Think Like a Machine
Think Like a Machine is a Montreal-based design consultancy offering tiered services (Audit, Alignment Program, Fractional Design Director) to North American organizations experiencing design misalignment, using a proprietary visual language and Collective Intelligence process.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMontreal, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Think Like a Machine does
Think Like a Machine Inc. is a private, founder-operated design consultancy headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 2018, the firm originated as a research project aimed at democratizing computational thinking and design thinking, and now sells three tiered professional-service engagements to organizations experiencing design misalignment: a Design Direction Audit (entry-level diagnostic, priced at $1,200+ USD), a Design Alignment Program (team alignment workshop, $4,500+ USD), and a Fractional Design Director engagement (custom-priced, multi-year, providing part-time design leadership). Its underlying asset is a proprietary visual language and a "Collective Intelligence" process that the company describes as built on eight years of R&D and four years of testing, combining elements of Design Thinking, Business Model Canvas, Agile, and Lean. The methodology is positioned as a user-friendly visual framework intended to align stakeholders and reduce decision friction, but it is delivered entirely through human-led consulting rather than a software product.
The company operates with 1-10 employees and is led solely by founder Alejandro Marin, who contributes 20 years of design experience and personally serves as the Design Principal for all client engagements. The go-to-market motion is consultative and sales-led: prospective clients book exploratory 30-minute chats via Calendly before committing to an engagement. Marketing relies on organic social channels (LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook), an email newsletter, and speaking engagements at universities and design-community events. Distribution is direct and regional, primarily serving clients in Montreal and North America. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, no institutional funding is mentioned, and the firm's website copyright has not been refreshed beyond 2021, leaving commercial momentum ambiguous.
Think Like a Machine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Think Like a Machine
- Legal name
- Think Like a Machine Inc.
- Website
- https://thinklikeamachine.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Think Like a Machine is a Montreal-based design consultancy offering tiered services (Audit, Alignment Program, Fractional Design Director) to North American organizations experiencing design misalignment, using a proprietary visual language and Collective Intelligence process.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Think Like a Machine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Design Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Specialized Design Services (5414)
- akta.pro primary industry
- UX, Design Thinking & Customer Research for PMs (EDABAHAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
Keywords
Where Think Like a Machine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montreal
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Think Like a Machine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Design Audit: One-time consulting engagement to identify existing risks and missed opportunities in customer experience. Delivered as a discrete project engagement.
- Professional Services - Design Alignment Program: Structured program to align stakeholders on a clear and visible design direction. Seats everyone at the table for collaborative alignment.
- Fractional Design Director: Ongoing strategic engagement providing design leadership on a fractional basis, creating value through part-time design director services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | One time/ perpetual license | Design Direction Audit - Entry-level diagnostic service |
| Subscription | One time/ perpetual license | Design Alignment Program - Team alignment engagement |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Fractional Design Director - Ongoing strategic engagement |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Think Like a Machine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Think Like a Machine is a design thinking and computational thinking consultancy that helps organizations resolve design misalignment through three tiers of professional services: a Design Direction Audit ($1,200+ USD) to identify customer-experience risks, a Design Alignment Program ($4,500+ USD) to align teams and stakeholders on a shared design direction, and a Fractional Design Director engagement at custom pricing for ongoing design leadership. Services are delivered using a proprietary visual language and a Collective Intelligence Process built on eight years of R&D and four years of testing.
Product overview
Think Like a Machine is a consulting services company offering a suite of design direction services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include three engagement models: Design Direction (Audit) at $1,200 USD for identifying risks and missed opportunities; Design Alignment (Program) at $4,500 USD for team and stakeholder alignment; and Design Director (Fractional) with custom pricing for fractional design leadership. These services are supported by a proprietary visual language tool that transforms complex concepts into practical design representations. The company also offers expertise in design facilitation, user insights, experience storytelling, UX/UI, design strategy, design-driven innovation, creative leadership, team coaching, and experience prototyping.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Design Direction (Audit) A design audit service priced at $1,200+ USD that identifies existing risks and missed opportunities in a customer's experience for organizations experiencing design misalignment.
- Design Alignment (Program) A program service priced at $4,500+ USD that aligns teams and stakeholders on a clear and visible design direction through collaborative workshops for organizations with cross-functional misalignment.
- Design Director (Fractional)
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced project delays and setbacks through team alignment
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Think Like a Machine
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Think Like a Machine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Think Like a Machine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Think Like a Machine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- LUMA Institute: Education-focused organization teaching design thinking, innovation, and human-centered design methods to professionals and enterprises. Direct comparable on the design-thinking-training and corporate workshop model.
- IDEO: The pioneering design consulting firm that helped define the Design Thinking category. Direct comparable on methodology, target buyer (mid-market to enterprise), and fractional/design-direction engagement model.
- Method: Global design and technology consultancy with a strong UX, experience design, and innovation practice. Directly comparable on customer segment (enterprise transformation) and design alignment services.
- frog (Capgemini Engineering): Global design and innovation consultancy offering design strategy, experience design, and design-direction programs to enterprise clients. Comparable on professional-services structure and design alignment value proposition.
- Punchcut: Design and product strategy firm focused on UX, interaction design, and design leadership for enterprise software and consumer products. Comparable on tiered engagement model and design-direction offerings.
- Lippincott: Brand and design consultancy advising Fortune 500 clients on design strategy, experience, and organizational alignment. Comparable on design-direction engagements targeting senior business leaders.
- Smart Design: Product and experience design consultancy serving mid-market to enterprise clients with strategy, UX, and design leadership offerings. Highly comparable on tiered consulting model and design-direction scope.
- Artefact Group: Design and research consultancy combining strategy, UX, and emerging-technology expertise to help organizations align design with business outcomes. Comparable on design alignment value proposition and methodology-led positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Deloitte Digital: The digital transformation and design arm of Deloitte, offering design strategy, customer experience, and innovation services to enterprise clients. Comparable on design alignment problem space but operates at much larger scale and scope.
- McKinsey Design: The design practice within McKinsey & Company, serving global enterprises on design strategy and transformation at massive scale. Overlaps in design-direction and alignment engagements but offers broader portfolio and consulting depth.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Think Like a Machine social profiles
Digital presenceThink Like a Machine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Think Like a Machine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Think Like a Machine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Think Like a Machine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Think Like a Machine
What does Think Like a Machine do?
Think Like a Machine is a design thinking and computational thinking consultancy that helps organizations resolve design misalignment through three tiers of professional services: a Design Direction Audit ($1,200+ USD) to identify customer-experience risks, a Design Alignment Program ($4,500+ USD) to align teams and stakeholders on a shared design direction, and a Fractional Design Director engagement at custom pricing for ongoing design leadership. Services are delivered using a proprietary visual language and a Collective Intelligence Process built on eight years of R&D and four years of testing.
Is Think Like a Machine a public or private company?
Think Like a Machine is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Think Like a Machine founded?
Think Like a Machine was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Think Like a Machine based?
Think Like a Machine is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Think Like a Machine make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Professional Services - Design Audit is the primary driver. The others are professional Services - Design Alignment Program and fractional Design Director.
Who are Think Like a Machine's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are LUMA Institute, IDEO, Method, frog (Capgemini Engineering), Punchcut, Lippincott, Smart Design and Artefact Group. Broad incumbents are Deloitte Digital and McKinsey Design.
Does Think Like a Machine have an API?
No public API is recorded for Think Like a Machine.
What industry is Think Like a Machine in?
Think Like a Machine's product category is Design Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABAHAK, UX, Design Thinking & Customer Research for PMs, with a secondary code of MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX). Its NAICS code is 5414.