McKinsey-Level Strategy Reports at $250/Month? Inside Rocket, the AI Consulting Platform Taking On Big Consulting

What would you pay a consulting firm for a single strategy report? McKinsey starts at a minimum of tens of thousands of dollars — usually far more. Not exactly something most small businesses can afford. But Indian startup Rocket just issued a direct challenge to this market: "McKinsey-grade strategy reports, built for $250 a month." Is it hype, or is it real? techcrunch

What Is It?

Rocket 1.0 is an AI platform launched in April 2026 by Rocket, a startup based in Surat, India. They call themselves "the world's first Vibe Solutioning platform" — in plain terms, it's an all-in-one AI consulting platform that connects strategy research, product building, and post-launch competitor monitoring into a single workflow. techcrunch

CEO Vishal Virani puts it well: "Code is easy now. Cursor, Replit, Lovable — tools are everywhere. But no one's telling you what to build. Running a business is completely different from writing code." techcrunch

Rocket 1.0 is built around three core features: morningstar

1. Solve (Strategy Research)
   Which market to enter, how to price, whether an idea is viable — throw business questions at it and get back structured strategy reports. Work that used to take consultants weeks or months gets done in hours.
2. Build (Product Build)
   Take the strategy from Solve and turn it directly into a product. Web apps, mobile apps, internal dashboards — no switching tools, no re-explaining context.
3. Intelligence (Competitor Monitoring)
   Tracks competitors' websites, social media, reviews, job postings, and ads in real time. It doesn't just surface data — it interprets it. "Competitor changed pricing + grew enterprise sales headcount + added new case studies to their investor page" → that's not three separate signals, it's one strategic move.

The 1,000+ data sources claim stands out — they pull from Meta's Ad Library, Similarweb's API, and proprietary crawlers. When TechCrunch tested it directly, a simple prompt generated a consulting-style PDF report covering pricing, unit economics, and GTM strategy.

What Changes?

Does AI consulting fully replace traditional consulting? Not yet. But the real story is that small and mid-sized businesses finally have an entry point into strategic planning — a space they simply couldn't access before.

The core tension here is the judgment vs. accessibility trade-off. A McKinsey senior partner's 20 years of experience isn't something AI can replicate. But that service was only ever available to Fortune 500 companies. Rocket is giving the other 99% of businesses their first shot at an "80-point strategy report."

The consulting industry itself is feeling this shift. The Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) and MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) have poured over $10 billion into AI since 2023 — but their business models haven't changed much. They're still billing junior consultant hours. Even McKinsey only runs performance-based contracts for 25% of its revenue.

There's analysis suggesting McKinsey's internal AI tool, Lilli, can handle 80% of junior analyst work. BCG's Deckster automates slide polishing. AI is eating the bottom of the consulting pyramid.

Getting Started

Here's how to actually put AI consulting tools to work in your business.

1. Start with your most expensive external decision.
   Market entry strategy, pricing, competitive analysis — pick the costliest thing you're currently paying a consultant or agency to handle. morningstar +2
2. Test Rocket ($250/month plan) or a free alternative first.
   Use Rocket's Solve feature to ask the same question: "What's the right price for our product?" or "Is this market worth entering?" Compare the output quality against what a traditional consultant would deliver.
3. Build an "AI draft → expert validation" workflow.
   AI handles 80% of the research and drafting; an industry expert or internal senior validates the remaining 20%. You can cut consulting costs by 80–90% while maintaining quality.
4. Automate competitor monitoring.
   Instead of a manual monthly check, use the Intelligence feature for real-time alerts on competitor moves. Never miss a pricing change, hiring pattern shift, or marketing strategy update.
5. Connect strategy reports directly to execution.
   "Analysis done, execution handled separately" was the classic consulting weakness. When you can take research results straight into a product prototype within the same platform, you eliminate the dead time between strategy and action.

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Deep Dive Resources

Rocket.new — Official Site

Sign up and test the Solve feature yourself. Starts at the $25 plan.

2026 Consulting AI Revolution Update — Future of Consulting

Why Big 4 and MBB poured $10 billion into AI without changing their business models.

AI Is Rewriting Strategy — BCG, McKinsey, Bain Compared

How the three major consulting firms see the future of AI strategy — three very different visions.

TechCrunch — Rocket AI Consulting Launch

Includes TechCrunch's hands-on test, CEO interview, and pricing info.