01 / WHERE TO GROW
Find the next opportunity.
Which customers, markets and propositions offer the strongest commercial opportunity and right to win?
The opportunity
The business that got you here may not be the one that takes you further.
Markets are shifting. AI is changing what customers value and how expertise is delivered. The challenge isn't just to become more efficient. It's to decide what to become next.
02 / WHAT TO BUILD
Make the right bets.
Which capabilities, ventures, partnerships and business models are worth pursuing?
03 / HOW TO CREATE VALUE
Build a more valuable business.
How can your choices improve revenue quality, differentiation, profitability and enterprise value?
The signature engagement
The Next Chapter.
Growth Strategy & Enterprise Value Sprint
Four weeks. Ten working days. A focused, founder-level engagement to turn strategic uncertainty into commercially grounded choices — with the option to continue as a longer-term strategic partner.
Read the two-page overviewWEEK 01
DiagnoseAmbition, customers, economics and differentiation
WEEK 02
ExploreMarket shifts, competitors and growth hypotheses
WEEK 03
EvaluateShortlisted concepts, indicative economics and value drivers
WEEK 04
DecideLeadership workshop, priorities and practical next steps
Selected experience
Perspective earned on both sides of the growth challenge.
From building practices and shaping propositions to advising founders and investors on growth and value creation.
Faculty AI
Built and co-led a £2m-revenue Consumer & Private Equity practice. Faculty was subsequently acquired by Accenture.
Datasparq
Strategic work with a data-science consultancy subsequently acquired by PwC.
GLAS
Identified £7m–£12m of potential EBITDA improvement opportunities.
Amondo
Fundraising, repositioning towards an intelligence business and five-year investor modelling.
Macmillan Publishers
Developed an AI-era growth and value-creation agenda.
CHAPTR
Head of Strategy, shaping strategic direction and commercial propositions.
About
Calum Mackenzie.
I'm a commercial strategy and growth leader with experience across Amazon, BT, Faculty AI and independent advisory. I work with founders, CEOs and investors to explore new opportunities, challenge assumptions and make clear strategic choices.
My work also includes commercial due diligence for ECI Partners and value-creation work with BGF.
A practical partnership
What I need from you. What you get back.
A good strategy sprint is collaborative, not a consulting team disappearing for four weeks. You bring the ambition, context and access. I bring outside perspective, commercial challenge and a structured route to decisions.
✓
A founder or executive sponsorSomeone empowered to make choices and available for a kick-off, short weekly check-ins and a final workshop.
✓
3–5 stakeholder conversationsIntroductions to the people who understand customers, commercial performance, operations and future ambitions.
✓
A light information packExisting strategy and pitch materials, service and customer mix, headline revenue and profitability trends, pipeline and available market insight.
✓
Honest access to the challengesWhat's working, what's stuck, the trade-offs and the ideas the team hasn't yet had time to explore.
✓
Timely feedback and decisionsA point person for questions, feedback on emerging hypotheses and a willingness to prioritise.
✓
Time to decide what comes nextA leadership session to agree the strongest opportunities, evidence gaps, owners and near-term tests.
This is an indicative checklist, tailored to the business. Existing information is usually enough to begin; there is no expectation of a large data-room exercise.
Common questions
Built around your next chapter.
Sometimes the answer is a focused four-week sprint. Sometimes it's a longer partnership alongside the leadership team.
Is this a four-week project or a longer engagement?
Both are possible. The Next Chapter Sprint is a focused four-week engagement involving approximately ten working days. It can stand alone or provide the foundation for a three-to-six-month advisory retainer or embedded strategic growth role, with scope and time commitment agreed separately.
What do we actually have at the end of four weeks?
A clear view of the growth challenge, two or three prioritised opportunities, indicative commercial logic and assumptions, enterprise-value considerations, and a leadership discussion that agrees what to test next. The objective is decision quality, not a large report.
What happens after the sprint?
We can stop with an actionable set of choices, or continue to validate demand, shape propositions, assess partnerships or acquisitions, and support key commercial decisions. A longer engagement is separately scoped and need not involve owning day-to-day implementation.
Can you support investors with commercial due diligence?
Yes. I support investors considering acquisitions or investments with commercial due diligence, market and competitive assessment, growth-case challenge and value-creation opportunities. My experience includes commercial due diligence for ECI Partners and value-creation work with BGF. The scope depends on the investment question and transaction timetable.
Can you help founders prepare for an exit?
Yes. I can help founders examine the strategic story behind enterprise value: differentiation, growth opportunities, revenue quality, client concentration, repeatability and the evidence a buyer will want to see. This is commercial and strategic exit preparation, not legal, tax, audit or formal valuation advice.
Who is it for?
Founders, CEOs, leadership teams and investors — particularly in intelligence, data, technology-enabled and professional services businesses facing an inflection point. Engagements are designed around a specific commercial decision, not a predetermined technology solution.
Start a conversation
What could your business become next?
Whether you are shaping the next stage of growth, exploring an investment or preparing for an exit, the most valuable conversations start with a better question.
Get in touch