About
Mara Hollis
A strategy advisor for founder-led companies. I help leadership teams name the real problem, make one decision well, and leave with a plan their own people can run.
Availability
Taking two new engagements this quarter. In person or remote.
Background
You work with me. No junior team behind the pitch.
Before advising, I ran operations and strategy inside growing companies, so I have sat on your side of the table when a consultant's deck landed and nothing changed. That is why the work here is small, senior and written down. I take a few clients at a time and do the work myself, from the first interview to the final plan.
Written down
Findings arrive as documents you can forward, not slides that need me to explain them.
Fixed scope
You know the length, the price and the output before we start. No open-ended retainers by default.
Done when you can act
An engagement ends with owners and dates, so the work carries on after I leave.
See how an engagement runs →
Experience
Fifteen years on both sides of the table.
2019 – now
Independent advisor
Strategy and operating decisions for founder-led companies of 20 to 200 people.
2014 – 2019
Head of strategy and operations
A regional services group, through two acquisitions and a restructure.
2010 – 2014
Strategy consultant
Growth, pricing and market-entry work for mid-sized companies.
Fit
Good fit, and not a fit.
Saying this early saves us both a call. If you're in the right-hand column, I'll suggest someone better suited.
A good fit
Founder-led, roughly 20 to 200 people
A real problem or decision on the table now
A leader who can make the call once the evidence is in
Open to hearing an uncomfortable answer
Not a fit
You need people to execute more than advice on what to do
The decision is already made and needs a rubber stamp
You want a large team on site for months
It's very early, before there's a business to diagnose
