Embedded Files
founders' journeys
Successful, ambitious business owners are building for scale with 4321Founder.
Successful, ambitious business owners are building for scale with 4321Founder.
They started here before:
They started here before:
Chasing investors or after receiving too many "nos"
Hiring marketers and software engineers or after timelines slipped and traction lagged
Running out of resources and giving up on their big vision or after things didn't go as planned
Take a look at who you'll meet
Take a look at who you'll meet
Agency owners
Consultants
Coaches
Owner-operators
Home service and trades
Solopreneurs
Fractionals
Realtors
Subject matter experts
Licensed professionals
Marketers
Sales pros
MBAs
PhDs
Vibe coders
Software engineers
And see how they're building
And see how they're building
A Business Within a Business
A Business Within a Business
A Business Beside a Business
A Business Beside a Business
Wondering what that means?
read onWondering what that means?
"Katrena brings clarity across teams and turns strategic vision into measurable progress. She’s an essential thought partner for any scaling company."
- Edward Collins-Fanner, RecBooks365
"I have been able to work with Katrena with a client that we are helping to scale. I always appreciate the effort and knowledge that she brings to our leadership team discussions. Katrena has been great to collaborate together with. Not only does she keep the business on track, but she elevates how it operates.
From setting the rhythm of the business, to designing cross-functional systems for accountability (OKRs, KPIs, RACIs), she is critical to shaping our client's operations at every level. Her ability to really flush through the each of our key leaders thoughts and ideas — from HR and Product to Finance and Revenue — and how she brings clarity across teams, it really helps to ensure that strategic vision turns into real, measurable progress.
Her ability to plug in across functions, manage programs, recruit specialised talent, and restructure leadership layers when necessary makes her an essential operator and thought partner in any scaling company. I appreciate the way in which she actively listens, which is rare to find.
If you're scaling, need someone with patience, someone that can help provide clarity--I recommend engaging Katrena."
Mini Case Story #19
Mini Case Story #19
Case Snapshot: The Fractional Ops Leader Who Found Revenue Hidden in Plain Sight
Case Snapshot: The Fractional Ops Leader Who Found Revenue Hidden in Plain Sight
Who we serve: Fractional consultants and operators seeking leverage
Clarity we deliver: Lack of revenue upside in operationally-focused projects
He was a seasoned technical operations leader who had gone fractional, running large-scale business process optimization projects inside home furnishings companies. His world was centered around efficiency, process, and throughput.
As he described his client work, I shared several opportunities to lean into hidden revenue, scalable leverage, and strategic differentiation buried inside almost every business he serves. You could see the wheels start turning.
What if operational improvement and efficiency didn’t just deliver cost savings, but also new revenue inflection points? What if his clients could walk away from a project not only leaner, but also with a clear strategy and roadmap for vertical or horizontal growth?
By the end of the call, we both knew he had stumbled on a big differentiator for his fractional practice AND for the often-traditional companies he serves.
His next step is to see how his prospects and past clients respond to some of the ideas.
In our half hour call... our first meeting... we uncovered a shift that could redefine the scope of his entire practice.
Want help spotting revenue opportunities hiding in your existing operations?
Mini Case Story #18
Mini Case Story #18
Case Snapshot: Alternative Medicine Company Owner Whose Brand Looked Too Much Like Her, Instead of Her Clients
Case Snapshot: Alternative Medicine Company Owner Whose Brand Looked Too Much Like Her, Instead of Her Clients
Who we serve: experienced service-business owners mid-pivot
Clarity we deliver: Panic when launch-ready products don’t convert
She had everything in place. A beautiful website. An e-commerce platform with customer journey analytics. Even customers knocking on her digital door.
But no one was buying. Expenses were piling up. The panic in her voice was subtle but real.
She told me she had already mapped out three customer avatars. That was the good news. The bad news? Everything about her brand (from the look to the messaging) reflected her. And she wasn’t her own target customer.
I asked her to pause. To go back and group her past clients into homogenous clusters. To think not just in terms of demographics like age and profession, but in use cases, concerns, and aha moments.
Her job now: bring me back her observations. My suspicion: once she sees her avatars side by side, she’ll recognize the mismatch. Her brand is wearing her clothes, not theirs.
But we’ll have to wait until the next call to find out if she sees it too.
She closed our session with a laugh: “Even a half-hour conversation can shift your next step.”
Want to see the exercise we gave her to uncover the real target market?
Mini Case Story #17
Mini Case Story #17
Case Snapshot: Exhausted Financial Services Owner Who Refused the Easy Path
Case Snapshot: Exhausted Financial Services Owner Who Refused the Easy Path
Who we serve: Experienced service-business owners stuck at a growth plateau
Clarity we deliver: Exhaustion from unfocused sales and GTM sprawl
She had the stack of business cards to prove her effort. Chamber mixers. BNI meetups. Networking lunches.
But every time she looked at the pile, the thought of how cold calls drained her and mass emails fell flat. She wanted to grow from 30 clients to 300, but the traditional “hustle harder” route was already burning her out.
During our call, I noticed something. Her clients were all over the map… but she lit up when she talked about chiropractors. She loved serving them. She knew their world.
So I showed her how to segment chiropractors into subcategories: practice size, location, proximity and painted a picture of what her GTM and operations could look like if she focused only there. Easier sales. Streamlined delivery. A reputation that spread.
But she bristled. “Ninety percent of my clients aren’t chiropractors. If I focus there, my business would be tiny.”
She couldn’t see that if she narrowed now, she’d probably have 28 chiropractors instead of 2 and be happier, more efficient, and more profitable.
She wasn’t ready. Sometimes founders have to struggle longer before they choose the easier way.
Want to see the exact framework we walked through and when she pushed back?
Mini Case Story #16
Mini Case Story #16
Case Snapshot: From Frustrated Operator to Emerging Founder
Case Snapshot: From Frustrated Operator to Emerging Founder
Who we serve: Experienced service-business owners ready to pivot into SaaS
Clarity we deliver: Misaligned roles, feature obsession, unvalidated assumptions
She was exhausted with vendors.
Five platforms to stitch together what one tool should be able to do. Endless upcharges for simple features. Poor service. “I’m tired of it,” she told me, “I’ll just build my own.”
Her daughter, a natural techie, was right there with her. They were ready to hire engineers immediately. But in our mastermind call, I asked a different set of questions.
Who’s doing what? They'll all legally be Founders, but who’s qualified to be the CEO? Who’s the Head of Product? And who’s responsible for Revenue Acquisition?
By the end of our 58-minute session, the roles were clearer:
Mom would run Operations as a Business Analyst.
Daughter would step into Founder/CEO and lead Product + Revenue.
The whole family would need RACIs, a legal structure, and a succession plan before emotions derailed the journey.
We talked about why “more features for less money” isn’t a winning play. I challenged them to map their actual business processes, perform some SWAG validation of TAM, SAM, SOM and hold off on writing a single line of code until they had clarity.
When we hung up, they had a different kind of plan: not to hire engineers right away, but to come back in two weeks with fresh research and a foundation to build smart.
Want to cut through the noise and find your next step?
Mini Case Story #15
Mini Case Story #15
Case Snapshot: Helping a Founder Shift From Builder Feature-Sprawl to CEO Clarity
Case Snapshot: Helping a Founder Shift From Builder Feature-Sprawl to CEO Clarity
Who we serve: Experienced service-business owners moving into software
Clarity we deliver: Feature sprawl, missing CEO perspective, unvalidated assumptions
When we first sat down, this founder’s energy was palpable. A seasoned marketing agency owner, now prelaunch on his first SaaS, he was brimming with ideas. Every competitor feature, every edge-case, every “wouldn’t it be cool if…” was on the table.
The problem? He was wearing only one hat: Head of Product.
The voices of Founder, CEO, and Head of Revenue Acquisition were missing entirely.
In our 36-minute call, we rebalanced his perspective and talked through:
As Founder: “What role do you want to be playing 12 months from now? and How much value do you want to create between now and then?”
As CEO: “How much can you realistically spend to acquire customers? Where’s the line between meeting the need and overbuilding?”
As Head of Product: “Let’s pause feature sprawl and narrow to what’s essential for this target user at this price point.”
As Head of Revenue Acquisition: “Don’t chase new markets yet. Hit $1MM with your core audience first.”
By the end, he had a clear action plan: put Product on pause, send Revenue out to talk to 50 partners and 50 users, and have the CEO ready to digest the feedback. Action items were set, due dates assigned, and accountability locked in for our next call.
Want to see the exact 3-step framework we gave him and the bold next move he made?
Mini Case Story #14
Mini Case Story #14
Case Snapshot: A Trades Founder’s Second Shot at SaaS
Case Snapshot: A Trades Founder’s Second Shot at SaaS
Who we serve: Trades-based founders pivoting into SaaS
Clarity we deliver: Risk of repeating past mistakes, unclear market direction
Five years. That’s how long this trades business owner had been pouring his heart, energy, and money into building SaaS for the industry he loves.
The first version didn’t stick. After years of effort, he had to shut the doors. Now he’s back with the second concept - wiser, but also wary. This time, he knows what lies ahead. The problem? He’s standing at a fork in the road.
Does he serve end users directly? Or lean on partners who already own the customer?
And beyond that, does he really want to be a SaaS CEO… or is he happiest leading technology and product?
We spent 84 minutes unpacking these questions.
Together, we built decision frameworks for each possible path and mapped the first 2–5 milestones he could take with confidence. He walked away with a 60–90 day plan and clarity on one crucial point: in this version, he must lead as CEO first, so product decisions don’t spiral into costly distractions.
Ready to untangle your next step in real time?
Mini Case Story #13
Mini Case Story #13
Case Snapshot: The CFO Who Discounted Too Much
Case Snapshot: The CFO Who Discounted Too Much
Who we serve: Fractional CFOs and finance partners to small businesses
Clarity we deliver: Weak positioning, inconsistent deal quality, and pricing pressure
He called himself a “business and numbers nerd.” After years of serving small businesses and non-profits, he’d built a reputation as the trusted financial partner founders could lean on.
But he was stuck in a frustrating loop.
To win new clients, he felt pressured to deeply discount his pricing, sometimes to the point where his value was obvious but his margins were invisible. His pipeline was moving, but not profitably.
We met through a cold LinkedIn outreach. What started as a new connection turned into a regular monthly coffee chat, where we swap perspectives on founder struggles and growth challenges.
In this 49-minute call, I helped him:
Refine soft positioning that undersold his credibility.
Put sharper edges on his differentiation, so prospects understood why his services mattered.
Develop a set of credibility points that frame him as the expert before pricing ever comes up.
Lay the groundwork for leading with value instead of discounting out of insecurity.
We’ll meet again in one month to review how his refined pitch is landing and whether discounts are still creeping in.
Want to see the exact recommendations we gave him and how he’s using them now?
Mini Case Story #12
Mini Case Story #12
Case Snapshot: From $10M Hustle to Executive Clarity
Case Snapshot: From $10M Hustle to Executive Clarity
Who we serve: first-time founders who have scaled quickly into $5–$15M but are struggling to build and manage a balanced executive bench
Clarity we deliver: founder bottlenecks, uneven seniority across teams, blurred roles, and lack of leverage on sales and product leadership
She had grown her company from scratch to nearly $10M in revenue in just a few years. For the first time, the business was producing strong gross margin and steady cashflow.
But with that success came new growing pains.
Her team now included qualified, professional leaders across Finance, People, Legal, Operations, Product, and Sales. Some were senior fractionals, others were junior full-timers. Managing this uneven bench was draining.
And she was still wearing too many hats:
Founder: holding the long-term vision.
CEO: responsible for strategic clarity and decisiveness.
Head of Product: pulled into the weeds of customer-facing decisions.
She wasn’t fully delegating or managing effectively, so instead of leverage, she was feeling bottlenecked.
In our 95-minute session, we worked to:
Separate her Founder vs. CEO lenses, so vision and operations didn’t blur together.
Map where her leadership bench was too junior and where to upgrade without blowing the budget.
Set “thinking homework” for her Product and Revenue teams to sharpen segmentation, pricing, and value drivers.
Clarify her role in product: not building features, but guiding GTM and lifecycle integration.
She left with a new perspective: her job was no longer about doing. It was about clarity, decisiveness, and empowering the right leaders at the right level.
Curious how we’d help you separate founder, CEO, and product lenses?
Mini Case Story #11
Mini Case Story #11
Case Snapshot: From People Fatigue to Clarity and Delegation
Case Snapshot: From People Fatigue to Clarity and Delegation
Who we serve: experienced CEOs scaling from services into product-service hybrids, often weary from being the bottleneck in people and operations
Clarity we deliver: blurred founder vs. CEO perspectives, weak support, slipping timelines, and inefficient collaboration with department leaders
A seasoned business consultant had already built a thriving practice. Now, she was expanding into high-ticket, AI-powered products that could scale without relying so heavily on her time.
But when we spoke, she was weary. Her people problems felt never-ending. Timelines for launches were slipping because she was still too involved. Her head of revenue required too much input despite proven product-market fit. And her founder and CEO lenses were muddled; she couldn’t separate long-term vision from daily operations.
In our 79-minute session, we reframed her path.
Together, we:
Clarified what belongs in her founder lens versus her CEO lens.
Established a plan to upgrade people operations - her weakest link.
Defined sharper OKRs for her head of revenue and reset expectations for how the role collaborates with her.
Improved her KPIs so she could better measure contributions across service delivery and operations.
She left clearer about what her team owes her, where her leadership bench needs strengthening, and how to protect her time for higher-leverage bets.
Want to see the OKR and KPI framework we used?
Mini Case Story #10
Mini Case Story #10
Case Snapshot: From Passionate Vision to Structured First Steps
Case Snapshot: From Passionate Vision to Structured First Steps
Who we serve: first-time founders with strong vision and energy but little startup experience, often referred by coaches
Clarity we deliver: overwhelm about where to start, lack of structure in sequencing next steps, and risk of wasting limited resources
A young professional, fresh out of university, came to me with a big vision: honor a family legacy, create security for his loved ones, and put his city on the map as a tech-forward hub.
His challenge? He was full of passion but had no practical experience and only limited resources to work with. What he needed was clarity: where to start, how to use what he had responsibly, and what order of operations would move him forward without wasting time or money.
In our 52-minute call, I discovered something unusual for a founder at his stage: he had already identified a narrowly defined, well-researched target segment that mapped to actual people, not just “an industry.” That gave us an incredible head start.
Together, we outlined the research and conversations he needed to pursue before building, and I equipped him with a framework for what questions to ask, what to listen for, and when to know he had enough information to integrate those learnings into product and marketing. He left ready to take focused, smart action.
Curious what we’d spot in your “where do I start?” moment?
Mini Case Story #9
Mini Case Story #9
Case Snapshot: From Stalled Outreach to a New Segment
Case Snapshot: From Stalled Outreach to a New Segment
Who we serve: experienced CEOs transitioning from service to scalable AI/SaaS platforms, often building with limited funding
Clarity we deliver: stalled early-stage outreach, lack of traction with initial prospects, and uncertainty around which customer segment to prioritize
An IT audit services firm owner, nearly two decades into his career, was ready to create a more scalable, higher-leverage model.
After approaching his existing clients about the new solution, he was dismayed. None were biting. Without outside investment and building solely from cashflow, he felt stuck but hopeful that he'd find a possible path forward in building his MVP.
In 27 minutes, we reframed his outlook.
I gave him an entirely new customer segment to explore - a narrow, viable customer segment to target for his new solution that he had not considered. We also mapped a simple 3-step approach for prospecting build partners.
By the end of the call, he’d shifted from stuck and frustrated to focused and action-oriented.
Want to see what we told him and hear how it reshaped his next moves?
Mini Case Story #8
Mini Case Story #8
Case Snapshot: Balancing Vision with Risk
Case Snapshot: Balancing Vision with Risk
Who we serve: first-time founders who’ve already achieved service success but want to scale bigger
Clarity we deliver: decision paralysis when the stakes are higher, prioritization across options, balancing ambition with pragmatism
A clinician-turned-founder who built a multimillion-dollar services business. Five years in, she’s hungry for more. Her leadership team is holding down the fort so she can explore the next visionary move.
But this time, the stakes are higher. Her first big bet paid off. Now she’s debating:
Roll the dice and pour her free cashflow into a new concept?
Double down on growing her services arm?
Diversify her personal portfolio because “you never know”?
In our 91-minute session, we mapped her options. Instead of chasing one shiny new direction, we outlined a balanced approach: invest in strengthening the existing business, diversify to protect herself, and carve out a small slice for testing the new concept. We also structured monthly objectives and weekly KPIs to turn her intuition about new hires and GTM performance into concrete decision-making criteria.
She walked away calmer, clearer, and more confident, not about chasing one path, but about managing all three wisely.
Curious what we’d see in your fork-in-the-road moment?
Mini Case Story #7
Mini Case Story #7
Case Snapshot: Pricing a Webinar Series
Case Snapshot: Pricing a Webinar Series
Who we serve: first-time founders of consulting/coaching/healing practices
Clarity we deliver: pricing, positioning, scope of products, lifecycle clarity
In a recent mastermind, a first-time CEO of a women-focused consulting practice asked me a simple but weighty question: “Should my upcoming webinar series be free or paid?”
She wasn’t sure how to decide. We resolved it in 9 minutes.
I explained it comes down to this:
Where does this webinar sit in your customer’s journey?
Is it meant to generate interest in your “real product”?
Or is it the main event, the full product you’re selling?
With that clarity, she was ready to decide how to position and price the series and align her top-of-funnel accordingly.
Sometimes, even a few minutes of outside perspective can shift the entire way you frame your offerings.
Want help with a similar situation? Let’s cut through the noise on your next big decision.
Mini Case Story #6
Mini Case Story #6
Case Snapshot: From Sales Slump to Strategic Options
Case Snapshot: From Sales Slump to Strategic Options
Who we serve: professionals-turned-founders, launched but struggling to get traction
Clarity we deliver: sales slumps caused by unclear positioning, lack of differentiation, and weak funnel design
A career sales professional turned CEO came to our mastermind frustrated: “How do I get more leads?” His service was launched, but the cash register wasn’t ringing.
In 18 minutes, we discovered the deeper issue: his messaging wasn’t resonating. He wasn’t narrow enough to stand out. And his product delivery model was too flat because it lacked differentiation and price points for people at different stages of readiness.
I suggested adding workshop-style options, exploring a community-driven funnel, and refining his target market to connect more closely with those ready for deeper engagement.
Instead of just asking “Where do I find more leads?” he left the call seeing how product, pricing, and positioning could unlock the traction he’d been missing.
Curious what we’d spot in your stalled sales funnel?
Mini Case Story #5
Mini Case Story #5
Case Snapshot: From Method-Heavy Pitch to Value-Driven Messaging
Case Snapshot: From Method-Heavy Pitch to Value-Driven Messaging
Who we serve: founders of service businesses evolving into tech-enabled firms
Clarity we deliver: too much focus on methods instead of customer outcomes, “for everyone” messaging, wrong hat at the wrong time
A former educator turned marketing agency owner was sharpening her pitch. Married to a technophile engineer, she had built one of the most efficient and tech-enabled agencies in her territory. But she was frustrated: the cash register wasn’t ringing.
Her challenge? She was pitching “how” instead of “what changes for you.” Realtors (her newly narrowed audience) were hearing tools and methodologies, not transformation.
In our 12-minute call, I challenged her to replace 30% of her pitch with WIIFM language: what you get, how your business will change, why it matters to you. She left with clear direction and a test for her next version.
The deeper work ahead: shifting her voice from head of product into CEO + head of revenue — the roles her prospects actually need to hear from.
Want to know what we told her and the exact challenge we gave her to fix it?
Mini Case Story #4
Mini Case Story #4
Case Snapshot: Pausing Product, Focusing on Audience
Case Snapshot: Pausing Product, Focusing on Audience
Who we serve: first-time founders in revenue, decisive and ambitious
Clarity we deliver: preventing premature product development, aligning financial signals with market focus, creating confidence in next steps
A first-time founder scaling in revenue came to me after narrowing from three avatars to one. “What next?” she asked.
She had proven herself decisive and in command of her business, already chasing new credentials to refine her product. But in our 31-minute conversation, I cautioned her to pause.
First, serve the narrowed audience. Learn what resonates. Let financial reports show how the new focus affects margin, profit, and cashflow. Then, make product refinements informed by audience response, not assumptions.
She left with a clear plan: experiment, observe, measure and resist the urge to overbuild until the signals are real.
Curious what we’d see in your next-step decision?
Mini Case Story #3
Mini Case Story #3
Case Snapshot: From Investor Obsession to Customer Validation
Case Snapshot: From Investor Obsession to Customer Validation
Who we serve: Experienced CEOs with domain expertise who are confident but missing the SaaS-specific playbook
Clarity we deliver: curb overconfidence and help the CEO avoid classic SaaS blindspots
An experienced CEO with a thriving IT audit services company decided it was time to build SaaS. With five years of domain expertise, he was convinced he knew exactly what to build, who would buy, and how the market would be disrupted.
The problem? None of it had been validated. He was shifting from government to commercial clients, targeting Fortune 500s he didn’t understand, and chasing investors instead of customers.
In our 31-minute call, we stepped back. I introduced him to the product adoption lifecycle and challenged him to spend 10–15 hours per week getting closer to his potential users instead of piling on features. He left with a new perspective: balancing product, revenue, and investor strategies and starting with early adopters, not Fortune 500 dream buyers.
He arrived ambitious but blind. He left grounded and focused.
Want to know the exact framework we shared with him?
Mini Case Story #2
Mini Case Story #2
Case Snapshot: From PR Practitioner to Potential Founder-CEO
Case Snapshot: From PR Practitioner to Potential Founder-CEO
Who we serve: service-business experts who suddenly see the possibility of scale
Clarity we deliver: giving structure and clarity to pivotal decisions
During a mastermind chat, a PR agency owner and I stumbled into an unexpected discovery: the way she mined client stories was fragmented and could be dramatically accelerated with AI.
It was a kismet moment. She suddenly saw a new path: continue as a PR owner-operator, or become a founder-CEO with her own scalable AI-enabled platform.
In 22 minutes, we reframed her reality. She left gobsmacked by the potential, ready to reflect deeply on her core desires, revenue goals, and whether she wanted to ride the AI wave as a practitioner or as a product founder.
Sometimes the biggest shifts happen not when you set out to solve them, but when you stumble into clarity.
Curious what we’d see in your fork-in-the-road moment?
Mini Case Story #1
Mini Case Story #1
Case Snapshot: Where Do I Even Start?
Case Snapshot: Where Do I Even Start?
Who we serve: brand-new founders with expertise but no startup roadmap
Clarity we deliver: the paralysis of “everything feels important” by clarifying the very first step
A brand-new founder came to me referred by his coach. A technical mind with a strong education, he was crystal clear on what he wanted to build; he’d even filed patents. But when it came to starting a business, he was clueless.
In our 34-minute call, we cut through the noise. Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, I helped him identify his immediate next step: refining his target audience. Without that clarity, product planning, revenue models, and go-to-market would all stall.
He left knowing exactly where to start, how to conserve his limited resources, and what we’d build on together in our next call.
Want to know the exact framework we used to get him unstuck?
Let's meet and make sure you're in the right place. There's no charge for your first 30 minute consultation.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse