AI Strategy · Revenue Impact

I find the AI bets that
actually move your P&L.

Not slides. Not POCs. I investigate your data, identify the 2–3 AI initiatives that will drive the most revenue, spec the system, and advise through execution. Production ML tied to EBITDA.

$20M+
ML Revenue Impact
$8M+
EBITDA Contribution
18%
Conversion Lift
5x
CTR Improvement
How I Work

Sage, not architect.
I find the angle. I guide the build.

What you get

Deep investigation of your data for hidden AI revenue opportunities
The 2–3 highest-ROI AI bets tied directly to your P&L
Full system specs your engineering team can execute on
Ongoing advisory through execution — I stay in the room until it ships
Board-ready narrative connecting AI initiatives to EBITDA

What I don't do

Become a permanent member of your engineering team
Own and maintain production systems after handoff
Deliver 200-page slide decks nobody reads
Run AI "experiments" without P&L accountability
Charge for AI theater. If I can't find the ROI, I'll tell you.

Engagement Models

Three ways to work together.

Start here

AI Revenue Audit

$5–8K · 30 days

I dig into your data, ops, and product to find the highest-ROI AI opportunities. You get a spec with expected revenue impact, implementation complexity, and a recommended build sequence.

→ Top 3 AI bets + full specs + ROI projections
Ongoing

Fractional CAIO

$10–25K/mo · Retainer

Part-time AI leadership for your company. I set the AI strategy, spec initiatives, evaluate vendors, and report to the CEO. 15–20 hrs/week. You get me, not a junior associate.

→ AI roadmap + execution oversight + board narrative
Portfolio

PE AI Value Creation

$15–25K/mo · 6–12 months

AI value creation across your portfolio. I assess each portco, prioritize by EBITDA impact, design shared playbooks, and roll up results for LP communication and exit materials.

→ EBITDA lift across multiple companies
Track Record

Production systems, not prototypes.

ML Optimization · PE Portfolio Company
$20M+
Built ML bidding platform using gradient descent optimization. 10K+ lines of production code. Automated decisioning across millions of daily transactions. Direct EBITDA contribution of $8M+.
AI Personalization · B2B Marketplace
18% CTR lift
Architected agentic AI system for real-time content optimization. LLM-driven headline rewriting with feature extraction. Generated $900K+ incremental pipeline.
ML Ad Optimization · Automotive Marketplace
5x CTR · 40% cost cut
Designed ML platform for dynamic ad generation using n-armed bandit methodology. 18% conversion lift. Company doubled traffic and revenue during tenure.
COO Turnaround · E-Commerce SaaS
Successful exit
Recruited to turn around PE-backed email automation company. Launched AI recommendation engine and email copy generator. Led product and commercial transformation through successful sale.
About

Russell Miller
Founder, Zavient

20 years at the intersection of B2B SaaS, AI/ML, and private equity. COO of a company I turned around and sold. Five years as an independent sponsor with CIVC, Stonehenge, and BlackRock — deals from $7M to $300M+ enterprise value.

I've written 10,000+ lines of production ML code AND presented to investment committees. Most AI consultants do one or the other.

Remote-first. Pragmatic. I work with a handful of clients at a time — so you get me, not a team of juniors.

Education MIT Mathematics · Texas A&M MBA
AI / ML LLMs · RAG · Agent Architecture · Gradient Descent · Predictive Analytics · Embeddings
PE Fluency CIVC · Stonehenge · BlackRock · IRR/MOIC · IC Presentations · LP Communication
Shipped Baryo (multi-model AI router) · Cast (AI financial calculator) · PageGenie.ai (RAG platform)
Approach Find the angle in the data. Spec the system. Advise through execution. Move to the next problem.
Let's Talk

Where does AI hit
your P&L?

30 minutes. No pitch, no deck. I'll tell you the two or three places AI can actually move your numbers — and whether it makes sense to work together.

Book a Strategy Call →
(415) 859-8060  ·  rmiller@zavient.com  ·  San Francisco  ·  Remote-First