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AI Consulting for Small Business Owners

Skin in the game.
Not slides in a deck.

AI advice and operational implementation from a serial entrepreneur who's run many businesses, not just consulted.

Book a Free 30-Min Strategy Call What is USHAIA? ›
22 Years as entrepreneur and business executive in Silicon Valley
$4.5M Company sold (Clinovo, 2015)
10 Residential and Commercial Properties managed with AI
160K+ Documents indexed by my AI
🇺🇸 English 🇫🇷 Français 🇪🇸 Español

Trilingual consultant with hands-on business experience across North America, Europe, and Latin America.

Robot and human hands reaching toward AI

Six letters. Six principles.

USHAIA isn’t a brand exercise. It’s a filter for every decision I make and every piece of advice I give.

U
Unbullshitted

Straight talk, no fluff.

I won’t wrap bad news in consultant-speak. You get the truth, fast, so you can act on it.

S
Street-smart

Learned in the field, not the classroom.

My expertise comes from decades of building, failing, pivoting, and shipping.

H
Human-first

AI that serves real people, real businesses.

Technology is a tool, not the destination. People always come first.

A
Accountable

We’ve met payroll — we know what’s at stake.

I don’t give advice I wouldn’t follow with my own money on the line.

I
Impact-driven

Not theoretical, measurable.

Every recommendation has an ROI attached. If we can’t measure it, we don’t do it.

A
Actionable

Advice you can use Monday morning.

No 60-page decks that collect dust. Concrete steps you implement this week.

Ecole Centrale Paris M.S. UC Davis IBM Alumni EN / FR / ES

Vaillant (Ale) Gicqueau

Franco-American entrepreneur, 52

Vaillant Gicqueau
Ecole Centrale Paris M.S. UC Davis IBM Alumni EN / FR / ES

I started as a software engineer at IBM, spent 7 years in startups across multiple roles, then 22 years as an entrepreneur and business executive. I sold Clinovo in 2015 for $4.5M and founded ClinCapture — the leading AI platform for clinical research, a profitable company I still run today.

Today I manage a US real estate portfolio (6 properties including a 4-plex), a Costa Rica portfolio (4 properties including Jane’s Beach Resort boutique hotel), a personal coaching practice at vaillant.blog, and multiple cross-border ventures. I work across high-tech AND traditional industries, and I’ve navigated complex legal matters as both plaintiff and defendant.

I’m an ex-husband and friend of famous influencer Teal Swan. I was recently featured on Europe 1 radio (Libre Antenne, April 28, 2026) and I’m the author of “Alienation Parentale: de l’ombre a la lumiere” (Amazon, 2025). Based between Costa Rica, the United States, and Europe — the magic triangle.

“AI has transformed my entrepreneur mindset — lowering financial risk considerably because I can do much more with fewer employees. I want other small business owners to do the same.”

Work by passion, not obligation. Leave the tedious tasks to AI to focus on the exciting parts of your business.

The Paradox: AI Makes Us More Human

AI makes us more human, not less. We focus more on human contact and creative endeavors. We drastically improve profit margins by cutting operational overhead. The businesses that embrace AI aren’t cold and robotic — they’re the ones where the owner finally has time to be present.

Holistic Consulting

I don’t just consult on technology. I consult on your whole business — and your whole life, because everything is connected. AI is just a tool. My consulting is holistic: financial strategy, legal navigation, operational efficiency, personal development, and human connection.

Visible for 30 years.

Not an overnight expert. A career of building, leading, publishing, and being recognized — in public, on the record.

Europe 1 Le Journal du Dimanche GlobeNewsWire WUSS Conference Monaco DC

Clear offerings. Clear ROI.

I match my offering to you with clear ROI to eliminate risk. Pick the engagement that fits where you are.

2 Weeks

AI Audit & Strategy

A 2-week deep dive into your business. I identify the top 5 AI opportunities with detailed ROI projections.

$2,500
Fixed price
  • Full business process audit
  • Top 5 AI opportunities ranked by ROI
  • Implementation roadmap with timelines
  • Technology stack recommendations
  • Executive summary + detailed tech plan
Start with an audit
Monthly Retainer

Embedded AI Advisor

Ongoing monthly advisory, system maintenance, and new opportunity identification.

$2,000 / mo
Month-to-month
  • Weekly working sessions
  • System monitoring & maintenance
  • New AI opportunities surfaced monthly
  • Direct access via WhatsApp / email
  • Quarterly strategy review
Talk about a retainer
Premium

Digital Assistant Build

A custom Personal AI Assistant built for you — like Pat, the system that runs my businesses.

$10K–$25K
Custom build
  • Full business data indexing
  • 24/7 autonomous operation
  • Phone, voice & desktop access
  • Runs on your hardware — fully private
  • Multi-language: EN, FR, ES
Discuss your DA

Your Own AI Chief of Staff

A custom-built Digital Assistant that knows your business inside out. Not a chatbot. Not a template. A purpose-built system that works for you 24/7.

📂

Index Everything

Index ALL your business data — emails, messages, documents, CRM. Answer any question about your business in seconds.

✍️

Draft in Your Voice

Draft emails, proposals, and contracts that sound like you. Your DA learns your tone, style, and preferences.

👁️

Monitor 24/7

Monitor systems around the clock and alert you to issues before they become problems. Never miss a deadline, filing, or renewal.

🌙

Work Overnight

Research, analysis, and reports generated while you sleep. Wake up to an executive briefing every morning.

💬

Auto-Communicate

Manage customer communications automatically across email, booking platforms, and messaging apps.

🔒

Fully Private

Runs on your own hardware. Your data never leaves your network. Fully secure, fully yours.

How It Works

👤

You

Phone / Desktop
Telegram / Voice

🤖

Your DA

Dedicated machine
Always running

🗃️

Your Data

Business data + AI models
+ Tools & integrations

Multi-language: EN / FR / ES Learns & improves over time Accessible from anywhere in the world

My AI Chief of Staff: How Pat Runs My Businesses While I Sleep

Pat is my own Digital Assistant. I built Pat to manage 10 properties across 2 countries, handle legal defense, launch a book, and deliver an executive briefing every morning.

160,000+

Documents Indexed

108K emails, 20K SMS, 15K WhatsApp messages — all searchable, all contextual. Pat knows my business history better than I do.

10

Properties Managed

Autonomous property management across the US and Costa Rica. Dynamic pricing adjusts rates based on demand. Guest communications handled 24/7.

24/7

Guest Auto-Response

Auto-responds to hotel guests around the clock on Booking.com, Airbnb, and WhatsApp. No guest waits. No message missed.

$100K+

Legal Fees Saved

Pat prepared legal defense documents, organized evidence, drafted motions — saving over $100K in attorney fees across active litigations.

5 hrs

Night Sessions

Pat works 5 hours every night: research, analysis, task execution. Delivers an executive briefing by 7:30 AM so I start the day informed.

20+

Book Marketing Campaigns

20+ podcast pitches crafted and sent. 7 bookstore proposals. Interview preparation for national radio on Europe 1. All AI-assisted.

Pat is accessible via phone (Telegram), voice commands, and desktop — from anywhere in the world. This is what I build for my clients.

PAT stands for Personal Assistant Technology.

I want my own Pat
Europe 1 — Featured on Libre Antenne | April 2026 $4.5M — Sold ClinCapture | 2015 exit 10 — Properties managed across 2 countries 17,586 — LinkedIn connections Europe 1 — Featured on Libre Antenne | April 2026 $4.5M — Sold ClinCapture | 2015 exit 10 — Properties managed across 2 countries 17,586 — LinkedIn connections
🇺🇸 🇨🇷 🇪🇺

Based between Costa Rica, the United States, and Europe

The magic triangle.

Let’s talk about
your business.

We talk about your business, the workflows eating your week alive, and whether AI is the lever that fixes it. If I’m not the right person, I’ll tell you and point you somewhere better.

Book a Free 30-Min Strategy Call

Free. No pitch. No obligation. EN / FR / ES.


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