Not testimonials. Not composites. Specific structural problems diagnosed and resolved — anonymised to protect client confidentiality.
Each follows the same pattern: diagnose the structural bottleneck, install the system, measure the change.
40% gross margins. Sales team could not close without the CEO on every call. Revenue was growing but profitability was eroding with every new hire.
Before
40% gross margins
Zero independent closes
CEO on every deal
90 Days
58% gross margins
2 reps closing independently
£200K recovered revenue
What we did: Installed a sales playbook that codified the CEO's closing instincts into a repeatable process. Restructured compensation to reward independent closes. Introduced weekly pipeline review cadence.
Every order touched by the founder. Three generalist hires chosen for loyalty, not capability. No visibility into cash flow beyond the bank balance.
Before
Founder in every process
No KPI dashboard
60-hour weeks baseline
90 Days
Ops Manager hired & running
Weekly KPIs live
42 hours/week
What we did: Mapped every process the founder touched. Identified which required their judgment and which required their habit. Hired an Ops Manager with a structured onboarding plan. Built a weekly dashboard in 48 hours.
First board meeting in three months. No financial reporting beyond Xero. Had never managed upward or presented to non-exec directors.
Before
No board pack
No strategic plan
Founder unprepared
90 Days
Board-ready financials
18-month strategy
Term sheet received
What we did: Built a board pack template. Ran three mock board presentations. Installed monthly financial reporting that went beyond Xero. Prepared the founder for growth equity conversations.
Promoted individual contributors to management without training. Culture fracturing. CAC rising but unmeasured.
Before
No leadership training
Culture undefined
CAC invisible
90 Days
Management playbook
Values documented
CAC down 32%
What we did: Introduced a management operating system for first-time leaders. Facilitated a culture definition session. Built a CAC tracking model that exposed the real cost of acquisition for the first time.
Revenue up 40% year on year. Profit down. Could not explain why the bank balance did not match the P&L. Three new hires in six months, none performing.
Before
Revenue up, profit down
3 underperforming hires
Cash flow opaque
90 Days
Margins restored to 22%
Hiring process rebuilt
Monthly cash flow model live
What we did: Built a unit economics model per service line. Identified two lines running at negative margin. Restructured the hiring process with a scorecard methodology. Installed a monthly cash flow model.
Needed Head of Sales, Head of Ops, and a Finance Director. Had never hired at this level. Previous senior hires had been expensive failures.
Before
No leadership team
2 failed senior hires
£180K wasted
6 Months
3 senior hires landed
All retained at 12 months
Founder at 60% strategic
What we did: Built a senior hiring framework: role definition, scorecard, interview process, first-90-days plan. Sat in on final interviews. Designed onboarding for each hire. Coached the founder on managing upward for the first time.
"The difference was not motivation. I had plenty of that. The difference was having someone in the room who had seen this exact pattern before and could tell me, specifically, what to do about it."
— CEO, B2B SaaS, £5M ARR
A 30-minute triage call. I will identify your single highest-leverage structural problem. No pitch.