You've done the hardest part, proving the idea works and getting the funding to back it. That's no small thing.

But the next step looks nothing like the last one. Now it's about organizational readiness: making sure your team, your leadership, and your culture can keep up with the growth you've set in motion.

That's where One Notch Up comes in. We build the organizational systems that let growth-stage companies actually scale.

Enable growth from the inside.
One Notch Up.

The research is clear:

  • of startups fail.

  • of failure reasons are people and organizational issues.

  • of failed startups lacked both sound decision-making and customer orientation.

What organizational readiness actually looks like

  • Leading through others

    Execute strategy through the team, not around it. Delegate decisions while maintaining strategic alignment. Navigate board expectations with sustained delivery and momentum. 38% of failed startups lacked the managerial expertise to navigate this shift, making it one of the top competency gaps behind startup failure.

  • Teams built for speed and cohesion

    Clear roles. Fast feedback loops. Collaboration that doesn’t require your constant involvement. 14% of startups fail because of the wrong team. Another 7% collapse from misalignment between team members and investors.

  • Culture that scales with you

    Values embedded in how people work, not just how the company describes itself. New hires accelerate momentum, not dilute it. 5% of startups fail due to burnout alone, often a symptom of cultural erosion during rapid scaling.

We build
ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS.

Our Approach

We believe in people’s capacity to grow. We help you and your team rise to the challenge of scale — finding where everyone contributes best, building resilient dynamics, creating the alignment that lets you move faster.

We build capacity for continuous adaptation — because in fast-moving environments, static solutions don’t hold. Sustainable growth requires systems that evolve with the business.

  • Integrated

    One partner covering leadership, teams, founder dynamics, and culture. No coordination across multiple vendors.

  • Embedded

    We work alongside you, not above you or from a distance. You get a partner who understands your context and adapts as you grow.

  • Experienced

    We’ve scaled companies from the early stage through their exits. We’ve navigated the exact transitions you’re facing.

What we bring

  • Organizational Alignment Blueprint

    Diagnostic and strategy sessions to align systems, roles, and relationships with your growth goals. Gives you a clear baseline and a roadmap for where development will accelerate traction.

  • Culture Accelerator

    A 6-week program to audit and embed the values that drive retention and alignment during post-funding hiring surges.

  • High-Performance Team Systems

    Installs systemic frameworks for collaboration, feedback loops, and execution speed. Optimizes team cohesion during rapid scaling while preventing silos.

  • Founders’ Relationship Dynamics

    Builds resilient interpersonal dynamics between co-founders and key leaders. Ensures unified decision-making under growth pressure and board scrutiny.

  • Leadership Resilience

    Tailored development for founders navigating delegation, board expectations, and scaling yourself alongside the business. Builds adaptive leadership that sustains momentum.

  • Portfolio Partnership

    We support investors with their portfolios, providing a systemic lens to pick up people and culture issues that could prevent a successful business idea from taking off.

Work With Us

We work with founders who understand that organizational readiness is a growth strategy — not an afterthought. If you’ve just raised and you’re thinking about how to scale your team alongside your ambition, let’s talk.

Or send us a message.

For Investors

We partner with growth-stage investors who want to offer organizational readiness as part of their value-add.

Our Portfolio Partnership provides ongoing engagement across multiple portfolio companies, with regular reporting and visibility into organizational health. If you’re looking to enable growth from the inside across your portfolio, let’s talk.

Ready to build what growth demands?