Key takeaways
- The Growth Partner program is for Canadian companies doing roughly $500K to $30M with proven demand, not for ideas.
- Our team embeds across marketing, sales, operations, finance and technology, with Ali leading the engagement.
- Compensation is revenue share, equity, or a hybrid retainer plus bonus, agreed with your lawyer and accountant.
- It fits owners who want a team with shared upside and are willing to give that team real decision rights.
Owners ask us two questions about the Growth Partner program. What exactly do we do, and why would a firm take part of its pay in revenue share or equity instead of a fee. The short answer is that the program is how we work with companies where we believe the upside is large enough to share, and where the owner wants a team in the business rather than advice from outside it.
This guide sets out how it works, who it fits, who it does not, and how the deal is structured, so you can decide whether to have the conversation.
Who it is for
The program is for Canadian companies doing roughly $500K to $30M in annual revenue with proven demand. Proven demand means customers are already buying and paying, the product or service works, and the constraint on growth is the team, the systems or the go-to-market, not whether anyone wants what you sell.
It is not for pre-revenue ideas, for companies in distress that need a turnaround, or for owners who want someone to blame. Our primary market is British Columbia and we work with companies in every province by video, phone and on site.
- An owner-led company with a real customer base and healthy margins.
- A clear growth constraint that a team can remove, such as no sales system, no marketing function or an owner doing everything.
- An owner willing to share decision rights and reporting with a partner.
- A horizon of at least two years, because the upside takes time to build.
How the team embeds
Ali leads every engagement personally and our team of more than thirty specialists joins by function. In a typical Growth Partner engagement that means a fractional CMO or CTO seat held by Ali, a sales systems lead, an operations lead, finance and data support, and developers or automation specialists as the roadmap needs them. The people change by quarter as the work changes.
The team sits in your operating cadence. We attend the weekly leadership meeting, hold seats on the org chart, own numbers on the weekly page and prepare for the quarterly planning meeting like any other function head. The difference from a consulting engagement is that we are accountable for outcomes and paid on them.
How the deal is structured
There are three shapes. Revenue share, where we are paid a percentage of revenue or of the growth above an agreed baseline. Equity, where we take a minority stake in exchange for the work, usually with vesting tied to time and milestones. And a hybrid retainer plus bonus, where a reduced monthly retainer covers our cost and a bonus is paid on agreed results.
Which shape fits depends on your cash position, your plans for the company and your appetite for a partner on the cap table. Every version is documented by your lawyer and reviewed by your accountant. We work alongside licensed professionals on every agreement and we never draft the legal terms ourselves. Our separate guide on revenue share and equity deals with an operating partner lists the questions to put to your lawyer.
What the first quarter looks like
The first ninety days follow the pattern of our fractional engagements. Diagnosis across marketing, sales, operations, finance and technology. A written plan with a small number of priorities. The first systems built and the first results measured. The difference is scope, because the team is working across the whole company rather than one function, and the reporting is shared more fully because we are partners in the outcome.
If you want to understand what our team has produced in operating roles, the published results from Ali's agencies are at hvac.agency/case-studies, including BCWide.ca at three times the leads in ninety days and HeatLand.ca at 300% lead growth. Those are marketing results. The Growth Partner program applies the same discipline to the whole company.
Who should not apply
Owners who want to keep every decision, owners who are not willing to share the numbers, and owners looking for a short project should choose a fractional seat or an outsourced department instead. Both are good options and neither requires sharing upside.
The right first step is a conversation with Ali, by phone or video. We sign NDAs on request and we reply within one business day. Come with your last two years of numbers and an honest view of what is holding the company back.