Growth no longer produces an obvious next move
Signals
Opportunities are multiplying, but the leadership team has no shared answer on which customers, offers, markets or capabilities deserve focus.
What I own
Frame the real decision, align the leadership team, lead the work into execution.
What changes
The company has a clearer strategic focus, named owners and a plan the team can execute.
The founder has become the operating system
Signals
Important decisions, context and escalation continue to return to one person, while cross-functional priorities move slowly.
What I own
Identify where the founder remains over-involved, clarify decision rights and paths, work with the team to build a lighter operating cadence.
What changes
Fewer decisions require founder intervention. Leaders work from one set of priorities. Critical initiatives have accountable owners and a reliable escalation path.
AI activity is growing faster than AI value
Signals
Teams are experimenting with tools and vendors, but valuable workflows, ownership and expected returns remain unclear. Pilots multiply without changing how the company operates.
What I own
Identify the highest-value workflows, establish baselines and priorities, redesign processes and lead implementation.
What changes
The company has a small portfolio of high-value use cases, named owners, implementation decisions and measures tied to revenue, cost, speed, quality or risk.
The market sees less value than the company creates
Signals
A rebrand or new website is being discussed, while the deeper issue may be the proposition, portfolio, customer experience or commercial story. Sales must overexplain the value, or discounting is increasing.
What I own
Connect business strategy with positioning, proposition, portfolio and customer experience, then translate the choices into a clear design and implementation brief.
What changes
The company has a defined priority audience, a sharper value proposition, a coherent offer architecture and an execution plan connecting the business decision to what customers experience.
A capability must be built, bought or accessed through a partner
Signals
Expansion pressure, a missing capability, an acquisition opportunity or a potential partnership has created a strategic choice. Speed, control, economics and risk point in different directions.
What I own
Define the strategic thesis and decision criteria, compare the routes, assess strategic and operating fit and lead the selected path with the appropriate internal and external specialists.
What changes
The company has a defensible decision, explicit assumptions and an operating thesis for implementation or integration. Financial, legal, tax and specialist diligence remain with the relevant advisers.
Owners want to exit or become exit-ready
Signals
The owners are considering a full or partial exit, succession or future transaction, but timing, route and personal objectives may not be aligned. The business may still depend heavily on its founders, while its leadership, reporting or strategic story may not withstand buyer scrutiny.
What I own
Clarify owner objectives and strategic options, assess exit readiness, identify gaps that could reduce value or transaction certainty and lead the cross-functional readiness programme. If a transaction becomes the chosen route, I help shape the value story and coordinate the process with the relevant financial, legal and tax advisers.
What changes
Owners have a clear view of whether, when and how to exit, a prioritised readiness plan and a business that is less founder-dependent, better documented and able to present a credible value-creation story to successors, investors or buyers.
The next step requires more capital than the business can provide
Signals
A startup, scale-up, spin-off or established SME has a credible next step, but the capital required exceeds what the business can fund itself. The opportunity may be clear internally, while the investment case, materials and fundraising process are not yet ready for investors.
What I own
Build the equity story, structure and design the investor deck, coach the founder and set up a focused fundraising process with clear targets, materials, responsibilities and decision points.
What changes
The company has a credible investment narrative, an investor-ready deck, a prepared founder and a structured process for approaching the right capital partners. Legal, tax, financial and regulated investment advice remain with the relevant advisers.
Based in Lisbon.
Working with founder-led companies across Europe.
I’m Thiemo Gillissen, a Fractional Chief Growth Officer with more than 15 years of experience building companies and leading growth across strategy, positioning, technology, AI and M&A. Bring me the growth question that keeps returning to the leadership table.