speak with her face-to-face through live video conversation at any time. She knows your business context, remembers your priorities across sessions, and can help you kick off new projects through natural dialogue instead of forms.

The Executive Operating System is a six-module decision cycle designed specifically for senior leaders. It guides you through: (1) Diagnose -- analyse revenue growth across 5 levers, (2) Prioritise -- score and classify growth initiatives, (3) De-risk -- surface strategic risks across all your data, (4) Decide -- generate structured decision briefs with clear recommendations, (5) Challenge -- proactive "What Should I Worry About?" analysis that finds blind spots and contradictions, and (6) Focus -- a prioritised weekly executive agenda with decisions due, delegation suggestions, and time investment guidance.

Yes. We implement enterprise-grade security: (1) AES-256 encryption at rest and in transit, (2) SOC 2 Type II compliant infrastructure, (3) Role-based access control (RBAC) with granular permissions, (4) Comprehensive audit logs for all data access, (5) Multi-factor authentication required, (6) Regular security audits and penetration testing, and (7) Geographic data residency options available.

No, never. Your data is used exclusively for your consulting engagement. We have strict contractual prohibitions against using client data for model training. Your uploaded documents, strategic plans, and proprietary information remain completely private and are only accessible to your authorized team members.

You can securely upload strategic plans, market research, financial models, and other internal documents to your private knowledge library. These documents are: (1) Encrypted and stored in isolated tenant environments, (2) Only accessible to users you authorize, (3) Automatically incorporated as context in every analysis, making outputs uniquely relevant to your business, and (4) Never used to train our AI models or shared with other clients.

We offer three tiers: (1) Professional: For individual strategists and small teams, includes core capabilities and monthly quota limits, (2) Enterprise: For larger organizations, includes all 19 capabilities, higher quotas, priority support, and advanced features like team collaboration and custom integrations, (3) Enterprise Plus: Unlimited usage, dedicated success manager, custom framework development, and white-glove support. Pilot program participants receive special introductory pricing.

Yes! We're currently running a pilot program with limited availability. Pilot participants get full access to the platform for 30 days with special introductory pricing upon conversion. This allows you to thoroughly evaluate all capabilities and see tangible results before committing to a subscription. Join the waitlist to request pilot access.

Initial onboarding takes approximately 30 minutes and includes: (1) Account setup and team member invitations, (2) Brief platform orientation (via video or live walkthrough), (3) Optional company knowledge upload (you can add more later), (4) Role and permission configuration, and (5) Your first capability demonstration. Most users are generating their first strategic deliverable within 60 minutes of starting onboarding.

Yes, all tiers include support with varying response times: Professional tier receives email support with 24-hour response time on business days. Enterprise tier receives priority email support with 4-hour response time plus optional video call support. Enterprise Plus tier receives dedicated Slack channel with 1-hour response time and monthly strategy calls with your success manager.