Further Faster Design

What Further Faster Design does

Further Faster Design is a Chicago-based venture studio founded in 2019 that operates as an embedded strategic partner for early-stage technology companies and founders at the pre-seed through Series A stages. The firm engages directly with founders as interim co-founders and fractional product executives, applying a methodology built on scientific thinking, customer discovery, hypothesis testing, rapid prototyping, and iterative validation cycles. Its structured three-phase program (referred to internally as FIT) covers growth experiments and marketing/sales tests, market and competitive analysis, product and pricing strategy, product/UX design, brand and web design, revenue modeling, and fundraising support.

The company generates revenue through professional services fees comparable to a full-time senior executive, charging approximately $3,000 per week up to $20,000 per month for embedded advisory engagements, with typical founder partnerships lasting 3-6 months. The firm serves a horizontal mix of customer types including pre-seed founders, seed-stage founders, Series A+ founders, family offices and foundations, and accelerator programs. Its documented client base spans startups in wellness (Tend), AI productivity (Smarty), healthcare/substance use disorder (Pira), VR/memory platforms (Relivable), and nonprofit/foundation initiatives (Three Lakes Foundation, Venture For America). A specialized sub-brand called "Ready to Raise" delivers an 8-week virtual intensive focused on fundraising preparation for early-stage female founders.

The operating model is founder-led by three co-founders (Ellie Bahrmasel as CEO, Devin Soule and Nick McEvily as Partners) supported by a small team of approximately 10-15 people including a Director of Operations, Venture Research Lead, Venture Researcher, Lead Venture Analyst, Fractional CFO, and Creative Developer. Since 2020, the company reports supporting 50+ early-stage founders, with portfolio companies subsequently raising seed rounds as high as $8 million and cumulative capital exceeding $43 million, plus over $50 million raised via investor decks the firm has built.

Name

Further Faster Design

Legal name

Further Faster LLC

Website

https://furtherfaster.design

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Further Faster Design is a Chicago-based venture studio founded in 2019 that acts as an interim co-founder for pre-seed through Series A startups, helping founders validate ideas, find product-market fit, and prepare for fundraising through embedded advisory engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Studio / Startup Advisory Services

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

Keywords

• Venture studio services
• Product-market fit consulting
• Startup advisory services
• Fundraising strategy consulting
• Product design consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: Further Faster charges fees comparable to a full-time senior executive, collecting around $3k per week up to $20k per month for embedded advisory services. Founders typically invest 3-6 months with the company, receiving a product, brand, go-to-market strategy, hiring plan, and revenue model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Further Faster Design is a venture studio that partners with early-stage founders as interim co-founders and product executives, helping them validate ideas, find product-market fit, design MVPs, and prepare for fundraising through a structured three-phase program (Validate, Design, Launch). They provide consulting, advisory, and hands-on product/brand design services to pre-seed through Series A founders, family offices, and accelerators.

Product overview

Further Faster Design is a venture studio that operates as a strategic consultancy for early-stage founders. The company offers a structured 3-phase program (FIT) covering validation, design, and launch, along with specialized programs like Ready to Raise for female founders. Services include product-market fit consulting, market and competitive analysis, product design (UX/UI), brand and web design, revenue modeling, fundraising support, and operational advisory. The studio works across healthcare, wellness, productivity, and VR/AR sectors, with documented case studies including Smarty (AI productivity tool), Tend (pregnancy app), Pira (SUD treatment platform), Relivable (VR memory platform), and partnerships with Venture For America and Three Lakes Foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ready to Raise: An 8-week virtual intensive program for early-stage female founders to learn how to raise capital, including pitch deck preparation, investor data room creation, and fundraising roadmap development.

Products and services

• Venture Studio Services (3-Phase Program: Validate, Design, Launch)
• Ready to Raise
• Capital Partners Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $50 million in investments raised through decks built by Further Faster
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• z1 digitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationDevelopment partner for Pira product, collaborating on technical requirements and product development. z1 digital handled branding and interaction design after Further Faster laid strategic foundations.
• Venture For AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created and facilitated redesign of national accelerator program, including workshop facilitation and curriculum design for 13-week program.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Atomic: Atomic is a venture studio that builds and launches startups internally and partners with founders in a hands-on, multi-month engagement model very similar to Further Faster's embedded co-founder approach.
• Prehype: Prehype is a venture studio that embeds with founders to validate, launch, and scale ideas, sharing Further Faster's interim-operator, hypothesis-driven methodology.
• BOLT (formerly Bolt.io): BOLT is a venture studio focused on product, engineering, and growth support for early-stage founders, competing in the same interim-team-with-founders category as Further Faster.
• Science Inc. Science Inc. is a venture studio that incubates consumer and SaaS startups with operating teams that act as interim executives — a fundamentally similar embedded-founder model.
• High Alpha: High Alpha is a venture studio that pairs operating-partner support with capital for B2B SaaS founders; while it adds balance-sheet investment, its studio services compete directly with Further Faster's Validate/Design/Launch engagements.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: IDEO is the established global design consultancy that pioneered human-centered and design-thinking methodologies; Further Faster borrows from this tradition but applies it specifically to early-stage venture building.
• frog design: frog is a globally recognized product design and innovation consultancy; its design and concept-validation capabilities overlap with Further Faster's UX/UI and product-strategy services for startups.

Regional players

• Pritzker Group Venture Studio: Chicago-based venture and private equity firm with venture-building activities; comparable in that it serves the same Midwest startup ecosystem as Further Faster, though with a different funding scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Further Faster Design