Growth got you here. Now turn retention into the story your board wants to tell.

Customer strategy for growth-stage B2B SaaS when retention determines growth, funding, and exit readiness

From an operator who's worked with hundreds of growth-stage companies and knows what separates scaling from stalling.

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"Ellie transformed how we communicated with investors, leading to faster alignment and more meaningful discussions. Her speed and clarity quickly built trust across our leadership team."

— Eleanor O'Neill, Chief Revenue Officer, Monta

31%

NRR lift

19%

roadmap velocity improvement

30%

shorter deal cycles

Hi, I’m Ellie.

I've been in boardrooms where the dashboard was green and the room still felt off. The questions weren't hostile.

They were sharper. I know what it's like when everyone senses the problem but no one names it. At Insight Partners, I was the first call when that moment surfaced across hundreds of companies inthe toughest market cycles. The teams that emerged stronger diagnosed faster, before momentum locked in the wrong call.

That's what I do with founders and CXOs when getting the read right is what's at stake.

about

Growth-stage companies don't stall from lack of effort. They stall from solving the wrong problem

Signals that don't line up

Customer health looks stable. Retention gets harder to explain.

Too many priorities

Every team has a roadmap. Together, they're pulling in different directions.

Different conversations, no translation

Different conversations, no translation

Who This Work Is For

Founders & CEOs

The next funding round or board review will surface what's structurally broken. The question is whether you find it first.

CXOs & Revenue Leaders

You're accountable for retention numbers you can't fully explain. Boards and investors are starting to ask why.

VC/PE Portfolio Leaders

Something's off in the portfolio. The longer it goes unnamed, the more it costs.

Schedule a clarity call

The Rubik's Cube Approach

Revenue, product, operations, and the board narrative don't move independently, they move together. We work across all of them so a fix in one place doesn't create a problem in another.

  • Know what's actually broken: Before you invest time and budget in the wrong direction, get a clear diagnosis of what needs to change first.

  • Make fewer, better decisions: Walk away with a short list of priorities your leadership team has confidence in—six months later, not just today.

  • Tell a customer story investors trust: Turn your retention reality into a narrative that boards and investors can see, believe, and act on.

See full approach

  • "She thinks like an owner, with a systems mindset that ties customer success to real business outcomes. She gives everyone clarity and conviction in their growth decisions."

    Cassie Young, General Partner, Primary Venture Partners

  • "When asked about strategy for customer success, I think of Ellie. Her leadership and ability to execute to perfection resulted in one of the most successful programs of my career."

    Steve Young, Former Chief Services Officer, SAP Concur

  • "She's great at helping you define the problem you really need to solve—while still showing real empathy for the people involved."

    Patrick Clibborn, CFO & CCO, LawVu

  • "She kept us focused on creating real value for customers, which rallied the team and delivered meaningful results."

    Jamie Kiser, Chief Customer Officer, Medius

  • "I trust Ellie because she consistently brings poise, structured thinking, and a people-first mindset. She becomes a trusted confidante, giving our leadership team confidence we are moving in the right direction."

    Pablo Dominguez, Operating Partner, Insight Partners

What Makes This Different?

  • Operator who's been there

    An advisor who's operated in your seat and evaluated companies from the investor side — so what you get works for your team and your board.

  • Pattern recognition at scale

    You skip the learning curve built across hundreds of companies and get the diagnosis faster.

  • Three languages, one translator

    An expert fluent in all three: what customers experience, what operators manage, and what boards act on — so nothing gets lost in translation between them.

Two Ways to Start Working Together

  • Executive Clarity Session

    90 minutes when the path forward isn't clear and the cost of waiting is. You leave with a Decision Map you can act on immediately.

    Book your session

  • Fit & Orientation Call

    Not sure this is the right moment? Share what you're seeing. We'll know within thirty minutes.
    30 minutes, no cost

    schedule a call

FAQs

  • Retention is commonly seen as a CS problem. It's not. Retention is the outcome of how sales, product, and post-sales connect. Fixing CS in isolation solves one side of the Rubik's Cube while breaking another.

  • Why customers stay, how expansion compounds, and what the next two quarters look like. The board isn't asking for trailing metrics. They're assessing whether you understand what retention signals about durability, predictability, and risk. Own the narrative or lose credibility.

  • Yes. Between $10M and $100M, growth creates real tension. Push too hard and you're always reacting, never building leverage. Move too carefully and you miss the window. The question is whether you know when to push and when to pull.

  • When the current pattern isn't working and you need to break it. An outside advisor is a pattern interrupt. I diagnose whether you're on the right track or whether it's time to pivot before you lose more time and leverage. If you're looking for confirmation, not clarity, I'm not the right fit.

  • CS consultants optimize within their functional lane. GTM advisors stretch further but stop at the C-suite. I'm the architect connecting what customers actually experience, what the executive team can execute, and what earns investor confidence.

  • Most companies I work with have a CS leader. I'm not here to replace them. I connect customer reality to C-suite and board decisions. You get time back, the executive team gets aligned on customer strategy, and the CS leader operates with clearer direction. Everyone gets more leverage.

For leaders who stay two steps ahead of the next hard conversation . Patterns to recognize, frameworks to use, and the questions that clarify what matters—delivered to your inbox.

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If this confirmed what you've been sensing, let's talk before the moment stops being yours to control.

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