N4· Engineering: product, sales and operations roles
AI for Consulting & Strategy
You learn to break a messy business question into parts, research it with AI while verifying every source, size the market, and tell the answer in a deck a client can act on.
- Who it is for
- Students from any stream who like structured thinking, research and persuasion, and want to work as analysts in consulting, strategy or research teams.
- AI core
- 9 units · 20 h
- This course
- 6 modules · 12 lessons · 3.2 h
- Live projects
- 2, on Professional and Career
- Business Analyst
- Research Associate
The skills these roles ask for. Preparation, not a promise of a job.
- Perplexity (free)Free tier
- Gemini Deep ResearchFree tier
- Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)Free tier
- Claude (free plan)Free tier
- Google SheetsFree tier
- Gamma (AI slide drafts)Free tier
- Microsoft 365 CopilotCollege licence
You never pay for a tool subscription. “Verified” means we checked the free access on the vendor’s own site this month. Tool names describe what you learn; no vendor endorses Launchpad.
What you will learn, in order.
Lesson films are narrated with an AI voice, over visuals made with AI tools and checked by our team. Saarthi, the coach, is an AI. Mentors and reviewers are people.
Part 1 · The AI core, shared by every stream
00Set up your coach1 hLearn how the core works, write the learning-context document that tells every AI tool who you are, and set Saarthi up as a coach that makes you think instead of thinking for you.1 h
- How this core works6 min
- Write your learning-context document8 min
- Seven roles for AI, and study modes7 min
01How LLMs work and fail2.5 hBuild a working mental model of a large language model: tokens, prediction, context windows and memory. Then learn its predictable failures (hallucination, sycophancy, stale knowledge, bad arithmetic) and reproduce them yourself.2.5 h
- Tokens and next-word prediction7 min
- Context windows and memory7 min
- Hallucination, sycophancy and other failures8 min
- Lab: one prompt, three models, five failures8 min
02Description and context engineering3.5 hWrite briefs that get the right output the first time: role, task, context, examples and format. Then make them reusable with Claude and ChatGPT Projects, Gemini Gems, custom GPTs and NotebookLM, and learn to work with PDFs, spreadsheets and images.3.5 h
- The brief: role, task, context, format8 min
- Examples and output formats7 min
- Projects in Claude and ChatGPT8 min
- Gems, custom GPTs and NotebookLM8 min
- Working with files: PDFs, spreadsheets, images8 min
03Verify everything2.5 hCheck AI output the way fact-checkers do: lateral reading, tracing citations and numbers to the original, using deep-research modes without trusting them blindly, and testing a prompt properly with a 10-case golden set.2.5 h
- Lateral reading7 min
- Checking citations and numbers8 min
- Deep-research modes: use and limits7 min
- Your first eval: a 10-case golden set8 min
04Connectors and MCP2 hConnect AI to the places your work lives (Drive, Gmail, Sheets, business data) without writing code. Learn what an MCP server is, why a reviewed directory differs from unreviewed community servers, how to grant the least access that works, and how to keep browser extensions on a short leash.2 h
- What connectors and MCP are8 min
- Trust, least privilege and the reviewed directory8 min
- Browser extensions and AI browsers7 min
- Lab: ask the seller-data MCP server, check every answer8 min
05Agents and automations3.5 hHand multi-step work to AI safely. Tell an agent from an automation, decide what to delegate, use browser and coding agents with care, and build an n8n workflow that uses AI with a human-approval step before anything leaves the system.3.5 h
- Agents vs automations: what to delegate8 min
- Browser agents, safely7 min
- Automation basics with n8n and Zapier8 min
- Lab: build an automation with a human-approval step8 min
- Failure modes and your failure-mode note7 min
06AI for learning and careers1.5 hUse AI to learn faster without outsourcing the learning, write applications that still sound like you, and practise interviews out loud with Saarthi.1.5 h
- Learning with AI, not instead of learning7 min
- Applications in your own voice7 min
- Mock interview with Saarthi8 min
07Diligence: law, ethics, integrity2.5 hThe rules that apply when you use AI in India: the DPDP Act 2023 and its 2025 Rules, academic integrity and disclosure, copyright (including where Indian law is still unsettled), and bias. You finish by writing your own AI-use policy.2.5 h
- DPDP Act 2023: personal data and AI8 min
- Academic integrity and disclosure7 min
- Copyright and AI in India8 min
- Bias and fairness7 min
- Write your personal AI-use policy7 min
08Core capstone1 hPut all four Ds together on one anonymised marketplace settlement file: ask good questions, automate one step, verify every number against Saarthi's P&L engine, and defend your work live in five minutes.1 h
- The capstone brief6 min
- Lab: ask, automate, verify8 min
- Prepare your 5-minute defence7 min
Part 2 · AI for Consulting & Strategy
01Structured problem solving with AI2 lessonsTurn vague questions into issue trees and hypotheses, and use AI as a sparring partner rather than an oracle.2 lessons
- Issue trees, hypotheses and the AI sparring partner8 min
- Lab: structure a marketplace-entry question20 min
02Desk research and source verification2 lessonsUse deep-research tools for speed, primary sources for truth, and a citation-verification log for proof.2 lessons
- Research fast, verify everything8 min
- Lab: a deep-research run with a verification log25 min
03Market sizing and simple models2 lessonsEstimate markets top-down and bottom-up, sanity-check them, and build models where every formula can be audited.2 lessons
- Sizing a market you can defend8 min
- Lab: size the home-fragrance opportunity two ways25 min
04Competitive and customer analysis2 lessonsTear down competitors' pricing, catalogues and reviews on Indian marketplaces, and mine reviews for what customers actually value.2 lessons
- Teardowns: price, catalogue, reviews8 min
- Lab: a three-brand teardown25 min
05Synthesis and storylining2 lessonsTurn analysis into an answer-first story with action titles, and use AI slide tools without losing the argument.2 lessons
- Answer first: the pyramid and action titles8 min
- Lab: storyline and deck for the entry decision25 min
06Client work: interviews, confidentiality and delivery2 lessonsRun expert and customer interviews, protect client information, and present and defend your work.2 lessons
- Interviews, confidentiality and the red pen8 min
- Lab: interview, revise and defend25 min
Two briefs. Real-shaped work.
- Project 1
Market-entry deck: Amazon.in versus Flipkart
A fictional D2C home-fragrance brand selling on its own website must choose one marketplace to enter first. Using desk research, dated marketplace samples, the brand's synthetic data and two Saarthi-played expert interviews, recommend Amazon.in or Flipkart (or a staged plan) in a 10–12 slide deck. Every number in the deck must appear in a full citation-verification log.
You hand in
- Problem structure: key question, issue tree, hypothesis and prioritised analysis plan
- Citation-verification log covering every claim and number in the deck, with source type and verification status
- Market-sizing workbook (top-down and bottom-up, ranges, sensitivity) and a contribution-per-order comparison by marketplace
- 10–12 slide deck with action titles, sourced charts, an executive summary and backup slides
- A 15-minute recorded live defence with Saarthi as the engagement manager
Data: Synthetic brand brief and order data from the Saarthi sandbox, the student's own dated manual samples of public marketplace listings, public sources found by the student, and Saarthi-played expert interviews.. Reviewed by Saarthi against a published rubric, signed off by a mentor.
- Project 2
Teardown of three D2C brands
Compare three fictional D2C home-fragrance brands across pricing, catalogue and reviews on Amazon.in, Flipkart and their own sites, using anonymised listing snapshots and review exports. Explain how each brand competes, identify an unmet customer need, and recommend how a new entrant should position itself.
You hand in
- Price-architecture tables and charts on a per-unit basis across channels
- Catalogue scoring with a written checklist applied to each brand's top ten listings
- Review theme × sentiment tables with hand-checked error rates and representative quotes
- A one-page positioning summary for each brand, with supporting numbers
- A five-slide findings deck with three recommendations for a new entrant, each linked to a finding
Data: Saarthi sandbox: anonymised listing snapshots, review exports and own-site price lists for three fictional brands (Brand A, B and C).. Reviewed by Saarthi against a published rubric, signed off by a mentor.
In voice mock interviews and client calls, Saarthi plays: Kavya, a fictional engagement manager at a Mumbai strategy boutique, runs a 30-minute case interview: a D2C skincare brand must choose whether to put its first marketplace effort into Amazon.in or Flipkart. She wants a structure in the first two minutes, asks you to size one segment out loud, and challenges every number with 'where is that from?' and 'what would change your answer?'.
On plans that include mock interviews. You get written feedback after every call.
Pick a plan for AI for Consulting & Strategy.
One payment. The access deadline for each plan is shown before you pay.
Foundation
01Learn the AI your field now runs on.
₹2,999
One payment. GST included.
- Access for 120 days (about 4 months) from the day you pay
- No 1:1 mentor sessions
- The common AI core and your domain course
- Saarthi, your AI coach, any hour
- Hands-on labs on free tools
- Verifiable certificate
Professional
02Prove it on real work.
₹7,999
One payment. GST included.
- Access for 180 days (about 6 months) from the day you pay
- One 1:1 session with a mentor
- Everything in Foundation
- Two live projects, reviewed by Saarthi and a mentor
- Public portfolio page of verified work
- Voice mock interviews
- One 1:1 coaching session
Career
03Work alongside our team.
₹14,999
One payment. GST included.
- Access for 240 days (about 8 months) from the day you pay
- Four 1:1 sessions with a mentor
- One 1:1 call with an industry expert
- Everything in Professional
- Four-week supervised practicum with the Saarthi team
- Four 1:1 coaching sessions with your mentor
- An exclusive 1:1 call with an industry expert in your field
- CV and LinkedIn review
- Priority mentor replies
Your access period starts the day you pay and is shown before you pay. One exam pause per enrolment, for up to 15 days. When access ends the course locks, and your portfolio page and certificate stay live. Full refund within 7 days, pro-rata after that, and an automatic refund for any practicum, 1:1 mentor or expert session we do not deliver. Refund policy