Are you interested in gaining exposure to the start up community without actually working at a startup? If so, start up consulting may be an area of interest. Start up consulting firms differ from traditional management consulting firms in that their focus is much narrower. Namely, they only serve start ups. You may be asking yourself, why do startups need dedicated consulting firms (or arms of consulting firms)? Well, the problems facing startups differ greatly from the problems facing fortune 500 companies. For example, start ups may be thinking about how to raise money, how to invest in marketing to acquire new customers, how to build out a supply chain, etc. This differs from fortune 500 companies that are more stable. In addition, start ups can likely not afford the services of boutique strategy consulting firms (e.g., BCG, Oliver Wyman, etc.).
This article will share more around the top 10 start up business consulting firms and what makes each firm special.
Top 10 Startup Business Consultant Firms List
GrowthRocks
Website: www.growthrocks.com
Headquarters: London
Executive Team: Theo Moulos (CEO, co-founder), Effie Bersoux (co-founder)
Specialty: Growth consulting with focus on marketing; Growth Rocks calls its focus “growth hacking”
Notable Projects:
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- Volta Wireless: Supported growth through several avenues, e.g., app development, search engine optimization, email marketing campaigns
- Medipass: Optimized customer experience through building a user friendly app
Awards: Not listed
IBM Garage
Website: www.ibm.com/garage
Headquarters: Armonk, New York
Executive Team: Rachel Reinitz, Garage CTO
Specialty: Digital transformation, including co-creation, co-execution, and co-operation
Notable Projects:
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- 2mee: Supported buildout of back end technology
- Flamel.AI: Co-created an AI-based app
Awards: Not listed
Nielsen Innovate
Website: www.nif.vc
Headquarters: Caesarea, Israel
Executive Team: Dov Yarkoni (CEO), Liron Langer (Chief Investment Officer), Sigal Weidenfeld (Chief Finance Officer)
Specialty: Incubator in retail, research, marketing, and media; provide consulting services across variety of dimensions (strategy, operations, entrepreneur mentorship)
Notable incubated companies:
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- Tomobox: customer engagement solution
- Adtrix: optimize buying print newspapers and magazines
Awards: Not listed
Digital Silk
Website: www.digitalsilk.com
Headquarters: Miami, Florida
Executive Team: Gabriel Shaoolian (CEO and Founder), Emma Debeljak (Director of Content), Stephanie Sharlow (VP, Client Partner), Gary Kuznetsov (Head of Development)
Specialty: Growth consulting with focus on: marketing / branding, sales, web design and development, and back-office support
Notable projects:
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- Country Day School: supported with online engagement
Awards: Horizon Interactive Awards, Marcom awards, awwwards, recognizing the power of web creativity
Social SEO
Website: www.socialseo.com
Headquarters: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Executive Team: Greg Walthour (Founder, CEO), Darcie Walthour (President)
Specialty: Digital marketing, including SEO services, paid media services, marketing amplification services
Notable projects:
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- SEO: Improved traffic by over 120%+ for a luxury vacation rental provider
- SEM: Drove 450%+ improvement in revenue for a retailer of winter gear
Awards: One of the fastest-growing companies according to Inc 5000, #1 Digital Marketing Firm in America by Upcity 2020, Top Place to Work, Colorado Springs
Customer Magnetism
Website: www.customermagnetism.com
Headquarters: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Executive Team: Aaron Leslie (Managing Director), Rusty James (Design Director), Evan Poe (Account Director), Sydney Banks (Social Strategist), Justin Minnis (Web Developer)
Specialty: Marketing agency spanning social media, paid search, organic search (SEO), and design and development
Example clients:
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- Bayliss Boatworks
- Colonna’s Shipyard
- Canteen
- BRIC Language Systems
- Echo
Awards: Not disclosed
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Solutionery
Website: www.solutionery.com
Headquarters: Kuopio, Finland
Executive Team: Mika Mononen (Managing Director),
Specialty: Technology startups – areas of support include: project management, commercialization, prototype development, product development, digital marketing, and technology due diligence
Example clients: Not disclosed
Awards: Not disclosed
Ignite Visibility
Website: www.ignitevisibility.com
Headquarters: San Diego, California
Executive Team: John E. Lincoln (Co-founder and CEO), Krishnan Coughran (Co-founder and COO)
Specialty: SEO
Example clients:
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- Tony Robbins
- Driven Brands
- Mobile Mini
- Experian
Awards: 3x Landy Award winner, 6x Inc. 5000 Company, Top SEO Companies by Clutch
Growth Girls
Website: www.growthgirls.com
Headquarters: San Diego, California
Executive Team: Effie Bersoux (CEO and Director)
Specialty: Growth marketing, including customer acquisition
Example clients:
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- Sparkinity
- Smart Eye Technology
- Ziphawk
- Hunnybun
Awards: Not disclosed
Tiger Analytics
Website: www.tigeranalytics.com/
Headquarters: Santa Clara, CA
Executive Team: Mahesh Kumar (Founder and Chief Executive Officer)
Specialty: Marketing, customer, and risk analytics, operations and planning
Example project:
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- Leveraged data and analytics to optimize CPG client’s trade promotion strategy
Awards: Not disclosed
Conclusion
If you want to work in the start up space but don’t want to work at a startup, start up consulting may be for you. The focus of start up consulting firms differ, so you can find an area in which you are most interested. For example, if you want to work in SEO, companies like Ignite Visibility and Social SEO may be for you. If you are preparing for an upcoming interview at a startup consulting firm, it is important to have a clear story on why you want to work in that space (as opposed to at a generalist consulting firm). To prep for an upcoming interview with a start up consulting firm, please see here for prep work with an ex-MBB consultant.
Additional Resources:
- Top Public Sector Consulting Firms
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- Top Consulting Firms of 2023
- Consulting Resume: Complete Guide
- Case Interview: Complete Prep Guide