At what stage does organisation design become urgent?

Typically when the leadership team can no longer coordinate informally — often somewhere between 25 and 80 people, but the trigger is behavioural rather than numeric. If routine decisions keep escalating to the founders, the structure is already behind the business.

How much governance does a private scale-up actually need?

Enough to make decisions clean, auditable and defensible — and no more. Over-engineered governance slows a company down; too little creates diligence risk and board friction. We size it to stage, investor profile and jurisdictional requirements.

Do you help with board composition and independent directors?

Yes. We advise on board size, the balance of executive, investor and independent voices, committee structure, reserved matters and the specification for independent appointments.

Can you work with an existing HR or people function?

Yes, and we prefer to. Our contribution is the operating and governance architecture; implementation typically runs with the internal people, finance and legal functions and their advisers.

How does this relate to fundraising and M&A?

Structure and governance are examined closely in both. Weak decision rights, undocumented equity arrangements or inconsistent reporting are among the most common sources of friction in diligence, which is why this work often precedes a raise or a transaction.

Service 02

Organisation design and governance for scale-ups

Structure is what a company falls back on when growth outpaces informal coordination. Most scale-ups reach a point where decisions slow down, accountability blurs, and the founders become the bottleneck for everything that matters. Our work is to put a deliberate operating structure in place — one that holds under growth, survives new investors and does not require heroics every quarter.

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Who this is for

Founder-led companies moving past the point where everyone can be in the room
Leadership teams adding functional leaders for the first time
Companies preparing for institutional investment where governance will be scrutinised
Groups operating across multiple countries or legal entities
Boards that need a clearer cadence, better reporting and sharper decision rights

Common triggers

Headcount growth that has outpaced clarity on who decides what
A new investor joining the board, or a first independent director appointment
Cross-border hiring creating entity, employment and reporting complexity
Repeated escalation of routine decisions to the founders
An equity or incentive framework that no longer reflects how the company is run

Our approach

How we work through it.

01 —

Map how the company actually works

Not the org chart — the real decision paths, escalation habits, meeting load and reporting lines. Most structural problems are visible in how the calendar and the exceptions queue behave.

02 —

Design around the operating model

Structure follows how value is created and delivered. We define functions, spans, interfaces and accountability so that the design supports the commercial model rather than mirroring current personalities.

03 —

Set decision rights and cadence

Which decisions sit with the executive, which with the board, and which are delegated. Paired with a practical operating rhythm: weekly execution, monthly performance, quarterly strategy and board reporting that a non-executive can read in ten minutes.

04 —

Strengthen governance proportionately

Board composition, committee structure, reserved matters, reporting packs and the documentation investors will expect at diligence — sized to the company's stage rather than imported wholesale from a larger organisation.

05 —

Align incentives

Equity, option pools, vesting and performance frameworks that reward the behaviour the strategy requires and stand up to investor scrutiny later.

Typical deliverables

Operating model and organisation design review
Target organisation structure with role specifications and spans of control
Decision rights matrix and delegated authority framework
Operating cadence, meeting architecture and reporting pack design
Board composition and governance recommendations
Incentive and equity framework review
Cross-border operating and entity structuring considerations

Relevant experience

This work draws on building and running organisations through periods of rapid growth, cross-border operating setup, board roles and institutional processes where governance was directly examined, supported by senior experience in professional services.

More about our operator-led model

Engagement example

Anonymised illustration — editable content block

Context

A scaling technology company where the founders remained the escalation point for most commercial and operational decisions, ahead of a planned institutional round.

What we did

We mapped the real decision paths, redesigned the leadership structure around the commercial model, defined decision rights, and rebuilt the operating cadence and board reporting pack.

Outcome

Executive meeting load reduced, functional leaders held clear accountability, and the company entered diligence with governance documentation already in place.

FAQs

Questions we are asked often.

At what stage does organisation design become urgent?: Typically when the leadership team can no longer coordinate informally — often somewhere between 25 and 80 people, but the trigger is behavioural rather than numeric. If routine decisions keep escalating to the founders, the structure is already behind the business.
How much governance does a private scale-up actually need?: Enough to make decisions clean, auditable and defensible — and no more. Over-engineered governance slows a company down; too little creates diligence risk and board friction. We size it to stage, investor profile and jurisdictional requirements.
Do you help with board composition and independent directors?: Yes. We advise on board size, the balance of executive, investor and independent voices, committee structure, reserved matters and the specification for independent appointments.
Can you work with an existing HR or people function?: Yes, and we prefer to. Our contribution is the operating and governance architecture; implementation typically runs with the internal people, finance and legal functions and their advisers.
How does this relate to fundraising and M&A?: Structure and governance are examined closely in both. Weak decision rights, undocumented equity arrangements or inconsistent reporting are among the most common sources of friction in diligence, which is why this work often precedes a raise or a transaction.

Talk to us about organisation design & governance.

Tell us where you are and what decision is in front of you. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right people to help.

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