🍲 Yummy ToFu

How AI consultants are rethinking lead gen

Eryn Peters
April 20, 2025

Happy Sunday, pals!

Hope you’re hungry. We’ve got lots to cover today.

In today’s issue

⚡️ Lightning List - What I’m reading this week
🤝 Team ToFu - Consultants getting creative with lead gen
🥇 Contingent ≠ Backup Plan - Guest post from Jibek Valevka @ Malt
⭐️ Community Spotlight - Contra surpasses 1 million users!
💰️ Sponsor - Lyzr - Transform HR workflows with 40+ specialized AI agents

⚡️ Lightning List ⚡️

🤝 Acquisition alert. Infosys revenue rises 4.8%; plans to acquire two firms.

👋 We out. PwC exits more than a dozen countries in push to avoid scandals.

😆 Reaching much? Figma sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lovable over the term “Dev Mode”.

🎨 Vibes. Forget vibe coding, Canva just introduced vibe designing.

🎯 If it isn’t the consequences of my own actions.Target’s taking action as boycott over slashed DEI efforts roils in-store foot traffic.

🇪🇺 AI for all. Europe’s job market is increasingly AI-ready.

🇯🇵 暴騰. Japan hosts unlikely winners of the global AI boom.

🇬🇧 Blimey. UK start-ups consider switch to US as funding falls to post-pandemic low.

💅 And we love to see it. AI founder unseated Taylor Swift as world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire.

🚁 Helicopter, helicopter. Your boss can now watch your every move.

📈 Your network defines your growth. Surround yourself with ambitious managers and leaders in 500+. Raise your average—join a community built for high achievers.

🤝 Team ToFu 🤝

Here's an insider look at what the AI Maturity Index exclusive AI consultant event revealed about today's market challenges.

Traditionally, consulting was dominated by massive firms with armies of analysts.

That paradigm is shifting rapidly, and a strategic approach to AI-powered lead generation might actually be essential now. At this week's webinar, we unveiled the AI Maturity Index as a powerful top-of-funnel tool that helps consultants qualify prospects while delivering immediate value. Our live poll results revealed that building credibility (without a big brand behind you) and finding AI-ready leads are the top two challenges facing independent AI consultants today.

In this week's event, we explored how the $12 trillion digital transformation market is becoming accessible to smaller players, while revealing exactly how consultants can embed assessment tools directly on their websites to capture leads without traditional gated content.

👇️ Watch and share!

To my consultant freelance platforms - interested in a version of this event for your community? Respond to this email and let’s talk about it! Everything we shared is 100% free for consultants to start using.

⚡ Contingent ≠ Backup Plan ⚡

Remember when contingent workers were seen merely as temporary solutions?

This perspective is rapidly changing, and a similar shift in workforce strategy might actually be crucial for business success. As guest author Jibek Valevka, Head of Community UK at Malt.com (Europe's largest freelancer marketplace) explains, we're witnessing what could be called the "Contingent Workforce Transformation" – where skills-based teams become central to organizational agility while traditional employment models grow increasingly rigid.

In this week's deep dive, she explores the critical divide emerging between organizations that strategically integrate freelance talent and those that remain hesitant, while outlining the specific approaches needed to build effective blended teams.

The workforce landscape is evolving dramatically – is your organization prepared for this fundamental shift in how work gets done?

Do you have an idea for a topic or article that you’d like to share with the Weekly Workforce community? Respond to this email and let’s talk about your guest post spot!

⭐️ Community Spotlight ⭐️

🎉 Congratulations to Contra on reaching the remarkable milestone of 1 million users! 🎉

By focusing on empowering independent talent with zero commission fees and innovative tools that streamline project discovery and management, Contra has clearly struck a chord with today's evolving workforce.

As the landscape of work continues to shift toward more flexible, portfolio-based careers, Contra's growth demonstrates both the increasing demand for platforms that truly serve freelancers' interests and the company's ability to deliver a solution that resonates with independent professionals worldwide.

🥂 Here's to the next million users and Contra's continued mission to reshape how skilled talent works in the digital economy!

🎂 We’ve surpassed 1 million people on Contra

Next million before the end of the year? 🚀

www.linkedin.com/posts/gajus_weve-surpassed-1-million-people-on-contra-activity-7318698294266785793-H-SS?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAbOSOQB8_P1QOTU-h074dCViwR7C410gNM

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📚️ Term of the Week 📚️

Workforce Atomization noun | FUTURE OF WORK TERM

decentralization of traditional employment structures into networks of specialized independent talent. In today's evolving labor market, refers to the fragmentation of work into project-based engagements rather than permanent roles, enabling companies to assemble purpose-built teams for specific objectives.

_{Related terms: disaggregation, contingent workforce, expertise on-demand, portfolio careers}

That’s all for now, pals. See ya next week.

Eryn