Show Notes:

Update since recording: Restack has since moved to one simple plan at $800 per seat per month, and now works across PowerPoint, Excel, and Word as a single agent.

Harsh Aggarwal is the founder of Restack, an AI agent that works inside PowerPoint to turn a consulting or PE team's analysis into a client-ready deck. He was previously at Roland Berger and product lead at an $8B PE firm.

Restack: From Thinking to a Client-ready Deck

Harsh explains that Restack is an AI agent that works natively inside PowerPoint to automate formatting for consulting and private equity teams. The purpose of Restack is to help consulting teams focus on client relationships and actual consulting work by automating the grind of formatting. Harsh highlights the historical advantage big firms had due to their production capacity, using McKinsey as an example. He discusses how AI has closed the research gap but the production gap remains, which is where Restack aims to help by automating the process of turning thinking into a client-ready deck.

A Restack Demonstration

Harsh begins demonstrating Restack by sharing his screen and showing a standard PowerPoint deck. He explains that Restack opens as a sidebar inside PowerPoint and can handle tasks that would normally take hours, such as updating a deck with new data.

Harsh shows how Restack can update a deck with new data without specific instructions on formatting or chart appearance.

He emphasizes that Restack can handle complex tasks like verifying data from sources like the SEC EDGAR website and updating slides based on that data.

Converting Decks into Code

Harsh explains that Restack converts the entire PowerPoint deck into code, allowing it to make precise changes to the data. He compares this technology to popular tools like Cloud Code and Cursor, which are used in software engineering to augment code bases. Restack can update specific lines of code in the deck, making it highly precise and efficient.

Restack updates the slides and analyzes the uploaded data, showing the progress on screen.

Restack Results

Harsh shows the results of Restack updating the numbers in the slides, explaining that it also updates the storyline based on the new data.

He highlights that Restack takes screenshots to verify its own results before presenting them to the analyst or associate. The charts created by Restack are fully editable and can be manipulated like normal charts in PowerPoint. Harsh recaps the task of updating the data in four slides and shows the final results, emphasizing the efficiency of Restack.

Creating Slides from Scratch

Harsh demonstrates another use case where Restack can create a new slide from scratch using a data model. He explains that Restack can read the existing deck to understand the context and formatting, creating new slides that match the existing deck's style.

When asked if Restack can create any kind of chart, Harsh confirms, showing how Restack can convert a chart to a different type, like a waterfall chart. Harsh emphasizes that Restack is a generalized tool that can handle various tasks, making it versatile for different consulting needs.

Pricing and Subscription Information

Harsh explains how to sign up for Restack, either by visiting the website or reaching out to him on LinkedIn. He offers a free sandbox for listeners to test Restack on live cases, encouraging them to reach out for access. Pricing is $800 per seat per month, billed monthly, with credits pooled across the team (a five-seat team is $4,000/month). One to five seats are self-serve; six or more is the Practice plan. Harsh compares the pricing to tools like PitchBook and Bloomberg, noting the time and cost savings Restack offers.

Timestamps:

01:51: Demonstration of Restack's Functionality

06:08: Technical Details of Restack's Operation

08:03: Results and Verification of Restack's Work

12:34: Additional Use Cases and Capabilities of Restack

22:38: Sign-Up and Pricing Information

Links:

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/heyhiharsh

Company website: http://re-stack.com/

This episode on Umbrex: https://umbrex.com/unleashed/episode-653-harsh-aggarwal-how-ai-lets-solo-consultants-take-on-bigger-work/

60-second Demo: http://re-stack.com/demo

Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

*AI generated timestamps and show notes.