Start Up Advisory
A Founder’s Best Friend
Your strategic and operational side-kick to help plan, build, launch and scale your adventurous brand.
Got a new venture brewing?
Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started.
Hire me as your strategic sounding board, business & brand builder, and experienced operator to help get your project off the ground.
A “done with you” consulting service to help get you from zero to go.
Who it’s for
I partner with early-stage founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs who need strategic and operational support to build, launch, or scale their brand with clarity and momentum.
Together, we’ll craft a go-to-market strategy that gets your most critical projects moving - so you can focus on growth and what’s next.
I help you see the bigger picture - how your brand, products, and services work together while mapping out the best way to get them in front of the right audience through the right channels.
By starting with the end in mind, we’ll reverse-engineer your commercial goals and build a clear roadmap to take you from vision to execution - fast, efficiently, and with purpose.
How it works
1 hour a week 1:1 strategy call with me and you (the founder) to work through your go-to-market plan, strategic priorities and operational next steps.
Either a half or full day of my time per week for project management and implementation, to focus on what ever is most pressing to help get you to the next stage.
Notion board for tracking our progress and project management (Or your preferred PM tool)
Follow up over email, slack messaging or voice notes in between strategy sessions to keep things moving.
Additional project management hours available if needed.
Things we can cover in strategy sessions, project management hours:
Go to Market Strategy
Getting clear on what you do, who you do it for and why they would want it from you.
Identifying ideal clients and market opportunities, developing the plan to reach those people, solve their problems and provide what they’re looking for again and again.
Setting objectives and key results (OKRS) to keep you and your team moving forward towards the same goal.
Brand & Marketing
Help and guidance with developing brand books, content guidelines and creative packages for your business.
Choosing the right marketing channels for you to show up in to reach the right audience, at the right time with the right information.
Creating an achievable marketing plan, hiring and briefing in freelancers and agencies, and getting the creative work done to keep you moving forward.
D2C Ecommerce
Setting up your Shopify store for success with the right structure and tools from the beginning - Email, Meta, Google, SEO and Social to drive traffic to your store.
Customer attraction and retention strategies, user experience journey mapping, loyalty programs and designing the full end-to-end experience with your brand.
Navigating Ts&Cs, packaging, shipping, returns and logistics for ecommerce.
Market Expansion
New market and competitor research, industry deep dives and best practices, identifying opportunities for new products, services and collaborations.
Consideration for localisation of brand and marketing assets, translations, local laws and GDPR requirements.
Support with getting local operations and teams set up in a new region or market.
B2C Retail & B2B Wholesale
Product architecture and pricing strategy, segmented retail marketing programs, retail ticketing, visual merchandising guidelines, fixtures and point of sale tools for driving brand recognition and commercial growth.
Catalogues and sell-in tools for trade and wholesale channels. Trade marketing creative assets to help your accounts with sell through.
Operations
Do all your operational processes, systems and tech work together holistically?
How are you managing projects, on boarding new team members and briefing in freelancers and agencies while keeping them all on the same timeline and unified path.
How are you tracking your expenses, revenue and profit and allocating marketing spend to the right activities.
Who I am
Your Founders Best Friend is me - Bridget.
Your strategic partner and operational side-kick for building, launching, and scaling your adventurous brand.
With over 20 years of experience in brand and retail marketing leadership, I’ve worked across global lifestyle brands, major fashion retailers, and my own ventures around the world.
I’ve navigated the fast-paced realities of founder-led startups, VC-backed scale-ups, and executive leadership in global organisations - spanning the outdoor, fashion, travel, home, lifestyle, consumer goods, and for-purpose sectors.
This unique mix of strategic vision and operational expertise allows me to help founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs cut through complexity, think holistically, and put the right foundations in place to build, launch, and scale brands, businesses, and ideas with confidence.
Who I work with
CEOs, Founders and entrepreneurs who:
Run purpose-driven, founder-led brands in outdoor, fashion, homewares, travel, lifestyle, or hospitality industries.
Have a strong business & brand vision but lack strategic clarity on growth, scaling, or market expansion.
Are overwhelmed wearing too many hats and need a trusted expert to streamline their brand and business strategy.
Want access to senior-level expertise but don’t want (or can’t afford) a full-time CMO, brand strategist or COO.
Value flexibility, creativity and alternative ways of doing business rather than rigid and outdated corporate structures.
Are scaling from early traction to sustainable, profitable growth typically between Seed to Series A for startups or $500K - $5M revenue for small brands
They might be:
Early-stage startup founders refining their brand positioning & go-to-market strategy.
Product-based business owners (fashion, homewares, travel) who need omni-channel growth strategies.
Creative entrepreneurs & lifestyle brand founders struggling with brand differentiation.
Hospitality or experience-led business owners (boutique accommodations, travel brands) who want to launch effectively and scale sustainably.
Corporate escapees turned entrepreneurs who need help navigating their pivot or reinvention
Monthly Support Options:
Consulting
Advisory
£750 GBP / $1,500 AUD + GST
Best for: Early stage founders and entrepreneurs in the planning and set up stages of a new venture.
4 x 60 min strategy calls - 1 per week
Follow up notes & recommendations
The outcome: You take the ideas and recommendations we work though during our strategy sessions and run with them on your own.
Done With You
Advisory + Project Management
£1,500 GBP / $3,000 AUD + GST
Best for: Founders of brands who are starting to build and need some hands-on help to get moving.
4 x 60 min strategy calls - 1 per week
Follow up notes & recommendations
3 hours of my time per week dedicated to you for project management to help get you to the next stage.
Notion board for tracking our progress and project management (Or your preferred PM tool)
Follow up over email, slack messaging or voice notes in between strategy sessions to keep things moving.
Additional project management hours available @ £50 GBP / $100 AUD per hour if needed.
The outcome: You take the ideas and recommendations we work through during our strategy sessions and decide how you’d like to move forward.
I help you make a plan for how to get it done.
We decide together what the most pressing tasks are that you need some help with to keep moving, for me to spend the project management hours on.
Done For You
Advisory + Project Management + Implementation
£2,500 GBP / $5,000 AUD + GST
Best for: Founders of startups or established brands who are building, growing or launching something new, and have the budget to invest in some hands-on help to get a project moving faster.
4 x 60 min strategy calls - 1 per week
Follow up notes & recommendations
1 full day of my time per week dedicated to you for project management and implementation, to focus on what ever is most pressing to help get you to the next stage.
Notion board for tracking our progress and project management (Or your preferred PM tool)
Follow up over email, slack messaging or voice notes in between strategy sessions to keep things moving.
Additional project management hours available @ £50 GBP / $100 AUD per hour if needed.
The outcome: You take the ideas and recommendations we work through during our strategy sessions and decide how you’d like to move forward.
I help you make a plan for how to get it done.
We decide together what the most pressing tasks are that you need some help with to keep moving, for me to spend the project management hours on.
Then we decide what part of the project you need implementation support for to help make it happen.
FAQs
What is the time commitment for the Founders Best Friend start up advisory service?
We start with an initial 1 hour Go-to-Market Strategy Session together (paid separately) to get us started on the right foot and see if we click.
Then if you like the work we do together and are happy to move forward, you can book me in for an initial 1, 2 or 3 month engagement.
We can extend month by month after that if you’d like to continue working together, dependant on availability.
Non-disclosure agreements?
Yes of course - any strategic planning and ideas we work through together are strictly confidential between you (the client) and me (the consultant).
A non-disclosure clause is included as standard as part of our signed agreement and I’ll only use your brand as an example of my work and testimonial if provided and approved by you.
How many brands do you work with at a time?
I limit my services to 3 clients maximum at a time, to ensure I can give you and your brand the time and brain space it deserves.
While you may be engaging me for a set amount of time a month - I will naturally be thinking of ideas for your project, actively looking for opportunities and strategising all throughout the week during our engagement.
I’ll also be available for follow up over email, slack messaging or voice note in between our strategy sessions.
What is the payment schedule?
What I charge for this service is reflective of the intended fast pace and outcomes you can expect by working with me.
Monthly Founders Best Friend engagements and additional project management hours are to be paid upfront for the work to begin.
Consulting only: £600 GBP or $1200 AUD + 10% GST per month
Consulting + Project Management: £1500 GBP or $3000 AUD + 10% GST per month
Consulting + Project Management + Implementation: £2500 GBP or $5000 AUD + 10% GST per month
Additional project management hours available @ £50 GBP or $100 AUD + 10% GST per hour
If you have booked me for a 2 or 3 month time block, please note these will be invoiced monthly, and must be done in succession, not spread out or extended into more months.
If you need to cancel or postpone a month’s service, please give me 14 days notice so I can open my calendar up to other clients on my waiting list. Rescheduling for a later date is dependant on my availability.
Is this the same as a Virtual Assistant?
No - This is not a virtual assistant, executive assistant or founders associate service.
VAs and personal assistants are a great resource for taking the burden of personal and professional administrative tasks, help with planning and execution to make a founder’s life and business run smoothly.
There are plenty of great VAs, digital marketing coordinators and online business managers available for founders to hire to get the work done.
If this is what you’re looking for I can offer some recommendations for you.
How much implementation will you help with?
It really depends on the strategy we build together as to how I will spend the project management and implementation hours each week, and any additional project management hours you book me for.
Focusing on the most pressing things to help get you to the next stage - my time will most likely be best spent
researching and doing deep dives on your industry and competitors,
helping you to find and brief in the right freelancers,
help produce your brand and content guidelines,
project manage the build of your Shopify or Squarespace site, or
help build your SOPs and operational ways of working.
Can you do my marketing?
You can hire me as a fractional brand leader. As a fractional CMO and marketing generalist - I do have the strategic high level view, hands on experience and skills across the full marketing stack.
Brand marketing, B2C retail and B2B trade marketing, D2C ecommerce and operations
I am not a creative director, graphic designer, social media manager, website designer, SEO expert, ads specialist or email marketing manager.
So use me for your big picture strategic stuff - then we’ll find the right freelancers or channel specialists to get the busy work done for you.
Do you guarantee your work?
I guarantee to help you get clarity on your go-to-market strategy, help you navigate next steps and provide strategic and operational guidance based on my 20+ years of experience in strategy and operations for global lifestyle brands and major fashion retailers, working with a wide range of startups at various stages of funding and growth - plus building my own ventures.
The work we do together is guided by you and your priorities, using my strategic frameworks, tools and processes that I’ve successfully used with other clients and in my own businesses.
Any decisions we make together, directions we go in, or tactics we test and trial are 100% up to you to agree to and approve before moving forward.
As a co-creator of your strategy, I can not personally be held legally or financially responsible for any business losses or failures.
Although I promise to always act and provide strategic guidance in the best interest of you and your brand.