Profitable Ideas Exchange

What Profitable Ideas Exchange does

Profitable Ideas Exchange (PIE) is a privately held business development consultancy founded in 2000 in Bozeman, Montana, that exclusively serves middle-market and large professional services firms, including accounting, consulting, law, real estate, and technology firms. The company operates four core service lines: Executive Community Management (curated peer exchanges, roundtables, and summits), Advisory Board Management (designing and facilitating advisory boards for clients), Client and Market Insights (research and market intelligence), and a Training practice covering Account Planning and Business Development workshops. Its customer base includes named enterprises such as AWS, KPMG, Deloitte, IBM, Capgemini, BCG, JLL, Cognizant, Veeva, BDO, Cherry Bekaert, FTI Consulting, Thomson Reuters, and ZS, with case-study endorsements from senior leaders at several of these firms.

PIE's delivery model is high-touch and human-facilitated rather than technology-mediated: no core software platform, API, or proprietary product technology is disclosed in the source material; instead, value is produced through facilitated conversations, executive roundtables, and bespoke training engagements. The company supplements its services with a content and thought-leadership layer, including the 'Growth Engine' (PIECast) podcast, two published books ('Never Say Sell' and 'How Clients Buy'), a Perspectives blog, and external media placements in publications such as Chief Executive, Entrepreneur, and MarketWatch.

Revenue is generated through custom consulting engagements and retainer arrangements sold via a direct enterprise field-sales motion; pricing is not publicly disclosed and the firm has no external VC or PE funding. Leadership comprises CEO Andi Baldwin, Executive Chairman Tom McMakin (former 15-year CEO), President and Partner Jacob Parks (20-year tenure), Chief Client Officer and Partner Erika Flowers, and Board Member Walt Shill (former Accenture global strategy lead). The company is B Corp certified (2024) and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework compliant.

Name

Profitable Ideas Exchange

Legal name

Profitable Ideas, Inc.

Website

https://profitableideas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Profitable Ideas Exchange is a Bozeman, Montana-based business development consultancy that helps middle-market and large professional services firms deepen client engagement through executive peer communities, advisory boards, account planning training, and business development workshops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Development Consulting for Professional Services

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business (EDAMAHAI)

Keywords

• Business development consulting
• Executive community management
• Advisory board management
• Professional services training
• Account planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services Consulting: PIE generates revenue by delivering custom business development and client engagement programs for professional services firms. Services include executive community management, advisory board management, client and market insights, account planning training, and business development workshops. Revenue is generated through client engagements, likely project-based or retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Profitable Ideas Exchange (PIE) is a business development consultancy that designs, builds, and facilitates executive peer communities, advisory boards, client and market insights research, and business development training programs for professional services firms (accounting, consulting, law, real estate, and technology services). The firm delivers custom engagements to enterprise and middle-market clients, supporting them in deepening client engagement, strengthening reputation, expanding practices, and growing revenue from existing client relationships.

Product overview

PIE operates as a business development consultancy for professional services firms with four core service lines: Executive Community Management (peer exchanges, roundtables, and summits), Advisory Board Management, Client and Market Insights, and Training (Account Planning and Business Development workshops). The company also offers thought leadership content through its podcast 'The Growth Engine' (PIECast), two published books ('Never Say Sell' and 'How Clients Buy'), and companion self-assessment tools (Business Development Self Assessment and Seven Elements Assessment). PIE delivers these through branded executive exchange communities including the PIE Growth Leaders Exchange and PIE Marketing Leaders Exchange, which connect senior professionals across industries for peer learning and business development support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Community Management PIE's flagship service in which it builds and facilitates peer communities of senior executives on behalf of client professional services firms. Includes virtual roundtables, annual summits, and conference calls, with PIE systematically interviewing participants beforehand to surface top-of-mind issues and keep client professionals focused on relevant client topics.
• Advisory Board Management PIE designs, builds, and facilitates advisory boards where clients convene groups of senior executives for strategic guidance and feedback on business challenges.
• Client and Market Insights Research and analysis service through which PIE helps professional services firms understand client needs, market dynamics, and strategic opportunities to inform go-to-market decisions.
• Account Planning Training & Workshops Training service that teaches professional services teams account planning strategies, including how to develop comprehensive relationship action plans and accountability frameworks for strategically building trust and growing key accounts.
• Business Development Workshops and Training Training programs that develop business development skills and capabilities for professional services professionals, including workshops, business development audits, and keynote speaking engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Professional services firms report 80-90% of year-over-year revenue growth comes from expanded work with current clients — a core focus of PIE's methodology.

Named customers19 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• One Valley Community FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPIE partnered with One Valley Community Foundation to facilitate a cross-sector roundtable focused on the restaurant industry and housing affordability/availability. PIE provided facilitation expertise for the community dialogue.
• IntappminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPIE collaborated with Intapp on a survey titled 'Connecting the Dots and Data to Capture New Business,' conducted alongside Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO), highlighting the importance of client-centric approaches to business development in professional services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hinge: Hinge is a marketing and branding firm that specializes exclusively in professional services firms (accounting, consulting, engineering, architecture, law). Like PIE, it focuses on business development, brand positioning, and client engagement for the same target buyer, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Chief Outsiders: Chief Outsiders provides fractional CMOs and growth executives to mid-market and enterprise B2B firms, with a strong practice serving professional services. It overlaps with PIE's executive community and BD capability offerings, particularly for firms that need part-time senior growth leadership.
• Marketri: Marketri is a B2B marketing consultancy that delivers fractional CMO services and strategic marketing support to professional services and industrial firms. It directly competes for the same BD/marketing budget at accounting, consulting, and legal clients that PIE serves.
• The Alexander Group: The Alexander Group is a sales consulting firm that drives revenue growth for B2B and professional services organizations through sales force effectiveness, go-to-market strategy, and commercial transformation. It addresses an adjacent part of the same BD/sales investment wallet that PIE taps.
• Heinz Marketing: Heinz Marketing is a B2B marketing and sales acceleration firm that helps professional services and technology companies build predictable pipelines. Its focus on demand generation and account-based marketing overlaps with PIE's account planning and BD training offerings.
• SalesGlobe: SalesGlobe is a sales transformation and compensation consulting firm serving B2B and professional services companies. It works on sales strategy, sales operations, and incentive design, intersecting with PIE's BD training and account planning services.
• Square 2 Marketing: Square 2 Marketing is a marketing agency focused on professional services firms, providing strategy, branding, and inbound marketing programs. It targets the same professional services buyer and competes for similar BD and client engagement budgets.
• SBI (Sales Benchmark Index): SBI is a sales and marketing consulting firm that helps B2B companies transform their go-to-market functions through research-driven advisory. It overlaps with PIE's BD training and account planning engagements, particularly for enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Gartner: Gartner is a global research and advisory firm that serves many of the same enterprise buyers PIE serves (CIOs, CMOs, COOs at large firms) and offers research-based advisory that can substitute for or complement executive community programs.
• Forrester: Forrester provides research, advisory, and consulting services to B2B and professional services firms on customer experience, sales, and marketing. Its research-based advisory model overlaps with PIE's client and market insights offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/profitableideax
• Facebookfacebook.com/Profitable-Ideas-Exchange-105736744702235
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/profitable-ideas-exchange
• Instagraminstagram.com/profitable_ideas_exchange

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Profitable Ideas Exchange