Insights & advice
What our work has taught us, written down.
These are the documents and research we share with sponsors, boards and operators before they decide whether to work with us.
The numbers
Why brand is a capital question.
Intangible
92%
of the value of the S&P 500 is intangible, up from 17% in 1975. Ocean Tomo, 2025.
The new bar
12
is the new 5, because deals now need 10% to 12% annual EBITDA growth to return 2.5 times the money invested. Bain & Company, 2026.
Pricing power
94%
of a brand’s pricing power comes from how meaningfully different buyers see it. Kantar BrandZ.
B2B enterprise value
13%
of a B2B company’s enterprise value is its brand, against 18% for consumer brands. Brand Finance, 2025.
- Presenting problem
- Customer acquisition cost has doubled in 12 months; the board wants marketing cut.
- Actual problem
- The pipeline has no criteria for moving a deal from one stage to the next, and 61% of open pipeline has sat at the proposal stage for more than 90 days while still being counted in coverage. Marketing is fine, and the leak is in sales qualification.
- Cost
- $2.1 million in bookings that the plan assumed.
- Fix
- The first six weeks of a turnaround engagement.