Startup Company Consulting

What Startup Company Consulting does

GrowthWheel (formerly Startup Company Consulting) is a management consulting and business advisory SaaS platform that provides a structured methodology and toolset for advisors who serve small and medium-sized enterprises. Founded in 2005 in Copenhagen and rebranded in 2008 when headquarters relocated to New York (Bovina Center), the company has built a proprietary decision-making framework — including the 360 Business Canvas and a 20 focus areas model — that it licenses to a global network of 4,500+ certified advisors operating in 70+ countries.

The product stack centers on GrowthWheel Online, a SaaS platform delivered with the GrowthWheel Toolbox of visual tools, an Advisor CRM, the 360 Business Canvas, an eLearning Academy, and a Certification Program that trains advisors in the methodology. An AI Tools module has been added as a recent extension of the platform. The company localizes the framework into 16+ languages and operates regional subsidiaries in South Africa, Canada, and Norway to support distribution. Key customer segments include SBDC advisors, incubators, business educators, economic development agencies, and accounting firms.

The business model combines multiple recurring revenue streams: per-advisor certification course fees, annual SaaS license fees for the Online platform and Toolbox, paid continuing-education workshops, and partner revenue sharing through regional JVs and localization partners. A national-level license with the Danish Business Authority, in place since 2008 and extended to 2023, anchors the business and mandates GrowthWheel as the advisory methodology across 95%+ of Danish municipalities. GrowthWheel is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding.

Name

Startup Company Consulting

Legal name

GrowthWheel International Inc.

Website

https://growthwheel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GrowthWheel is a bootstrapped SaaS platform that licenses a proprietary business advisory methodology and toolset to 4,500+ certified advisors across 70+ countries, serving SBDCs, incubators, economic developers, and accounting firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Advisory Software

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Planning & Analysis Support (Budgeting, Forecasting, Management Reporting) (BPAAAGAJ), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Business advisory software
• Entrepreneur coaching tools
• Visual decision frameworks
• Business incubation systems
• Advisor certification training

Headquarters

HQ city

Bovina Center

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Certification Course Fees: Advisors pay a one-time course fee for training and certification. This is required before obtaining a license to use GrowthWheel tools with clients. Courses are offered live online (3-day, 4 hours/day = 12 hours total) and in-person (2-day format in select regions). Course instructor: David Madié (founder) or regional certified instructors.
2. Annual Software License Fees: Certified advisors pay an annual per-user license fee for access to GrowthWheel Online and the full toolbox. Pricing is structured so the total cost per entrepreneur served is comparable to a textbook. For license holders, GrowthWheel also enables new revenue streams — some charge end-user fees or attract sponsors. Additional language packs available for 25% of current license fee.
3. Continued Education (CE) Workshops: Optional continued education workshops (2 hours each) offered to certified advisors pursuing higher certification levels. Advisors must complete 3 qualifying CE workshops along with annual re-certification (4 hours) to obtain additional certification levels over a 3-year program.
4. Partner Revenue Sharing: GrowthWheel Business Partners receive 20% recurring commission on license fees from local certified partners. Affiliate Partners earn 5-15% commission on first-year license fees from referred clients. Certified Training Partners retain 80% of training income from local courses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GrowthWheel is a Business Advisory System for small business advisors (SBDC advisors, incubator managers, educators, accountants) that combines a visual 360-degree business framework with a cloud-based SaaS platform (GrowthWheel Online) and a certification training program. Certified advisors use the framework's 4 core challenges and 20 Focus Areas to deliver structured, holistic advisory engagements to entrepreneur clients, supported by intake forms, financial planning, action planning, cloud tool sharing, and reporting/analytics.

Product overview

GrowthWheel is a unified Business Advisory System consisting of three main components: (1) GrowthWheel Certification Program - a live online training program with continued education; (2) GrowthWheel Toolbox - a visual tool library covering 360 Business Canvas, Basic, Advanced, and Workshop tools organized around four business challenges (Business Concept, Organization, Client Relations, and Operations); and (3) GrowthWheel Online - a cloud-based platform with Advisor CRM features including client portal, SBA reporting, and impact analytics. The system also includes GrowthWheel Academy for entrepreneur eLearning and AI Tools for enhanced advisory capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GrowthWheel Business Advisory System The umbrella Business Advisory System combining the visual GrowthWheel Framework (4 core challenges and 20 Focus Areas), the visual Toolbox (Basic, Advanced, and Workshop Tools), the cloud-based GrowthWheel Online platform, and the Certification Program. Sold to SBDC advisors, incubator managers, entrepreneurship educators, economic developers, and accountants who use it with their entrepreneur clients.
• GrowthWheel Online (SaaS Platform)

Quantifiable outcome

• 350+ business advisors in Denmark across 95%+ of municipalities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008National license agreement signed in 2008 with the Danish Business Authority (under the Ministry of Economics and Growth), extended to 2023. The agreement mandates GrowthWheel usage by publicly funded business advisors across Denmark's ~100 municipalities and 5 regional Growth Houses. A Product Advisory Board with regional representatives meets quarterly to drive continuous product innovation.
• GrowthWheel South Africa Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner — a co-owned incorporated company with exclusive rights to sell GrowthWheel Training and Licenses in South Africa. Managing Director: Hilton Theunissen.
• Itzinya ABcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBusiness Partner in Sweden. Specializes in Startup academies and incubators for young entrepreneurs, established in 5 countries with local partners in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Founder: Håkan Sandberg.
• Scope Group (Malaysia)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCertified Training Partner in Malaysia. Authorized to conduct local GrowthWheel Certification Courses and retains 80% of training income. Represents GrowthWheel in the Malaysian market.
• OBr.global (Brazil)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership in Brazil for live online certification courses in Portuguese. GrowthWheel Brazil courses are conducted in partnership with OBr.global, with Robert Janssen as the certified instructor.
• Joycorps (Thailand)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Thai language translation. Working with GrowthWheel to translate the toolbox and online platform into Thai.
• The Incubator Nest Hub (Swahili)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Swahili language translation. Collaborating with GrowthWheel on Swahili translation of the toolbox and online platform.
• Indonesia PrimaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Indonesian language translation. Translated the GrowthWheel toolbox and online platform into Indonesian.
• Impact MENA (Arabic)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Arabic language translation. Translated the GrowthWheel toolbox and online platform into Arabic.
• LeadAfrique International (Akan)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Akan language translation. Partnering with GrowthWheel to translate the tools into Akan.
• CEDAR (Malaysia)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Bahasa Malaysia translation. Collaborating with GrowthWheel to translate the tools and platform into Bahasa Malaysia.
• Andrea Rocchi (Italy)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocalization Partner for Italian language translation. Working with GrowthWheel on Italian version of the tools and platform.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EOS Worldwide: Provider of the Entrepreneurial Operating System, a structured business methodology for SMBs delivered through a global network of certified EOS Implementers. Highly comparable to GrowthWheel in offering a holistic operating framework sold via a certification-gated, partner-led model.
• Scaling Up (Gazelles): Verne Harnish's growth methodology for mid-market and SMB leaders, distributed through certified coaches and a tool library. Directly comparable to GrowthWheel in target customer (SMB advisors/execs), certification gating, and visual business-tools approach.
• Emyth: Michael Gerber's business methodology built around systematizing SMB operations, packaged into workshops, books, and coaching programs. Comparable to GrowthWheel in providing a structured SMB operating framework and tool-based advisor curriculum.
• Strategic Coach: Dan Sullivan's coaching methodology for entrepreneurs, delivered through structured workshops and proprietary tools to a global member base. Comparable to GrowthWheel in serving entrepreneur-focused advisors via a proprietary framework and recurring-fee memberships.
• ActionCOACH: Global business coaching franchise certifying coaches to deliver standardized business advisory to SMB owners. Closely parallels GrowthWheel's certification-then-license model and advisor-to-SMB delivery motion, with a significantly larger coach network.

Broad incumbents

• MIT Sloan Executive Education: Premium executive education and management training programs delivered through structured curricula. Comparable to GrowthWheel's certification and entrepreneurship education offerings as a broader business-training incumbent.
• Kauffman Foundation: Major U.S. philanthropy focused on entrepreneurship education and ecosystem development, including curriculum and tools for entrepreneurship educators. Comparable to GrowthWheel's educator and economic-development customer segments.
• SCORE: Largest U.S. nonprofit network of volunteer business mentors and advisors serving SMBs. Comparable as the dominant small-business advisory infrastructure that GrowthWheel's SBDC advisors operate within — a key buyer and channel ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Founder Institute: Global pre-seed accelerator and entrepreneurship training program with a structured curriculum and mentor network. Comparable to GrowthWheel in serving early-stage entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship educators via a standardized methodology.
• Startup Genome: Research and advisory organization supporting startup ecosystems and accelerators globally, with ecosystem reports and program tools. Overlaps with GrowthWheel in serving incubator/accelerator managers with structured advisory frameworks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/growthwheel
• Facebookfacebook.com/growthwheel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/startup-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Startup Company Consulting