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Building a successful startup hinges on one thing …

Convincing others there’s value in it. Value so compelling you’re met with nodding heads from customers, investors, even talent.

Yesterday, you could go all in on great design or a captivating story and growth hack your demand.

Today, those wildly successful startups you admire commit to something deeper. Understanding the transformation they make possible for their customers and weaving it into every decision made.

Doing this is hard. You have to overcome the comfort of as-is and the anxiety of something new. You have to shape something complex and unfamiliar into something clear and undeniable.

But not doing this is harder.

Customers look, but don’t buy.

Investors talk, but don’t write checks.

The ads work, but then they don’t.

We’re a positioning studio.
We work hands-on with early-stage founders to shape & express the value they offer.

Let’s Talk

Testimonials
Sandip Patel Headshot

Sandip Patel

Co-Founder & CEO

Cage Logo
Tying this to outcomes, I’m not even done and can easily talk about how working with the Wolves has made me a better leader and rallied my team to a more clear North Star. We’ve uncovered what needs to be prioritized and what will be the most impactful things for us to pursue. That’s huge!

The Wolves are so different than any ‘agency.’ I’m not looking to them to knock out a logo or web copy. Shit, they might do that, but that’s a byproduct of the real, root stuff that we get into!

This team is a force multiplier. Calling it alignment and positioning is short-changing what they do. They’ve directly and fundamentally helped me change my business.
Kera DeMars Headshot

Kera DeMars

Head of Marketing

Hustle Fund Logo
As a veteran of the startup world, I’ve heard entrepreneurs and founders refer to anything that isn’t measurable as ‘fluffy’. However, after working with the team at Wolves Not Sheep, I can say with absolute certainty that not only is positioning practical … it’s essential.

Chris and Jack have found a way to explain the value of positioning, the danger of ignoring it, and the tactical ways startups can take control of their own. Not only that, they have an uncanny ability to help entrepreneurs use positioning to win market share.
Monica Paredes Headshot

Monica Paredes

Co-Founder

Equinamity Labs Logo
We were too close to our product and unable to articulate our value. Wolves brought us clarity with humor, unique insight and decades of experience. We now understand our customers’ actual problem and how to align and message more effectively. Also, Chris is a subtle but very effective co-founder whisperer.
Andrew Hutton Headshot

Andrew Hutton

Founder & CEO

Day One Logo
Wolves filled a much needed gap helping us to solve how to cut through the noise, reach our customer and speak their language. They truly helped us refine who we are and now they’re doing it for founders in our program.
Tracy Mendoza Headshot

Tracy Mendoza

CEO & Co-Founder

Declare Logo
The Wolves helped me narrow my focus at a very early stage to what I needed to do ‘today’ in order to build a successful, sustainable business and cleared 90% of the noise distracting the forward movement of the company.
Brett Connally Headshot

Brett Connally

Founder & CCO

Mama Logo
We were stumbling around in the dark. Now we’re focused and charging forward. The Wolves kicked us straight in the fucking balls. And in the best way possible.
Ziljian Aguirre Headshot

Ziljian Aguirre

Co-Founder & COO

OKO Logo
I love the direct feedback and insight from former projects. Most people are too nice when we’re seeking help. Tough love is exactly what we need and the Wolves are in our corner to help us thrive.
Brooke Turner Headshot

Brooke Turner

Program Director

Div Inc Logo
The Wolves are a part of our family. They’ve been mentors, supporters, and guides to our members. I definitely recommend them and look forward to continuing our work with the team.
Redacted Headshot

Director of Communications

Redacted Logo
Truly design visionaries and change influencers … I think it’s amazing the opportunity that new and established companies and organizations would have to work with this team.
Lidia Bit-Yunan Headshot

Lidia Bit-Yunan

GM of Camp Everest

Hustle Fund Logo
Our founders ranked the Wolves ‘Positioning’ workshop alongside talks from Eric Ries and Rahul Vohra as pivotal in our program. We’ll definitely be collaborating more and more.
Patrick J. Raglow Headshot

Patrick J. Raglow

Executive Director

Catholic Charities Logo
The Wolves have amazing talent — they can turn your hard-to-tell story into an easy-to-grasp and compelling narrative that will make partners out of your audience!
FAQ

We work in two phases.

Phase One is a 4-week sprint focused on shaping value. We work with you to develop your own demand-side positioning and resource guide. We then help you validate it with a strategic narrative that will go on to serve as the foundation for your market differentiation, brand strategy, and decision-making.

Phase Two begins with a 3-month minimum engagement reserved for teams that want hands-on guidance and further strategic development. This phase is designed to de-risk the application of your newly shaped value to sales and marketing initiatives with the highest impact on the next major milestone – from investor decks to websites and brand updates to customer experiences.

During Phase One, each week you should carve out 2 hours for collaborative meetings, plus time to work on your own.

All in, about 6-12 hours a week is advised, but the process is flexible – if a busy week comes up, scheduling adjustments can be made. If you need to move faster, we’d compress that same total time into a shorter time period.

Phase Two is tailored to each founder/team uniquely and can include anything from recurring advisory calls to collaborative strategic and creative direction.

Our team is multi-disciplinary and pulls on various skills as needed to shape and express the value each new venture has to offer. From guidance to hands-on support, this could include a mixture of strategy, business design, advisory, as well as design and development of both brand and digital experiences.

It’s never too early to begin positioning, but we primarily work with funded startups – whether by fundraising or revenue.

If you’re earlier than that, we encourage you to check out our learning resources to help until you’re ready to work with us.

Yes! For teams that have completed the Phase One sprint, we offer ongoing projects to collaborate and attack known or suspected problems and solve them together.

Our focus is on Seed and Series A startups. We also work with growth-stage startups as they look to scale from early-adoption into broader markets, build and release new products/features, or prepare for M&A.

While Phase One is usually completed as a fee-for-service, we do offer creative capital arrangements for Phase Two or longer-term partnerships. We are open to shared earnings, full equity, or a mix of fee and equity deals.

We do! We’re often asked to present to accelerators and venture portfolios on topics such as:

  • Market-Fit Isn’t Found – It’s Shaped
  • The Pitch You Give vs The One They Hear
  • Nobody Cares About Your Value Statement
  • Jobs-To-Be-Done Uncovers Demand. Unleash It With Positioning.
  • Why Aligning Your Team, Brand, & Customer Is F*cking Hard
  • Being Ignored, Misunderstood, or Forgotten