Different Day builds custom AI for mid-market firms
AI consultancy Different Day is targeting mid-market companies with custom applications, offering a fast-tracked deployment model designed to bypass corporate bureaucracy.
Different Day, a technology firm co-founded by former McKinsey partner Lauri Kien Kotcher—who spent 15 years at the consultancy and previously guided hello products to a 2020 acquisition by Colgate—is deploying custom artificial intelligence applications specifically tailored for middle-market businesses. The company aims to help mid-sized organizations bypass the heavy technical debt of larger enterprises by delivering initial prototypes in just 72 hours. According to Kotcher, these projects can transition to a production-ready handoff within a matter of weeks, allowing smaller firms to operate as if they were built from scratch in 2026.
The firm's offerings target operational bottlenecks such as demand forecasting, supply planning, contract analysis, and financial-aid reconciliation. Kotcher notes that highly structured tasks like contract intelligence and financial-aid reconciliation yield the most repeatable results because they operate within clear parameters. In contrast, complex operations like supply chain planning and demand forecasting require more extensive data integration and vary significantly between business models.
For industry practitioners, this rapid deployment model shifts the focus from experimental projects to immediate operational utility. Different Day advises clients to expect measurable returns on investment by the three-month mark, provided the projects are designed in stages rather than as single, massive rollouts. Kotcher emphasizes that mid-market companies should simplify their workflows before applying AI, rather than using advanced tools to patch over inefficient legacy processes.
A major challenge for practitioners is avoiding what Kotcher terms "prototype-itis," where organizations fall for the "visible 10 percent of the iceberg" while ignoring the complex work below the surface, such as data testing, security, and change management. To ensure long-term success, the firm advocates for a hands-on partnership that includes knowledge transfer, enabling internal teams to manage and improve the applications independently. This approach prepares managers for a future where their roles shift from directing human staff to overseeing autonomous agents and systems.
This is our own summary of reporting by Unite.AI
