B2B Sourcing & Advisory Startup:
Commercial foundations for scale.

─── THE SITUATION

Early traction. No commercial infrastructure to build on.

A B2B sourcing and advisory startup had generated early commercial momentum. Clients were engaging. The proposition had genuine market relevance. But the business had been built around individual relationships and bespoke delivery rather than a repeatable commercial model.

Revenue was project-based and inconsistent. There was no retainer structure to create predictable income. Delivery relied heavily on the founders’ personal time. Automation and systems thinking had not been applied to how the business operated. The business had the raw material for something scalable but none of the architecture to achieve it.

─── WHAT WE DID

Built the retainer model, introduced automation and established the commercial foundations for scale.

The engagement worked across three areas: commercial model design, delivery infrastructure and leadership development.

On the commercial side, a retainer model was designed to replace project-based revenue with recurring income. Pricing, scope and contract structure were built to be repeatable and commercially durable. The business gained a model it could sell consistently rather than renegotiating from scratch with each new client.

On the delivery side, automation was introduced into the operational infrastructure. Manual processes that were consuming founder time were systematised, freeing capacity for business development and strategic work.

Leadership development ran alongside the commercial build, working on the mindset and behaviours required to lead a scaling business rather than a founder-led startup.

─── WHAT WE CHANGED

A commercially structured advisory business with recurring revenue and the delivery infrastructure to grow without burning out the founders.

The business exited the engagement with a functioning retainer model, automated delivery infrastructure and a clearer commercial foundation for the next stage of growth.