Our Services

With experience that ranges from running companies to building teams to executing on a plan, we have developed fast and efficient methodologies that quickly allow us to gain insights, develop plans and start executing towards success. Examples of strategic engagements that we often undertake include:

• Business health assessments: what is the overall health of your company? From product/market fit to personnel to your sales and marketing strategy to your monthly run rate, where are the opportunities? Where are the gaps? We will quickly engage and identify those areas that will drive improvement, as well as those areas that may be slowing you down.

• Market opportunity analysis: are you confident of your product/market fit? Is your solution performing as expected, or is it time to re-evaluate? Perhaps you are ready to expand opportunities. Many growth-stage companies do not have the internal resources to help them with this level of research and analysis, as it’s not an ongoing need. We will jump in and deliver an assessment that helps to inform decisions that are right for your business.

• Key performance metrics: are you sure that you know which measurements matter most? Are you confident in your targets? Can you tell at a glance, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, how you are performing to target? In fast-moving companies, this level of insight and transparency is critical. We can help define and set those KPIs that make a difference, as well as help implement them across your key business systems.

• Turn-around plans: sometimes a business does not evolve as planned, for any number of reasons. These situations require fast engagement and utmost discretion. We will evaluate what needs to happen to get back on track, develop a turn-around plan and launch it into action.

• Resource planning: people are a company’s greatest asset, and growth-stage companies rarely have enough. Do you have the right hiring plan in place, across functions, to make sure you hit your targets and are positioned not just for today but for tomorrow? Do you have clarity as to what skills you need, and when? We’ve built teams from scratch as well as restructured existing groups. We will assess what’s required, and put in place the necessary steps to get the right talent on board as quickly as possible.

Whether you are just starting to build a selling organization, adjusting one that has developed organically or scaling to reach new markets, there are many pitfalls that we can help you avoid. We help companies with their Sales’ efforts in areas including:

• Field operations: are you set up to sell into your target market(s) and regions? Are you aligned between the company’s vision and supporting sales enablement programs? We help answer these questions and tune operations to meet field targets and objectives.

• Direct and channel selling: with many possible paths to market, are you structured to sell as efficiently and productively as possible? Does your selling organization have the right skills? We offer expertise in both direct selling, channel selling or a combination.

• Pipeline definition, alignment: without clarity of definition and alignment across teams as relates to pipeline, selling organizations are often set up to fail. Pipelines are one of the more complex and dynamic components of an organization — they never stop evolving as the company grows. We can help define, model and implement your pipeline, as well as ensure alignment across teams, internal systems and company objectives.

• Sales cycle analysis & funnel development: do you have total clarity as to the selling stages and key stakeholders in your sales cycle? Are Sales and Marketing coordinating to develop the most impactful tools at each stage? We put definitions and clarity in place, with an emphasis on alignment and communication across teams, as we help answer these questions with fast and effective implementation strategies and tactics.

• Compensation plans: always sensitive and rarely straightforward, compensation plans must drive the right selling behavior that is in sync with company objectives. Clients leverage our experience in building compensation plans that motivate the field as well as align with the company’s financial model.

Building strong product infrastructure is a key part of scaling a business. Ensuring that you have the best possible strategies, methodologies and programs in place leads to fast, efficient and successful product delivery. Examples of our product-focused engagements include:

• Product strategies, requirements and roadmap: building great products is the foundation of growth-stage companies. We help define and shape product development from first generation to established products, aligning across the organization with focus on delivering the best possible product to market.

• Competitive analysis: which competitors should you be paying attention to, and at what level of detail? Who are the other disrupters in the market? How do you define, sell and market your differentiation? We answer these questions as well as deliver collateral and educational materials that the organization can leverage across Sales, Marketing and Support.

• Development methodologies: Agile is a great buzzword and concept, but is it right for you? Sometimes partial application of the methodology is more effective than 100% implementation. We help turn this concept into an actionable reality that best fits the capability and objectives of your organization.

• Revenue and cost planning: product plans should align with the company’s financial objectives as well as synchronize with the sales plan. We help you do this and develop strategies to ensure ongoing rigor in connecting product with the rest of the organization.

There are many components to operational excellence. We bring experience and efficiency, having identified, designed, built, tracked or fixed almost all areas of Operations at growth-stage and mid-sized technology companies. Examples of our operational engagements include:

• Financial modeling, budgets:  the financial needs of a company differ depending on its maturity. Sometimes a company’s internal finance team needs support and hands-on guidance to manage the company’s finances accordingly. We will recommend and implement asset, revenue and cost models that best suit your company’s stage while positioning it for growth, from balance sheets to P&L.

• Cash management, payroll, A/R: the day-to-day tasks of managing cash, payroll, payables and receivables can be overwhelming. There are new choices every month. We will identify and set up the systems that make the most sense for your company, enabling the most efficient and cost-effective management of your cash and payments.

• Personnel, benefits, mentoring: nothing is as important as your people. Do you have the right pieces in place as relates to hiring, benefits and mentoring for managers and individual contributors? Are your plans a good fit for today as well as for the rapid growth of tomorrow? We will assess your people strategy and its alignment with your company goals, determining the company’s ability to achieve its hiring and retention plans, while providing recommendations as to how.

• Supply chain, inventory management: mis-management of supply chain, inventory management or order management can lead to exorbitant and unneccesary costs, poor customer experiences and ultimately the loss of those customers. We will evaluate your existing supply chain processes and recommend improvements in areas such as cost reductions, employee and system workflows, system implementations, vendor assessments and more.

• Customer service, technical support: are your customers happy? Do you have the service and support in place to ensure these critical customer touchpoints are as successful and impactful as possible? Are your service and support teams scaling accordingly as your company grows? We will determine whether or not these critical teams are best representing the company and contributing to happy customers. We will recommend improvement strategies and systems to help your teams on the path to success.

From strategy to execution, marketing done right is key to rapid growth and scale. We know that growth companies have different marketing needs depending on their stage, which can make hiring difficult. That’s where we can help. Examples of the breadth of our marketing services include:

• Product marketing: strategic and tactical, product marketing done well forms the foundation of best-in-class Marketing teams. We develop robust market and opportunity analyses, product/market fit analyses, messaging and value propositions, market segmentation and persona profile definitions. To ensure success, we not only develop these materials and programs but also train the appropriate internal teams on their content and usage.

• Sales enablement: Sales need the right messaging via the right tools. Professional, concise and consistent materials differentiate your team from the competition. We excel at company and solution slide decks and sell sheets, targeted call scripts, solution videos and ROI calculators.

• Demand generation: key to success in supporting Sales and keeping funnels full, demand generation must follow a strategy with rapid execution and iteration. In addition to overall strategy, we can help with list and contact identification and acquisition, lead and selling stage definitions, Salesforce.com workflow and reporting development, as well as SLA definitions for leads. Interested in account-based marketing? We will tailor your programs to individual prospects or customers to improve conversion rates and engagement.

• KPI development and reporting: what are the key metrics that matter for Marketing? Defining, measuring and iterating on your highest priority metrics will accelerate action on program successes and failures. We will identify and define key measures, explore LTV, CAC and ARPU modeling, and develop channel attribution definitions and modeling. Once you have the metrics, then what? We create actionable insights to improve and scale programs.

• Content strategies and development: content is king in the world of Marketing, and consistency is critical for growing companies. Is your content aligned with your brand, value proposition, target markets, channels and solutions? Understanding what flavor of content to deliver, to whom and how separates success from failure. We will bring clarity to your voice and tone with editorial style guidelines, identify and prioritize key content channels, and develop great content including white papers, blog posts, sell sheets, slide decks, website content, article bylines, and email templates.

• Communications & PR: you may have the best and most innovative solution in the market, but without a strong communications program, it may get lost in the noise. Also often lost in the journey is the necessity for regular, open and honest internal communications. We specialize in communications for both internal and external audiences, providing guidance and content for internal comms while working with successful PR agencies to help tell your story on the outside.

• Organizational structure: understanding the best way to structure your team given stage, budget, existing skills and company objectives will drive your ability to execute as efficiently and successfully as possible. We offer skills assessment of existing team members, management guidance and mentoring ranging from how to conduct 1:1s and team meetings to objective setting and providing constructive feedback, as well as individual contributor mentoring and gap identification.

Our corporate development services rely on experience, discretion and an ability to execute. We engage in both the strategic and tactical elements of corporate development, with areas of expertise including:

• M&A opportunity analysis, guidance: are you confident in your ability to evaluate M&A opportunities? Once an opportunity has been identified, do you have the internal skillset to fully prepare and execute mergers and acquisitions? We offer strategic advice with tactical support to help in each of these areas, from early stage evaluation to developing and executing on the steps required to reach closure.

• Fundraising, pitch development: are you targeting the right people in your fundraising efforts? Is your pitch effective and representative of your vision? We can jump in to help connect you with the right audience, improve on the clarity of your message and strengthen your story.

• Ownership structures: the complexity of ownership structures takes serious consideration and understanding. When you’re already running the company as your day job, there simply may not be enough hours in the day. We offer advice on understanding the various funding rounds as well as the associated mechanics of different ownership structures.

• Stock compensation plans: does your team have the experience needed to develop fair and compelling stock and stock option compensation plans? We have the experience you need, having delivered plans for companies at different stages of growth with different needs, from bringing on new talent to retaining the best.