Private Strategy Engagement (for companies with larger teams)

You've built something real.

Revenue. A team. A name in the market. Maybe even a product your customers genuinely love.

But the business has gotten complicated. Decisions take longer than they should. Your team is busy but not always pointed in the same direction. Marketing feels reactive. You're growing, but it's not the kind of growth you can rely on.

You don't need another campaign. You need the whole thing to make sense.

What the Market Alignment Program is.

This isn't a strategy document you'll file and forget.

Over 12 weeks, I work directly with you, (and where relevant, your leadership team) to rebuild the strategic foundation of your business. We go through the complete Market Alignment Method™: all eight layers of alignment, from vision and market through to your scorecard and how the strategy gets embedded.

You walk out with a strategic playbook your whole team works from. Not notes from our sessions. A real document and the AI context files that guide how your business operates.

Who this is for

You'll get the most from this if you:

Run a founder-led business with real traction, product or service. Have a team, but no clear strategic foundation everyone's working from Are making decisions, but not always with confidence in the direction Have tried tactics (agencies, rebrands, new hires) and know the problem is deeper than that.
Want the whole thing sorted, not just one layer fixed

Not a fit if you're looking for someone to run ads, manage socials, or do marketing for you. Or if the founder isn't prepared to be genuinely challenged on the direction of the business.

What we build together

This is the Market Alignment Method™applied at full depth, the same approach behind the growth of the brands I've personally been behind building.

Phase 1 - Clarity and positioning What business you're actually building. Where the real opportunity sits. Your value proposition and the top three strategic priorities that follow from it.

Phase 2 - Commercial design and go-to-market Who you're really for, and why. Offer structure and pricing. How customers move through your business from first contact to advocate.

Phase 3 - Systems, rhythm, and embedding How you measure whether it's working. How decisions get made. The operating rhythm that keeps the strategy alive. A 12-month roadmap with clear priorities.

What you walk away with

Strategic clarity, in your head and your team's. You'll know exactly where to focus, what to stop, and why.

A strategic playbook your team can use long after we finish - positioning, business model, go-to-market, operating rhythm. A living document, not a PDF no one opens.

Your Strategy HQ - every decision built into a working file your team, or your AI tools, can be briefed from directly.

The strategy doesn't live only in your head. Everyone is working from the same foundation.

Why me?

Because at this level, you’re not really paying for access to a framework.

You’re paying for judgement.

I’m Saskia Thornton, a growth strategist based in Taranaki. Before I advised businesses, I built them.

I built Mad Millie and Grainfather from scratch, from finding the gap in the market and shaping the concept through to product and growth. Mad Millie grew to 130,000 units a year across New Zealand, the USA, Australia and the UK. Grainfather grew to roughly $35M in recurring revenue.

Both were built inside Bevie, a $60M business with 120 staff, where I was CMO and a board member. I was also part of Bevie’s acquisition by a large global US malting company, including the due diligence process.

I later co-founded FTN Motion, with oversubscribed capital rounds.

So I’ve made the kinds of decisions I now help business owners and founders work through.

What market do we pursue?
What do we stop doing?
Where should the money go?
Which opportunities actually fit?
What does the team need?
What should marketing be doing?
And what sounds like a good idea but probably isn’t one?

That’s what I bring into a private engagement.

I’m not there to take you through a set of exercises. I’m there to understand the business quickly, challenge the thinking where it needs challenging, spot where things aren’t lining up, and help turn the strategy into something the wider team can actually work from.

What past clients say

"When I came on as Marketing Director and saw all the work Saskia had done, I was blown away. The systems she built weren't just impressive, they were part of the reason I wanted to take the job in the first place."

- Jo Nevin, Marketing Director

"There are a billion freelancers and strategic marketing consultants, but Saskia is actually experienced in running and building businesses, which makes her different. We now have a clear scoreboard and strategy for where the business is heading."

- Gemma Brewerton, Founder/Director

"Saskia has a unique ability to drive marketing strategy and vision into the team. She didn't just give us guidelines - she established a mindset for brand leadership that is now ingrained in our company."

- Luke Sinclair, Founder/CEO

Investment

From $20,000 + GST

Engagements involving in-person workshops, multiple stakeholders, or extended scope are quoted at proposal stage.

I take on a small number of these strategy engagements each year. This work requires genuine immersion in your business, and I only do it when the fit is right.

Why Private Strategy Engagement instead of the Group cohort?

Both use the Market Alignment Method. The difference is how closely I’m involved in applying it to your business.

The Group Cohort

I teach you the Method. You work through the decisions for your own business. You learn alongside other business owners and founders. I challenge your thinking and help you get clear. You take the strategy back into the business and lead the implementation.

Private Strategy Engagement

We work through the Method inside your actual business. I go much deeper into your market, offer, commercial model, team and the complexity that already exists. Your leadership team can be involved where that makes sense. You get more direct challenge, feedback and strategic input from me. And we work on how the strategy gets understood and used across the business, not just how it gets decided.

In the Group Cohort, I guide you through the Method. In Private Strategy Engagement, I work inside the complexity of your business with you.

You don’t need to decide before we speak.

Next step

Book a 20-minute clarity call. We'll talk through where your business is, what you're stuck on, and whether the Blueprint is the right fit.

Book your Clarity Call