Operating partners to early-stage companies.

Product & Roadmap

A deep dive into your product and capabilities, resulting in optimisation recommendations based on market and competitive advantage.

Positioning, Pricing & Packaging

Differentiation and a sales narrative that make commercial conversations easier, pricing architecture that holds up in front of a buyer, and packaging that fits how they want to buy.

Target Geographies & Sales Pathways

The buyer defined with precision, the geographies where your product can win, and the acquisition channels and outreach sequences built to reach them.

Commercial & Operational Growth Strategy

Funnel logic, qualification and the operating cadence that turn inconsistent early sales into a repeatable motion your team can own.

Diagnostic

It all starts with the DBD: the Doyle Blackfriars Diagnostic. A structured "state of the company" through a market and investor lens.

Strategy

Instrument fit across SAFE, convertible and equity, a use-of-funds narrative, and a curated investor targeting report with named firms and typical cheque sizes.

Materials

A three-deck pitch suite — verbal narrative, an email deck built to survive forwarding, and a detailed leave-behind — with the data room structured in parallel for fast follow-up.

Performance

Pitch coaching and structured feedback against the questions investors actually ask, closing with a confirmed outreach plan and +4 / +8 week follow-ups.

Every engagement runs to a written statement of work agreed in advance. Scope, duration, deliverables and fees are fixed before we begin — no open-ended retainers, no surprises.

Engagements are charged on a flat, fixed fee agreed up front in the statement of work — no hourly billing and no open-ended commitment. Fees are typically split 50/50 across kick-off and completion, with an optional extension available after the programme. On an individual basis, we will consider an ongoing retainer for continuous services.

Path to Product-Market Fit is scoped to where you are. The depth of the work — and therefore the fee — is calibrated to your size, stage and traction during the diagnostic, since an early-traction team needs different support to one with established, repeatable sales. As with every engagement, the fee is flat, fixed and agreed before we begin.

It is built for B2B teams where sales still sit largely with the founder, or the first sales hire, and pipeline is relatively inconsistent.

This engagement is also suitable for startups looking at entering new markets, moving into new product categories, or moving to the next level of growth and needing 360 support.

As always, engagements are scoped to the reality of where the startup and team are, and calibrated towards what is achievable and realistic for the team.

Fundraising Prep runs to a flat, fixed fee set against the scope agreed in the diagnostic, typically across an eight week programme. The fee is usually split 50/50 between kick-off and completion. We do not take equity, nor a portion of the raise. We additionally do not take a finder’s fee if any of the investors we shortlist for you end up investing in your round.

It is built for founders preparing to go out and raise, who want their narrative, numbers and materials investor-ready before the first meeting. It suits teams with genuine traction who are heading into a round — typically up to a Series A — and want a focussed sprint that ends in a fundable position rather than open-ended advice.

As with every engagement, the work is scoped to where you actually are and calibrated to what is realistic and achievable for the team.

Path to PMF runs across a defined working period sized to your stage; Fundraising Prep is a focussed sprint ending in a fundable round. Exact timelines are set in the statement of work.

No. We work on fixed fees only. We do not accept carry, equity, or introduction payments from investors or third-party providers, so our work stays unbiased and fully on the startup we are working with.

From early traction through to teams preparing for a Series A. If you are unsure whether your stage fits, get in touch and we will tell you honestly.

Senior operators within Doyle Blackfriars, not a pool of outsourced consultants or fractional workers. Doyle Blackfriars consultants are experts who have come from building startups, and growing teams and functional areas.

No, we are not an accelerator or an incubator. We come in downstream, typically after a startup has been through one of these kinds of programmes, or once they have bootstrapped through their first traction and growth milestones.

Accelerators run cohorts through a fixed programme on a set timeline, usually in exchange for equity. We work one-to-one on a flat, fixed fee — no cohort, no set curriculum and no stake in your company. The work is scoped to your situation and delivered by senior operators directly.

Incubators typically offer space, a network and light-touch support over an open-ended period, often for equity. We are an operating partner, not a host: a defined, senior-led engagement scoped to your stage and goals, on a flat fee, with no equity and no open-ended commitment.