When the opportunity presented itself to open this business, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to describe what we do. The biggest reason for my struggle had to do with describing who we are. Having spent almost thirty years of my life now in business and across many industries, I had met and worked with a bunch of business consultants. While I got to know many incredible people, I found again and again that the business model did not suit me. On top of that, the percentage rate of “bad” consultants was way too high. Yet, when I was doing my market research and trying different pitches to customers or colleagues, I constantly heard, “Oh, you’re a consultant.”
What is not to like about consulting?
A business consultant arrives at a business, performs an analysis, and drafts some type of strategic plan to solve the problem. This part is great and it makes them very valuable. Then three things happen;
- The Strategic Plan costs a ton of money.
- They take that money, wish you good luck, and leave.
- The Strategic Plan’s outcome (and it’s chance of success) is going to be determined by your experiences and resources only.
In the most recent job I had before starting Vantaggio, this was EXACTLY the case. I was hired on as a short term CFO for a startup. The startup is in the Smart Home Automation arena had already quasi been in business for about 15 months. They were ready to go from side project to the main focus of the co-founders. They hired a consulting company to get them launched and create a go-to-market plan. Cost $30k
When the consultant left, this was the outcome;
The startup had spent $30,000 of working capital. Although they had a document, the content of the report was unusable. The name of the company the co-founders chose and the consultants “researched” was already in use. So, additional money was wasted on logo’s, graphics, print materials, and business filings that became worthless after a simple Google + Trademark search. On top of this, the consultant wrote them an appaling set of financial projections that had ZERO bases in fact or reality when it came to product costs, a development timeline, and the resources needed to prototype and form a beta test run.
Now, with hindsight, it is always easy to critique and say this should have been done differently. The consulting company sold them on their services and then delivered enough fancy talk and spreadsheets that the co-founders didn’t even recognize they had been swindled. However, the solution to this problem is in the very reason you would choose to hire a Sherpa.
What is a Sherpa, historically speaking?
Humans have always loved the prospect of overcoming challenges. The thrill of taking on the unknown and succeeding is as appealing as ever. That is why we do research, and we solve problems. It is why we strive for a more enriched life. To succeed in overcoming challenges and adversity is usually not something that we achieve alone. Whether it is advice, mentorship, reading, schooling, or collaboration, the road to success has many curves and enlistments of resources. When Sir Edmund Hillary famously chose to climb Mt. Everest, he enlisted the help of one of the most notable Sherpas of all time – Tenzing Norgay. Sherpa Norgay didn’t just draw Sir Edmund a map, sell him a ton of supplies, collect his pay and wish him a fruitful journey. No, in the honored tradition of a Sherpa, Norgay crafted a plan of success with Sir Edmund and saddled up with gear to embark on this journey to the summit together. It was the combination of their two efforts that led Sir Edmund to be the first person to climb the world’s tallest peak.
This philosophy is the bedrock of why Vantaggio is a company of Business Sherpas. We can help you analyze, unearth the problems, craft the solutions, and create the strategic plans. Then UNLIKE overpaid and uninvolved consultants, we acquire the supplies and ascend the problem with you. Vantaggio Sherpas Are accountable to the outcome. We are there along the way to see new dangers and pitfalls. We take our learned experiences and collective history of solving problems and executing solutions and deliver the DESIRED RESULT. Together with our clients, we see them to the summit.
