Executive Consulting Services

Communicate your compelling vision clearly and concisely to stakeholders,
both inside and external to your organization.

Join the > 1,000 clients who have raised > 1 Billion USD to date to achieve your vision

One-on-one or in small teams, Consulting Services will get you ready fast.

Use Cases - Clients

Congratulations on your success to date! Now that you are earning revenue, the demands on your pitches, board presentations and other venues are just getting tougher. While a founder of an early-stage startup can talk about the big vision and future plans while promising execution, you have to demonstrate it, whether you are talking to investors, customers, board members, or shareholders. In addition, your whole team has to be as good at presenting as you are. Branding and professionalism are also crucial. Take advantage of Executive Consulting when you need to prepare for a big event, your next roadshow, or the next all-hands meeting. I can help you connect with your audience and help them get as excited as you are.
The challenge for almost every startup is breaking through the noise to reach the attention and interest of investors. You may find it just as challenging to reach customers, partners, beta testers and others. You must strike the correct balance between breadth and depth of information, delivering your most compelling information in the (usually very brief) time available. I developed the “Perfect Pitch” process by working with academic innovators and I have a PhD myself. I can help you to connect your and your co-founders amazing innovations with the business focus of your target audience. Sign up for Executive Consulting for your next pitch, your next customer interview or sale, the next networking event, next conference, or other opportunity.
Investors have come to me for help in pitching to new limited partners, to potential syndicate members, and to portfolio companies (as well as to ask me to work with their portfolio companies, of course). In some ways, the investor pitch to other investors is the most difficult, as you must differentiate your funds without the benefit of novel IP or other straightforward differentiators. To help you stand out from the crowd, our focus will be on your reputation, and especially on how you have executed in challenging situations, finding opportunity out of disaster or creating unexpected successes through keen insight and great networks. Executive Consulting brings you and your partners together to ensure that your messaging is consistent and engaging to the target audience.
One of your big value-adds to your portfolio companies is your ability to help them craft their story prior to roadshows and customer visits. But the timing is not always ideal: You may be too busy.  Perhaps fresh eyes are needed. You and the CEO may be butting heads more than collaborating. Or you may have identified a startup that  you really want to have pitch to your partners, but the founder(s) just are not getting their pitch together. Use Executive Consulting to take some of the workload off your shoulders while providing an effective, differentiating service to your current and potential portfolio companies.
You may be the best engineer in your department. You may have a list of patents as long as your arm. And yet, when it comes to getting a budget for your project from management, your requests fall on deaf ears. I am a scientist by training, and trust me when I say I feel your pain! Fortunately, I know how to communicate your amazing ideas in a way that they can appreciate. Consider Executive Consulting for yourself or your team when you want to stop hiding your project in a skunk works, or putting it off quarter after quarter, and get management to listen. If you are a manager who believes that your department is consistently underfunded for the potential you could be delivering, the same advice applies!

Use Cases - Situations

Stop thinking of your board meetings as opportunities to just update the members.

Turn your presentations into pitches, where your ask is for their support in your actions, whether through votes of confidence, introductions or actionable feedback

Your board members’ job is to help your company succeed by holding you accountable for your strategy and your staff’s execution.

Board meetings can devolve into a dog-and-pony show where you bring out key staff members for updates, expecting that the members will understand the context and relevance of each in supporting your plans.

But very often, the context you experience every day is invisible to your board.

They may appreciate the positive points shown and still miss the big picture, and how your team’s advances fit with the strategy.

Properly framed and delivered, your team’s board presentations can make these critical meetings more useful and the members more supportive of your strategies, even when you are going through challenging times.

Whether you have a new company or a new product in a hot space, a market analyst can make or break your reputation. Or just ignore you.

Whether you reach out or they call you, be ready with a clear, concise and compelling presentation that will make them want to include your news in their latest reports.

Don’t do what many young companies do today:

A market analyst recently told me that companies that wanted to raise their profile would call and pitch him with their innovations. But lately, they call and say, “So, what would you like to know about us?”

His answer? “I don’t know. You’re the one who called me, remember?”

Market analysts, as a rule, are very smart and well-educated, excellent writers and overworked.

They can help make your reputation in the marketplace, or leave you in oblivion. Make it easy for them to recognize your value. 

All-hands meeting announcements can be greeted with fear or annoyance. Employees rarely look forward to them, because they expect to hear a sanitized version of reality with little relationship to their own jobs.

Make your all-hands meetings relevant and engaging by avoiding filler material and instead focusing on the points they care about, in a context that is meaningful to them. 

If you have to announce a difficult time coming in the near future, present it in a way that encourages them to pull together.

If they are getting a reward for helping with a big success, show them how their contributions fit into the big picture and get buy in for doing it again.

Don’t waste their time. Make it shorter – more clear and concise – with a message that resonates for them – so it is compelling.

Investor pitches have a reputation for being too long and detailed or too short and superficial.

A great investor pitch is one that delivers the right level of detail addressing all the investors’ potential red flags in a way that is consistent, comprehensive and compelling. 

You should feel as though you are telling your story in your way. That is what makes you come across as authentic and trustworthy – and investors only invest in people they trust.

Many innovators use other startups’ successful pitches as templates… which just means that they are telling their story in someone else’s way. 

 

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Consulting Services Description

Consulting Services Description

1.
1.

Initial Strategy Consult

Build consensus at the team level

Tactical communications processes rely on copying older presentations and changing a word or image here and there, resulting in a patchwork document. Efficient development of compelling communications depends on solid fundamentals that can be adapted to any circumstance.

Initial Communication Consult

Create a robust foundation

Tactical communications processes rely on copying older presentations and changing a word or image here and there, resulting in a patchwork document. Efficient development of compelling communications depends on solid fundamentals that can be adapted to any circumstance.

2.
2.
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3.

Done-for-you development

Professional materials produced for you

Customers and investors want products that solve their problems, first and foremost. But sloppy, incomplete and inconsistent communications (words and graphics) make them nervous about the level of organization, product quality, and attention to detail that your team delivers.

Polish Consult

Present your message with polish

Delivering your communications with confidence and authority lends credibility to your message. Whether you take advantage of our “Done-For-You” service or use your own graphic designers, the Polish Consult will ensure that the final product supports your strategic communications needs.

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4.
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5.

Long-term strategy consulting

Maintain focus to attain your vison

As your vision and your organization grow and change over time, the one constant is your need to bring your stakeholders – from customers to investors – along for the ride! Periodic check-ups keep everyone on message with strong delivery skills and materials.

FAQ

Are your services available in person or online ?

I deliver my services either online or in person or in combination, depending on your goals, availability and budget. Given my international clientele, I have extensive experience in working with people via webinar, in small conference rooms and large auditoriums.

Can you work with my whole team or do you just work one-on-one?

For established organizations, I prefer to work with the team to start as we can then ensure consensus on the final product. Once consensus has been achieved, I am happy to work with individuals or the whole team, as appropriate for the situation. For startup companies, I can work with one founder or executive, or with the whole team. Whoever is delivering the communications must attend.

What is the time commitment for each service?

The amount of time it takes to deliver each service is highly dependent on the nature of your situation and budgetary constraints.
  • The Initial Strategy Consult is usually a half-day program and should be attended by all stakeholders. Preparation time consisting of interviews with representative stakeholders is required.
  • The Initial Communications Consult ranges from 2 to 5 hours, depending on complexity and experience. The speaker/ pitcher must attend; other team members are invited at your discretion.
  • Done-For-You Development requires a minimum of 2 weeks and can be longer if multiple versions or materials are required. Feedback from stakeholders is needed periodically to refine the final product(s).
  • The Polish Consult generally lasts one to two hours and requires participation by the speaker/ pitcher. Other team members are invited at your discretion.
  • Long-Term Strategic Consulting is fully customized to your situation so cannot be summarized in terms of time or participation.

What do i need to open the files ?

For established organizations, I prefer to work with the team to start as we can then ensure consensus on the final product. Once consensus has been achieved, I am happy to work with individuals or the whole team, as appropriate for the situation. For startup companies, I can work with one founder or executive, or with the whole team. Whoever is delivering the communications must attend.

What are your fees?

A fixed price is not available for the programs, as each is customized based on the number of sessions, people and products required. For reference, my hourly rate is 350 USD and my day rate is 2500 USD. Discounts are available for some nonprofit organizations and academic institutions.

Do you offer group programs?

Certainly! Please visit the Training page for a list of programs.

In addition, I often bundle Consulting services with Training into comprehensive Coaching programs for accelerators.

You can also review the Online Courses for self-paced and managed group programs.

Let's Talk!

15-min Discovery Call

Short discussion to identify  the best way to proceed for your situation.

30-min Free Consult

Experience my process and get practical advice for an upcoming presentation or pitch.