Most portfolio growth plans don't fail because the ambition was wrong. They fail because the commercial system underneath the plan is not clear enough to inspect.
Pipeline is counted before it's qualified. Forecasts rely too much on seller confidence. Deal risk appears too late. Managers have no common rhythm for correction.
By the time the miss is visible, the best intervention window has often passed.
Who it is for
- Value creation leads
- Portfolio ops teams
- Investment teams
- Operating partners
- Chairs & operating partners
- CEOs & CROs in portfolio companies
The four patterns we look for in every revenue system.
Where we plug in across the investment lifecycle.
| Stage | Question | What we do | Outputs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-deal | Is commercial execution risk priced into the thesis? | Growth Potential Score & execution-risk review | Risk banding, triage view, early-warning report |
| First 90 days | What needs fixing or building first? | 5 Days to Scale | GTM blueprint, 90-day plan, evidence tests |
| Hold period | Is the system carrying the growth plan? | Closing OS Install + modules where needed | Stage architecture, playbooks, CRM & AI sales workflow integration, weekly cadence, inspection rhythm |
| Exit readiness | Can the revenue story stand up to diligence? | Run stabilisation | Forecast pack, operating cadence pack, evidence of repeatability |
Operators who have carried the number.
Not advisers. People who have built pipeline, run the week, and stood behind a forecast — across enterprise software, services, and scale-ups.
Maria Scheifler
US Operating Partner
- ✓$500K+ ARR pipeline in 60 days
- ✓12× deal size; 70% pipeline via partners
Russell Palmer
Operating Partner
- ✓Scaled Pega ARR $9m → $54m (6× growth)
- ✓Doubled Virtalis ARR £4m → £8m in 2yrs
Laurie Mascott
Operating Partner
- ✓Grew Concentra £0 → £19m ARR in 4yrs
- ✓Drove ChatLingual to 50% of global revenue in 18 mos
Douglas Mancini
Operating Partner
- ✓70% growth in Okta large Enterprise year on year
- ✓Doubled Critizr MRR; opened new markets — UKI, DACH
Erlend Asker
Operating Partner
- ✓7% utilisation uplift unlocked €10m+ margin at IFS
- ✓Grew €34m services unit 4 of 5 yrs; twice “global best of class”
Marc Sabatini
US Operating Partner
- ✓Co-founded and grew Aqfer; built repeatable GTM motions
- ✓US CRO; designs and runs full-funnel GTM for scale
Joao Pedro Moniz Barreto
Operating Partner
- ✓CrossVista: €400K → €1.9M (5×); 17 enterprise wins (68% win rate)
- ✓SI + retention: 30%+ pipeline via Accenture / Cognizant / Capgemini; 90% GRR
Andy Reid
Operating Partner
- ✓Led €200m EMEA P&L at Deutsche Bank (17 markets)
- ✓Returned Tungsten sales to +18% YoY; scaled Bleckwen pipeline €7m → €35m
Frequently asked questions
Closing Foundry helps investors and portfolio teams identify revenue execution risk early, translate value creation plans into practical commercial interventions and install the operating rhythm needed to make commercial progress inspectable. The work connects investment thesis to pipeline reality.
The most common risks are weak ICP focus, inconsistent qualification, stage definitions that are not evidence-based, single-threaded deals, a pipeline that looks larger than it is, founder-dependent selling, weak manager inspection and forecast confidence that is not supported by buyer evidence. Most are created upstream, long before quarter-end.
The diagnostic reviews the commercial target, pipeline reality, deal control, forecast confidence, sales process, team capability, CRM truth and the operating rhythm behind the number. The output is a clear view of execution risk and priority order for intervention, designed to be shared at portfolio or board level.
Want to see where execution risk is hiding in the portfolio?
Bring one portfolio company, one investment thesis, or one recurring pattern you are seeing across the portfolio.
We'ill help you work out where the commercial system may be under strain, what evidence to inspect first, and whether the right next step is a diagnostic, 5 Days to Scale, Closing OS Install or no external support.