In this episode of Self Funded, Chrissie Francona talks with Pat Petitti, CEO and Co-Founder of Catalant, about how a class project at Harvard Business School grew into one of the most disruptive forces in consulting. Pat shares the story behind Catalant’s beginnings as “Hourly Nerd,” its evolution into a platform now powering thousands of independent consultants, and what he calls “Consulting 2.0.” He and Chrissie discuss how AI is reshaping the industry, why companies are rethinking traditional consulting models, and what it takes to build a business that connects expertise with opportunity.

Check out Catalant Here: https://catalant.com

(00:00:01) Harvard Class Project: Catalynt Consulting Success

(00:15:37) Consulting 2.0 Evolution: Catalan’s Business Transformation

(00:15:58) Enterprise Shift: Disrupting Traditional Consulting Space

(00:25:30) Tailored Solutions: Consulting Teams for Better ROI

(00:26:36) Tailored Consulting Teams for Effective Solutions

(00:29:23) AI Integration and Specialization in Consulting Industry

(00:36:35) Expertise-Focused Consulting for Successful Practice

(00:42:23) Consulting Firms Embracing Specialized Expertise

(00:44:14) Rise of Purpose-Driven Independent Consultants

Self Funded Links:

Substack: https://selffundedbychrissie.substack.com/

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded/id1845157459

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5u4zA43k4hC183fM0PisKq?si=26bf586458934e49

The Long Game:

I help growth-stage companies close the gap between strategy and execution for growth or exit through The Long Game. Learn more at longgametalent.com.

My Self Funded Tech Stack:

These are some of my favorite tools I use everyday in my business and podcast (affiliate links):

Collective: Powers my S-Corp from bookkeeping to paying contractors to tax prep. https://share.collective.com/mQHI7Bf

Flodesk: The easiest email platform with clean, easy-to-customize designs and a simple workflow interface: https://flodesk.com/c/19VL1X

Granola: I’ve tried several AI notetakers and this is my favorite. I take my own notes in the interface which are the enhanced after the call: https://go.granola.ai/chrissie-francona

Airtable: I’ve built my business operating system in Airtable, including my CRM, content management tool, and to-do list: https://airtable.com/invite/r/uq7tgTC3