Business Roadmap VIP Day

Hands down, the fastest way for entrepreneurs to develop a revenue-generating, investor-attracting business, so they can grow and scale faster.

Bruce C, a happy Startup Distillery client

"Diane is a straight shooter who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Her goal is to set you up for success."

“My favorite part of our VIP Day was the dialogue that clarified what we’ve done right, what we’ve done wrong, and what we need to do moving forward.”
Bruce Caughman

GAME VODKA

Many startups fail to grow and get funded for a very simple reason:

They haven’t dialed in their business fundamentals.

You wouldn’t even think of building a house without a blueprint. Yet the vast majority of entrepreneurs don’t take the time to map out a blueprint for their business BEFORE taking action.

At the end of the day, the one thing that separates the startups that succeed from the 90% that don’t, is designing a business model that’s so dialed in, it’s practically failproof.

Rusty Sproat, Founder of Figo Pet Insurance
Result: Multimillion-dollar exit; acquired by German conglomerate.

That’s why I created…

The Business Roadmap VIP Day

Because you’re ready to get this thing off the ground like yesterday — and in just one day, I can give you the light-bulb moments you need to fast-track your success.

The entrepreneurial journey can be lonely, but you don’t have to do it alone.

Terri Graham, happy Startup Distillery client

"Our plan gave us credibility with our investors and enabled us to secure $1 million."

“Diane’s business plan secured us a $100,000 business loan within 48 hours. Our plan gave us credibility with our investors and enabled us to then secure $1 million. There is no question we couldn’t have done it without her.”

Terri Graham

Cuvee Lounge

Result: Secured a $100,000 business loan in 48 hours, followed by $1 million from investors.

This 1-Day experience was tailor-made for you if…

Waiting is not an option.

The idea of waiting weeks or months for an action plan to become profitable simply isn’t an option (at this stage, you can’t afford to wait forever).

Your business is 0-5 yrs old — in any industry.

Yes, I’ve worked with distilleries, as my name suggests. I’ve also worked with tech startups, consumer products, retail, food & beverage and more.

You're looking to get funded

… but you’re striking out with investors. Or you’re at square one and don’t want to blow your big chance.

You keep pivoting.

You’re not getting traction, so you’re repeatedly pivoting, with little to show for your efforts. At the end of the day, you feel like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. You need a clear game plan ASAP.

You're in perpetual firefighter mode.

You’re bogged down in “reactive mode” putting out daily fires, instead of being a proactive CEO who is strategic with your time and resources.

You crave clarity.

You’re bouncing around like a pinball doing whatever the last “business guru” told you to do, and you’re ready for a proven expert to give you a roadmap that’s tailored to your unique business.

If any of these apply to you… you’re in the right place.

Buckle Up

Here’s Your VIP Day Roadmap

My signature process gives you the clarity you need to prioritize your next steps for working through pivots and course corrections BEFORE wasting valuable time and money… and BEFORE blowing your big chance to attract customers and investors.

(Spoiler alert:  it doesn’t matter how dialed in YOU think your business model is… if an investor finds a single reason to doubt you, they won’t invest, period.)

1

Discover

Our mind-meld begins before your VIP Day.

Before our VIP Day kicks off, we’ll begin our mind-meld. Using the answers from your pre-work questionnaire, I’ll begin diving into the details of your vision so I can zero in on your big picture dreams and goals. This way, we can hit the ground running on the big day.

2

Distill

ProblemSolutionProducts • MarketCompetition

During our VIP Day, we’ll map out 5 of your core business pillars in real-time. Taking a bird’s eye view, I’ll pinpoint weaknesses & gaps, giving you clarity and setting the agenda for your next steps as you dial in the critical details and stress test your business model.

3

Deliver

A roadmap for dialing in the details of your plan.

After our day together, I’ll deliver your custom evaluation of weaknesses & gaps; next-steps action plan and transcript of our call. You’ll leave your VIP Day knowing exactly what to do next to get the results you want.

After our VIP Day,

here’s what you’ll walk away with…

A Foundation

A strong business foundation that paves the way for profits.

Clarity

Knowing exactly what strengths to lean into, weaknesses to shore up, and gaps to address.

Investor Insight

A clear understanding of exactly what investors are looking for so you can get funded.

Next Steps

An action plan with the steps you need to take to develop a business that attracts both investors and customers.

Strategies

My specific strategies and tactics for collecting the critical market data you need to find product-market fit (i.e., confirm there’s enough market demand).

Momentum

The expert guidance you need to speed up your learning curve, fast-track profitability and avoid expensive mistakes.

PLUS, I’ll steer you off of what I call the “Pivot Hamster Wheel,” so you know exactly where to put your time, money, and energy to hit your goals.

99%

99% of my clients who have sought funding have secured it.

That’s not a coincidence. So before you dive into the proverbial shark tank, come see me.

What you’ll get.

1

Tailored guidance.

Other consultants ask you 20 questions and send you a report within 14 business days. I differentiate my work with a hands-on collaborative approach. I don’t do it for you, I do it with you, using a Q&A approach to understand your vision and help you develop the foundation you need to get funded and fast-track profitability. By working together, you’ll be learning how to think and act like a CEO — which is a surprisingly challenging transition after years of being an employee, no matter what level.

2

Custom Evaluation & Roadmap

After our VIP day, I’ll deliver a custom evaluation of your startup’s weaknesses & gaps and a personalized action plan outlining your next steps. Think of this as a custom roadmap that guides you toward making your business model tough enough to stand up to the toughest investors.

This roadmap will serve as the foundation (and touchstone) for your business blueprint as well as financial projections, pitch deck and more. I’ll deliver it in writing after your VIP Day.

3

Call recording & transcript.

So you can go back and reference it anytime.

+

SPECIAL ACCESS TO THE VELOCITY PLAN (aka ongoing support)

Our time together doesn’t have to end after our VIP Day. If you decide you’d like continued support and guidance after our VIP Day, I have a 1:1 consulting package I refer to as a Velocity Plan. It’s specifically designed to keep you on the fast track as you execute your next-steps action plan. During this time, we’ll spend 3 months taking massive action to get your business investor-ready and market-ready, with regularly scheduled calls plus unlimited access to my expert consulting brain.

Startup Distillery client Robin Road Cocktails product images of 3 of their ready-to-drink canned cocktails

Robin Road Cocktails from Bona Fide Beverage

Result: On store shelves in 1 year; award-winning 3 months later.

Diane helped us fully understand our business, brand, and products in a way that we didn’t when we started. She is able to point out the problems you might not think of yourself, and helps you resolve them ahead of time. She truly provides a unique perspective and expertise to any project.”

Max Robbins

Bona Fide Beverage

“We didn’t know where to start, but Diane helped us take our idea and turn it into a full-fledged business. We hired her because we wanted personalized expertise rather than filling out a bunch of templates.”

Theresa Robbins

Bona Fide Beverage

Ready to fast-track your success?

Let’s talk cost.

Big-name consulting firms charge upwards of $15,000 for full-day consulting sessions (and the deliverable may not be 100% clear).

You can get my expert brain on your business (or idea) all day, plus a custom action plan.

YOUR INVESTMENT: $3,500

You had me at “get funded”
You can get started by requesting a totally free “let’s see if we’re a good fit” call below.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do you only work with distilleries?

No! I work with businesses of all kinds, ranging from clean energy to life sciences, retail to consumer products, entertainment, food & beverage, health and wellness, tech of all kinds and more. Together, we combine your industry expertise with my expertise in building companies that grow and get funded.

I named my company Startup Distillery because I take all of the ideas, dreams, goals and concerns swirling in your head, synthesize them and then distill them into a coherent roadmap that gets you from here to there. (I also happen to enjoy distilled spirits.)

2. What should I expect during a VIP Day?

Here’s how our day will go:

(1) PREP WORK. Phase 1: Discover will begin before our day together when I send you a detailed questionnaire to gather information about: (i) your business (or business idea) and (ii) any notes or business planning information you may have (no, nothing is required… just asking in case you do). This will enable us to hit the ground running on your VIP Day.

(2) TWO HOURS. We’ll start our day on Zoom using a shared Google Doc while we dive into Phase 2: Distill, focusing on the first three building blocks — Problem, Solution and Products & Services.

(3) LUNCH BREAK. Two hours tends to be the limit for our brains to process and retain information. So by this time we’ll be ready to refuel, recharge and refresh.

(4) TWO HOURS. For the next 1 ½ – 2 hours we’ll pick up where we left off before lunch and jump into the Market and the Competition portions of your business, as time allows.

(5) BREAK. By this time we’ll be ready for a short break.

(6) WRAP-UP. We’ll use the last 15-30 minutes to address any remaining issues and answer any questions you may have.

3. What will I walk away with? (aka deliverables)

Over the next week, I will synthesize, distill and strategize as I develop your custom evaluation and next-steps action plan. Once complete, I will send you:

  1. A distilled copy of your custom roadmap including the strengths, weaknesses and gaps you’ll need to address for a detailed business blueprint.
  2. Your custom action plan with the next steps needed to make your plan investor-ready and market-ready for you to execute.
  3. A recording & transcript of our VIP Day call.
4. What if I still need guidance after our VIP Day?

If you’d like continuing guidance and support as you execute your action plan, I offer a 1-on-1 consulting package designed to keep you on the fast track (I like to call it my Velocity Plan).

5. What is a Velocity Plan?

A Velocity Plan is a 90-day, personal 1:1 consulting package where we can finish what we started on your VIP Day — articulating the details and strategies to get you investor- and market-ready faster. We’ll have regularly scheduled calls, plus you’ll get unlimited access to me* via email, Voxer (a cool texting/voice messaging app) and phone.

You will wake up each morning knowing exactly where to focus your time and energy, because I’ll be guiding you every step of the way… you’ll have clear, actionable steps to get you where you want to go better, stronger and faster.

*within reason

6. Will I be ready to pitch to investors?

In most cases, you won’t be ready to pitch or begin executing, but you WILL have:

  1. Clarity on your next steps for dialing in the critical details of your business model to make it both investor-ready and market-ready.
  2. Direction. You will know AHEAD OF TIME the gaps you need to address, the weaknesses to shore up and the strengths to lean into.
  3. A solid foundation on which to continue building a business that beats the odds because it’s designed for profitability and long-term success.

These details are what will fast-track your success and help you get funding (if you need it).

7. Do you help with pitches?

Yes. I’ve spent years developing pitch decks — both the slide content and script (your script DOES NOT belong on the slides!). I’ve even been known to provide guidance on presentation skills. If you’re interested, we can hop on a call to discuss pricing.

You had me at “get funded”
You can get started by requesting a totally free “let’s see if we’re a good fit” call below.