We start by listening.
Before we ever claim we can help, we want to understand the root issues first. We take a look at sales calls, the pipeline, and the written and silent rules of the business. We want to understand what is already working, what has become less reliable, and what the team still needs you to decide.
Sometimes the offer or the buyer has changed. Sometimes the work is clear, but the follow-up falls between people. We won’t know which it is from a look at your website.
Who is buying, and why?
We work through the customers and conversations behind the numbers. That can lead to a more specific buyer, a different offer, or a clearer explanation of what people are paying for.
What happens after someone shows interest?
We may join calls, change the proposal, build follow-up or connect the tools that support it, so the team can run the next step and you can see where each deal stands.
A project with a clear scope.
When the problem is clear, we agree the scope and the fee before we start. That might be a new proposal, or follow-up that doesn’t depend on someone remembering.
We build it with the people who’ll use it, then hand it over.
A longer bet.
When the work runs deeper and we believe in the company, we invest our own time in it. We charge at most what our people cost us, with no markup, and make our return from your growth, as a performance bonus on new revenue or as equity.
We work inside the business for about six months, close enough to see what happens when a plan meets actual customers. Then we stay on as advisors for about six more.
Our own time is on the line, so we say no about twice as often as we say yes.
Fee agreed up front
Our cost, no markup
Our return, tied to your growth
It’s 30 minutes.
Tell us about the business and what you’re trying to change. You’ll get a feel for us; we’ll get a feel for you.
If there’s a clear, contained problem, we can start with a small piece of work.
If it runs deeper and we’re both considering working together for longer, we can do value-add due diligence.
We’ll interview you, look at the numbers and how you sell today, then come back with the 90-day plan we’d pursue if this were our company. After that, we both decide whether to work together.
The first call helps us decide what would be useful next.
Chris Heysel
Chris founded Trellace. He’s an engineering and MBA graduate, VC advisor, angel investor, and farm kid. He’s always liked solving challenging problems, and now he gets to work with founders and their teams as they figure out how to grow.
Before Trellace, Chris was the North American Director of an EU consulting firm, the Global Env. Head at Arc’teryx, and the Canadian Sustainable Infrastructure Lead at WSP. As a kid he was a snowboard and swimming instructor.