Private Roundtable Dinner

The Cost of Not Training a Custom Model

A private, off-the-record roundtable for Operating Partners and Value Creation leaders on turning AI capability into durable Enterprise Value.

Date Thursday, Feb 26, 2026
Time 6:30 PM ET
Location AVRA · 6th Ave, NYC

The "safe" choice is often the riskiest operational move

Across large enterprises, leadership teams agree that AI should play a meaningful role — not as a pilot, but as part of real workflows. Then someone asks: "Are we talking about something custom?" The room goes quiet.

"By avoiding customization, organizations are not reducing risk. They are capping their potential, ignoring long-term economics, and pushing ownership into systems they do not control."

We're bringing together the leaders who've moved past that instinct — to share what actually works.

Speed

Compress time-to-value from quarters to days

Same-day deployment is no longer theoretical. Multi-month cycles let competitors close the gap.

Economics

Unlock 90%+ margin revenue streams

AI-native SKUs with software-like margins alter the valuation math. Costs stabilize as usage grows.

Defensibility

Protect share against AI-native insurgents

Custom models on proprietary data create compounding moats. Retrieval cannot substitute for judgment.

Confirmed Attendees

Leaders who are building AI into the core of their business

Steve Dong
Steve Dong
Chief Product Officer
FinalSite
Dan Reineke
Dan Reineke
President
Arcfield
Jason Bourg
Jason Bourg
Chief Information Officer
Aptim
Jason Ordway
Jason Ordway
Chief Technology Officer
Olo
Matt Doherty
Matt Doherty
Principal
65 Equity Partners
Brian Meyer
Brian Meyer
Managing Partner
Pelham Street Capital
Nathan Feder
Nathan Feder
Vice President
Apax
Evening Format

Designed for candid, off-the-record conversation

Intimate & Curated

8–12 senior operating partners and C-suite executives. No vendors, no slides, no recordings. Chatham House rules throughout.

Practitioner-Led

A live conversation with the CPO who built and shipped the AI product — real decisions, tradeoffs, and governance framework.

The Venue

AVRA on 6th Avenue — private dining room, Mediterranean cuisine, curated wines, and space for conversation to unfold naturally.

On the Table

What we'll discuss

01

Retrieval vs. Reasoning

When retrieval-only thinking caps potential — how to separate the model from the retrieval layer.

02

Custom Model Economics

Upfront investment vs. compounding cost of generic models. Why "conservative" is often most expensive.

03

AI-DLC vs. AI-SDLC

Separating the developer lifecycle from the system lifecycle to unblock governance and shipping.

04

From Pilot to Top SKU

The roadmap and execution sprint from concept to fastest-growing revenue line.

05

Agent Architecture

Why agents on generic models become brittle — embedded judgment turns tools into amplifiers.

06

Board-Level Positioning

Framing AI for value creation committees — from cost-avoidance to durable competitive advantage.

Limited to 12 Seats

Request Your Seat

By invitation only. Submit your details and we'll confirm within 48 hours.

xtam.ai

XTAM is a strategic AI partner that helps organizations turn intent into impact across the full AI lifecycle. We meet clients exactly where they are, from first ideas to stalled pilots, and design, build, and deploy production-grade AI systems aligned to real business outcomes and go-to-market realities.


Stop experimenting. Start shipping value with XTAM.

Mamdouh Alramadan
Mamdouh Alramadan
General Partner
Brian Williams
Brian Williams
General Partner
Michelle Golladay
Michelle Golladay
Chief Marketing Officer