Operating partner · Traction to scale

You've built the company. product. vision.
Now build the systems that scale it.

Strategy, growth and operations partner for companies moving from traction to scale. We build the systems you'd build yourself if you had the time – then hand them over.

What happens when you get operations right.

£15M+

Delivered in cost savings through global operational improvementsAcross a £250m+ revenue business

3×

Team scaled in 6 months via hiring infrastructureFrom 8 to 25 headcount

1139%

Direct debit adoption, cash flow stabilised, payment chasing eliminated

14 days

Series A financial model designed, reviewed, and investor-ready

75%

Finance ops workload reduced through automated billing workflows

What got you here won't get you to scale.

You don't need to reinvent what's working. You need the infrastructure to do it consistently, predictably, and at higher volume.

01

Finance operations

Built to hold as revenue scales – whether that's 2x or 100x.

02

Operational processes

Frameworks that free you to focus on growth, not firefighting.

03

Sales and marketing

Systems that deliver predictable growth, not random wins.

04

Data and reporting

Dashboards that inform decisions, not decorate slides.

05

Hiring systems

A process that brings in A-players aligned to your culture.

06

Business rhythm

A cadence that creates accountability, not theatre.

Four systems. Designed, built, and yours to keep.

We embed with your team to design, implement, and hand over the systems that turn post-funding chaos into scalable growth.

01 – Ops

Operational infrastructure

Frameworks and tools that keep things running as you grow.

  • CRM setup and cleanup (Pipedrive, HubSpot, Salesforce)
  • Sales and marketing operations
  • KPI dashboards and reporting frameworks
  • Business rhythm and OKR implementation
  • Workflow automation
Start here
02 – Finance

Finance and fundraising readiness

Financial rigour that builds investor confidence.

  • Financial modelling (scenarios, unit economics)
  • Billing and invoicing automation (Stripe, GoCardless)
  • Payment operations and expense management
  • Board reporting and investor communications
  • Market sizing analysis for fundraising prep
Start here
03 – People

People ops and team scaling

Hiring and onboarding that builds culture, not just headcount.

  • Hiring plans and job spec creation
  • Candidate sourcing and interview process design
  • Onboarding frameworks and culture alignment
  • Interim leadership cover
Start here
04 – Leadership

Leadership support

Someone who can own a problem and get it done.

  • Fractional Chief of Staff support
  • Executive meeting facilitation and agenda design
  • Cross-functional project coordination
  • Strategic thinking partner for CEO and leadership
Start here

How we've helped companies scale without breaking.

Real challenges. Real solutions. Measurable outcomes. Click any case to expand.

"Our CRM is a mess – the data's incomplete, we can't forecast accurately, and I'm spending hours every week trying to figure out what's actually happening in our pipeline."

The challenge

Seed-stage PropTech SaaS. CRM data quality at 55%, inconsistent processes, quarter-to-quarter chaos. The ops person who held it together had just left.

What we did

Full CRM audit and historical data cleanup. Redesigned pipeline with clear stage definitions and handoffs. Onboarded new Head of Account Management into the same system. Built automated reporting. Documented and trained both teams.

Results
  • Data quality: 55% to 95%+ completeness
  • Founder time saved: 8–10 hours per week
  • Sales and Account Management working from single source of truth
  • Pipeline decisions shifted from gut feel to data-driven
  • Clean handover with full documentation
"Charlie didn't just fix our CRM – he set up our entire sales and account management operation for success. We went from data chaos to data-driven decisions."– Founder, Seed-Stage PropTech SaaS
Facing similar challenges? Let's talk

"We've built a new product in a category that doesn't exist yet. How do we launch it, create demand, and track whether any of it is working?"

The challenge

A UK data strategy consultancy was launching its first SaaS product – a data maturity tool in a category with no established playbook. The product and R&D teams had built it. The commercial engine to sell it, track it, and bring it to market didn't exist yet.

What we did

Defined and executed the Sales and Marketing OKRs for the launch. Built the financial model, CRM dashboards, and reporting tools to make the commercial engine measurable. Delivered a major London launch event end-to-end – the largest operational effort of the engagement. Coordinated cross-functional alignment between product, marketing, and sales through launch and beyond.

Results
  • Pipeline targets surpassed via iterative GTM optimisation
  • London launch event delivered end-to-end
  • Commercial infrastructure (financial model, CRM, reporting) built from scratch
  • Sales and marketing OKR framework sustained post-handover
  • Product, marketing, and sales aligned on shared metrics
Launching something new? Let's talk

"Our early pricing was designed to win customers, not build a sustainable business. Now we need to fix our unit economics before our next fundraise, but we can't afford to lose the customers we've already won."

The challenge

Aggressive market-entry pricing had won early customers but wouldn't scale. No discounting framework, inconsistent deals from Sales and Account Management, ad-hoc commercial terms. Investor readiness gap with the next raise on the horizon.

What we did

Full analysis of pricing, costs, and unit economics. Designed new tiers achieving sustainable unit economics while honouring existing commitments. Built a discounting structure with thresholds and approvals. Created a pricing tool for Sales and Account Management. Documented the logic and trained the teams.

Results
  • Sustainable unit economics achieved
  • Clear commercial framework for Sales and Account Management
  • Faster sales process (no founder bottleneck)
  • Investor-ready path to profitability
  • Existing customer relationships maintained
"Charlie helped us transition from early-stage 'win at any cost' pricing to a commercial model that actually works for the long term. Exactly the bridge we needed from proving the concept to building a fundable business."– Founder, Seed-Stage Tech Startup
Rethinking your pricing? Let's talk

"We want to launch our game in the US, but we don't have anyone on the ground there. How do we build a market without a local team?"

The challenge

A UK mobile gaming startup preparing to launch a new title into the US – a market they had no physical presence in. The founders were deeply involved in product and commercial decisions, but needed an operator to coordinate delivery across product, marketing, and partnerships from a distance.

What we did

Led cross-functional coordination across product, marketing, and partnerships for the US launch. Managed external vendor relationships and built the internal governance processes to keep a distributed delivery on track. Introduced company-wide OKRs and execution cadence to align the team through the launch window.

Results
  • Mobile game successfully launched into the US market without a local team
  • Long-tail gaming community grown into the thousands before the funding runway closed
  • Operational infrastructure for international launches embedded
  • OKR framework aligned teams through the launch window
  • Strategic partnerships established to support user acquisition
Launching in a new market? Let's talk

"We need to align the whole company around profitability, but our performance framework is fragmented across teams."

The challenge

YouGov – a global, publicly-listed insights business operating across 35+ geographies – had hard operating profit, revenue, and US-specific growth targets, alongside the integration of a recently acquired 1,000-person, £120m revenue business. A hybrid organisation at scale with no unified performance framework. Functions optimising local metrics while missing company-wide outcomes.

What we did

Facilitated strategy workshops with the exec team to align on five company OKRs anchored to the business targets. Cascaded OKRs across functions, with co-ownership designed into the key results that cut across teams. Built a three-layer transparency stack: an async OKR dashboard, monthly leadership reviews, and quarterly all-company updates. Partnered with the CHRO to connect individual goals to team OKRs, creating clear line of sight from individual to company level. Launched company-wide in a single rollout.

Results
  • Exec alignment on 5 company priorities anchored to P&L and strategic targets
  • Cross-functional accountability via co-owned key results
  • Aligned strategy with clear line of sight from individual, to team, to company goals – empowering managers and leaders across the business
  • Transparent async reporting replaced status meetings
  • Framework sustained through profitability push, acquisition integration, and US expansion
Need performance discipline? Let's talk

Three ways to work together.

We don't leave you with a deck and disappear. We embed, execute, and hand over systems your team can run without us.

Pricing approach

We work with companies at different stages, so we're flexible.

Let's talk about what works for you

We've done this before. Multiple times. At every stage.

Charlie Harries, founder of Catalyft

Catalyft is led by Charlie Harries, a former Chief of Staff across seed-stage startups, a data valuation consultancy, and publicly-listed insights business YouGov, with 8+ years building systems, turning chaos into clarity, and scaling businesses from seed to Series A and beyond.

The experience we bring
  • Chief of Staff at two seed-stage startups, a scaling consultancy, and a publicly-listed PLC
  • Built Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing, and People systems from scratch
  • Delivered £15M+ in cost savings and operational improvements
  • Designed pricing strategies, automated payment workflows, and implemented business rhythm across multiple organisations
  • Background in Big Four consulting, fintech transformation, and data governance
  • Physics degree (First Class) – we love numbers, systems, and solving hard problems
What that means for you
  • We've got the templates, tools, and workflows ready to customise
  • We've made the mistakes so you don't have to
  • We speak founder, investor, and operator – and know when to use which
  • We get our hands dirty – designing the systems, then doing the work to build them.
Catalyft was founded on a simple belief: brilliant business ideas shouldn't stall because operations can't keep pace. We're the catalyst that turns scaling chaos into growth-ready infrastructure – building the systems that lift founders and CEOs out of the weeds and free them to focus on what's next.
Let's talk

Ready to scale without breaking?

Tell us where you're stuck. We'll tell you what we'd build.

Email hello@catalyft.co.uk