One of my cofounders has been the consultant a few times. Someone reached out on linkedin and didn't care what it cost. They were considering an acquisition of a competitor of one of his former employers, and wanted an insider's view on things.

We've used them once or twice. We needed guidance on major strategic initiatives. If you're paying $1-2m in payroll to make something, spending a couple thousand talking to senior execs in neighboring businesses is a really good use of money.

Think of it like Gartner, just way cheaper :)