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Description
You're about to raise, or you've started and the meetings aren't converting. The passes are polite, and not one of them tells you why. Here is what has usually gone wrong, and it isn't the technology. Startups die as business operators – the ladder against the wrong wall, a story that carries friction, a raise that stalls out. Two Medtech companies I advised had real urgency, a genuinely unmet need, a real unfair advantage, millions already raised and product built. Both had aimed at a buyer who was never going to move. One found a pivot late and survived. One didn't. Neither found out until the runway was nearly gone – and by then, nobody funds the correction. This is the diagnosis, before you spend months finding out the expensive way. Thirty years on both sides of that table: Five exits of my own, then building and directing the Strategic Storytelling & Investor Readiness practice at Deloitte, then advising founders whose companies have raised over $600M. I don't polish decks. I stress-test the business underneath them.
What you'll get from this package
A Written Verdict: Three to five pages you can act on and hand to a co-founder – not an opinion delivered in a meeting you'll half-remember.
A Straight Answer on Whether You're a VC Play: And if you aren't, what to do instead. That's a finding worth having, not a rejection. Bank-funded businesses are good businesses, and knowing now saves you a year.
The “Wrong-Wall” Check: Who in your market is actually bleeding and ready to pay, whether that's who you're selling to, and whether they can decide fast enough for your runway.
Your Market Story in One Paragraph: The event creating the opportunity, the money in play, and your claim on it: Written down, and tested for the friction you may be paying for in every meeting.
A Claim / Safe / Proven Audit: Where each pillar of your company actually sits on the scale an investor grades you against, rather than where you'd like it to sit.
One Cheapest Next Move: The single fastest thing to change before you are in the room.
A Readout Call: Forty-five minutes walking through the verdict together, so it lands with explanation instead of arriving as a PDF.
Full Credit Toward What Comes Next: The entire fee is credited against the Investor-Ready Sprint or the Company Thesis if you book within 60 days.
Additional details
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
Ahead of the session you complete a short intake: Who pays you the most money in the shortest time, for what, why and when; your market story in your own words; an honest reading of where each pillar of your company actually stands. That takes the data-gathering off the clock. Then two hours, live, where I interrogate the thesis with you according to a rigorous, proven, stress-testing framework. A few days later you receive a written verdict, and we walk through it together on a Readout Call. Three to five pages you can act on and review with a co-founder.
Services included:
Business Strategy Development
Fundraising
Go-to-Market Strategy
Venture Capital Strategy
Talk to a team member
Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
Schedule a call
More packages from Shu
Custom hourly · $500/hr
Get help with Ideation, Business Strategy Development, and .
Offered by Shu E.
Joined August 2026
5.0
5 Exits/$600M+ Raised: Investor Readiness, Startup Stress-Test, Pitch Decks
I have advised hundreds of startup founders across the globe regarding strategy, growth & capital raising. My clients span all verticals, all rounds, and collectively have raised over $600M. The science and methods of 'Startup Alchemy' work. I can guarantee to get you focused, to distill your company DNA, and that you will pitch with absolute clarity, and throw the most powerful punch possible every time you get in the room with an investor, customer, or potential partner. Most startup 'experts' come from marketing backgrounds. I come from 30 years of hands-on Founder experience, 4 IPOs, an acquisition by IBM, and having built and led a practice at Deloitte. Only someone who has been in the room with investors over a lifetime can teach you about the signals investors listen for, and how to manage your meetings for a win.
$1,500
3h–4h of coaching