Case Study: Tech Startup (San Francisco, California)

Early-stage company planning an on-demand remote computer repair and technical support service delivered over the internet.

Engagement Snapshot

  • Results: Prepared Business for Fundraising
  • Engagement Dates: 2008
  • Industry: Remote computer repair and technical support
  • Location: San Francisco, California

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Executive Summary

This company had a plausible technical concept but needed operational credibility and investor readiness. The primary constraint was a gap between the idea and an executable plan that outsiders could trust: a defined delivery workflow, an aligned go-to-market story, and financial assumptions tied to real operating capacity. In 2008, the work focused on translating the concept into a structured operating model and building the assets needed for fundraising and early market validation.

Outcomes were documented as measurable targets and investor-grade materials. The plan included explicit scaling commitments, a multi-year pro forma, and a capital plan designed for investor conversations. The website was rebuilt as a practical sales and diligence asset to communicate the offer and capture early interest.

Starting Point: 

  • Execution reliability was not yet encoded into a defined service workflow with clear steps from intake through follow-up.
  • Financial visibility needed to connect pricing and customer volume assumptions to staffing, costs, and throughput.
  • Fundraising readiness required a coherent narrative, terms, and a capital plan that investors could diligence.
  • Market-facing clarity needed improvement so prospects and partners could understand the model in plain language.

Objectives for the Engagement

  • Install an initial operating model with roles, milestones, and an execution cadence spanning product, support operations, marketing, and fundraising.
  • Create multi-year projections aligned to pricing, volume assumptions, staffing, and operating expenses.
  • Prepare investor-ready materials, including a clear capital ask and valuation framing.
  • Build a website to support early interest capture and partner conversations.

What I Changed: 

Operating Cadence and Accountability

  • Built an initial operating rhythm by defining milestones, roles, responsibilities, and execution plans across functions.
  • Created a documented workflow covering intake, remote access, diagnostics, resolution, escalation, and follow-up.

Financial Visibility and Decision Support

  • Created a multi-year financial model connecting pricing strategy, customer volume assumptions, staffing needs, and operating expenses.
  • Documented explicit performance milestones, including customer volume targets and revenue goals used for planning.
  • Aligned pricing logic with the operating plan so staffing expectations stayed consistent with the service economics.

Fundraising

  • Structured investor materials so the business, market, economics, and operating plan were coherent and defensible.
  • Participated in pitch meetings with prospective investors and stakeholders, presenting the operating plan and scaling path.
  • Translated investor questions into follow-up actions that tightened assumptions and clarified next steps.

Process, Tools, and Delivery Systems

  • Built the website to communicate the value proposition and service real customers
  • Positioned the service around affordability and convenience using comparisons to common alternatives.
  • Evaluated distribution options and partner strategies, including reseller and white-label channels for remote computer repair technicians.

Conclusion

I helped to make priorities clearer and reduce rework.  The team could review progress against milestones instead of debating direction repeatedly.

Follow-through became measurable by turning assumptions into a pro forma and explicit targets. This improved decision quality because staffing, throughput, and pricing could be evaluated together, and investor conversations had concrete backing.

Transferable Value

  • Early-stage operational diagnostics and operating model design.
  • Service delivery workflow definition and standardization.
  • Design that aligns product, go-to-market, and fundraising.
  • Financial modeling and pro forma development tied to operational assumptions.
  • Investor narrative structuring, capital planning, and diligence preparation.
  • Market-facing positioning that clarifies a technical service for buyers and partners.
  • Partner and distribution strategy evaluation, including reseller and white-label options.