β€” Strategy advisory Β· taking 4 clients in Q3 β€”

Sharper strategy. Faster execution. Better numbers.

We work with founders of growth-stage businesses ($2M–$50M revenue) on the hard decisions: where to focus, what to kill, and how to ship the next chapter β€” without losing the team that got you here.

A small selection of recent engagements
β€” Approach

We're not a McKinsey deck. We're a sparring partner.

Three principles that shape every engagement β€” whether it's a one-week intensive or a six-month advisory retainer.

01 / 03

Clarity over comprehensiveness.

A 60-page deck is a sign nobody made the hard decisions. We deliver one page and the four moves that matter β€” the rest is noise.

02 / 03

Strategy is a contact sport.

We sit in your weekly leadership meetings. We argue with you. We pressure-test decisions in real time, not in quarterly memos.

03 / 03

Outcomes, not invoices.

Engagements are scoped by outcome (a strategy, a re-org, a market entry) β€” not by billable hours. You know the price up front. No surprises.

β€” Case studies

Real work. Real numbers.

Three recent engagements. Names anonymized at client request β€” full details available on a discovery call.

B2B SaaS Β· Series A

Re-positioned a stalling product around a single ICP.

Eight features, three personas, and no clear winner. We ran a 4-week sprint to pick the wedge, kill two product lines, and re-write the entire go-to-market.

+0
Quarterly revenue
0
From start to launch
Consumer brand Β· DTC

Closed two stores, opened one. Profit doubled.

Founder was running on instinct. We modeled per-location P&L, identified the loss-makers, and built the case for a painful consolidation.

2.1Γ—
Operating profit
$0
Annual savings
Professional services Β· 80 staff

Re-organized for the next $10M of revenue.

Flat structure was working at $5M and breaking at $9M. We designed a three-pod model, picked the leads, and ran the rollout in 90 days.

0
Regrettable departures
+0
Utilization
β€” Engagement

How we work together.

Most engagements follow this rhythm. We adapt the duration and depth to what you actually need β€” never to fill the calendar.

01
Week 0 Β· Discovery

A 60-minute call. No deck, no NDA.

You tell us the problem in your own words. We tell you honestly whether we're the right shop. About a third of these calls end with us pointing you somewhere else.

02
Week 1–2 Β· Audit

We listen. To everyone.

We interview your leadership, top customers, and ex-employees. We read your data. We compress what you already know β€” and surface what you've been avoiding.

03
Week 3–6 Β· Strategy

One page. Four moves.

We deliver a single-page strategy with the moves that matter. We don't leave you with a 60-page deck. We leave you with decisions you'll actually make.

04
Optional Β· Quarterly retainer

We stick around for the implementation.

Most clients keep us on for two quarters after the strategy is shipped. Weekly leadership reviews, pressure-testing, course-corrections. The expensive bit is usually the doing.

β€” Marcus Holt
β€” About

Strategy advisor. Former operator.

Before North Compass, I spent twelve years building, scaling, and selling growth-stage companies. I've sat in the seat you're in β€” the one where everything is on fire and you can't tell which fire is the one to put out first.

I started North Compass because too many advisors had never operated. Too many strategy decks had never survived contact with a real customer. There had to be a better way to help founders without spending their next six months in PowerPoint.

"The right strategy fits on one page. The hard part isn't writing it β€” it's killing the other twenty pages of comfortable ideas."

I work with four clients at a time. No associates, no juniors, no leverage model. If we agree to work together, it's me in the room. Always.

β€” Get in touch

Have a hard decision to make?

Book a 60-minute discovery call. No pitch, no deck, no obligation β€” and if we're not the right fit, you'll leave with at least one useful idea.

Book a discovery call β†’