Strategic advice drawn from real business experience
As founders we’ve become commercial Swiss Army knives. We know how (and how not) to sell, communicate and innovate - having learned from our own mistakes, with our own money.
Our approach is ruthlessly practical, cutting through complexity to get things done.
Strategy & Fundraising
The best strategy and fundraising advice comes from people with experience running businesses. We’ve pitched across continents and sat on both sides of the investment table, giving rare perspective on what actually works.
Our advice is direct and practical - because we’re business owners too. No fancy frameworks or ‘consultant speak’, just clear direction based on lived experience.
We’ll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to - because we can’t afford to waste your time, or ours.
- Business Strategy
- Fundraising Readiness
- Brand Strategy
Marketing & Communications
From digital marketing, events and public affairs to PR, print, radio and TV - our experience spans the full gamut of the communications spectrum.
We’ve convened and compèred industry fora, done live TV and radio interviews, managed press packs and supervised live broadcast events.
As importantly we still do the actual work ourselves too - from writing web copy and killer press releases to briefing documents and persuasive pitch decks.
With Blackdown your communications are in safe and experienced hands.
- Public Affairs
- TV & Radio
- Digital
- Public Relations
- Crisis Communications
AI & Innovation
Innovation demands practical experience as well as technical understanding. We’ve built careers at the cutting edge of technology and innovation - from search engines in the early 2000s to drones and AI infrastructure today.
Our work as scouts for investors and corporates gives us unique insight; understanding both how innovators best interface with corporates and capital, and what breakthrough technologies companies are actually searching for.
From experimentation in our own prototyping studio to working with giants like NVIDIA and SuperMicro on GPU cluster design, we retain our own entrepreneurial outlook while remaining grounded in business reality.
This dual perspective helps us separate genuine innovation from hype - and deliver real value for our clients.
- New Product Development
- Horizon Scanning
- Artificial Intelligence
Sales / Growth Strategy
Businesses live or die by their ability to sell. As founders we’ve built sales operations from the ground up - learning through necessity what works and what doesn’t, to keep our companies alive.
From winning enterprise contracts with Rolls-Royce to scaling direct-to-consumer operations, we know both when to pursue opportunities and (as importantly) when to walk away.
We bring practical knowledge of what works in B2B and B2C sales, strategic partnerships and market expansion - because we’ve built and tested these strategies ourselves.
- B2B / B2C Sales
- Partnerships
- Market Entry & Expansion
Operational Efficiency
Operations are where strategy meets reality. The daily work of serving customers and managing suppliers is what makes or breaks a business - and as founders, we understand this firsthand.
We get our hands dirty because we know that’s where real insights come from. In our own businesses we prioritise spending time at the coalface because it’s how you spot problems, identify waste and find opportunities to improve.
We bring this same hands-on commitment to our clients. Whether resolving supply chain issues or handling tough customer conversations, we focus on the practical improvements that directly impact your bottom line.
- Streamlining
- Cost-cutting
- Operational Diagnostics