Up and to the Right

What Up and to the Right does

Up and to the Right is a London-based, privately held business advisory and coaching firm founded in 2020. It serves three stated client groups: startup founders, scaleup and established business owners, and M&A buyers and sellers. The firm organizes its offerings around four practice areas — Founding, Funding & Scaling; Brand Growth; Agency Growth & Exit; and M&A Value Creation — and claims its principals have helped founders raise over $1 billion in funding, guided dozens of startups to millions in ARR, and advised global brands including Pizza Hut and eBay. The two named principals, Marcus Exall and Nick Berry, are presented as investors, entrepreneurs, and strategists with operating and M&A experience.

The firm's only named product is The Startup MBA, an educational offering that has evolved from an online course into an intensive face-to-face cohort programme. The company has no proprietary technology platform, no software product, no mobile app, and no API or SDK; it operates purely as a professional services business with human-delivered advisory and coaching. Distribution is direct and referral-driven, with minimal marketing presence limited to a company LinkedIn page, personal LinkedIn profiles for the principals, and a contact form on the u2r.co website. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

The business model is a hybrid of professional services (advisory and coaching engagements, typically project-based or retainer) and cohort-based education (The Startup MBA). Revenue mechanics are not disclosed. The firm has no known funding rounds, no institutional investors, and no disclosed headcount beyond a 1-10 employee band, consistent with a boutique consultancy built around the personal brands of its two founders.

Name

Up and to the Right

Legal name

Up and to the Right

Website

https://u2r.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Up and to the Right is a London-based boutique advisory and coaching firm founded in 2020 that helps startup founders, scaleup owners, and M&A participants with funding, scaling, brand growth, and exit planning, delivered as high-touch consulting and a cohort programme called The Startup MBA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABAAAA

Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Leadership & Management Development

SECONDARYBPACANAA

Corporate & Leadership Development

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Training, Learning & Development Services

SECONDARYBPAHADAG

Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Strategy & Corporate Finance Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEAGAB

Buy-Side M&A Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/M&A Advisory & Corporate Finance

Keywords

• Business advisory services
• Startup consulting
• Executive coaching
• M&A advisory
• Founder mentoring

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Coaching Services: High-impact advisory and coaching services for startup founders, scaleup business owners, and M&A buyers and sellers. Delivered through intensive face-to-face programmes.
2. The Startup MBA: An industry-leading online course that has evolved into an intensive face-to-face programme. Offered as a cohort-based educational product.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Up and to the Right is a business advisory firm providing high-impact advisory and coaching services to startup founders, scaleup business owners, and M&A buyers and sellers. The firm delivers intensive face-to-face programmes covering founding, funding and scaling; brand growth; agency growth and exit; and M&A value creation, and operates a named cohort-based educational programme called The Startup MBA.

Product overview

Up and to the Right is a business advisory firm offering consulting and coaching services rather than a software product company. The firm provides advisory services across four key areas: Founding, Funding & Scaling; Brand Growth; Agency Growth & Exit; and M&A Value Creation. The primary named service offering is The Startup MBA, an intensive programme for startup founders that evolved from an online course into a face-to-face cohort-based programme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Startup MBA
• Founding, Funding & Scaling Advisory
• Brand Growth Advisory
• Agency Growth & Exit Advisory
• M&A Value Creation Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped founders raise over $1 billion in funding
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Station F: Paris-based startup campus hosting dozens of accelerator and education programmes for early-stage founders, with structured curricula and mentorships. Comparable as a founder-programme platform, but it primarily serves the French and European market and operates a campus-centric model rather than an advisory practice.

Direct peers

• Antler: Global early-stage VC and founder-generation platform with structured cohort programmes (e.g., Antler Residency) that coach individuals through ideation, validation, and launch. Directly comparable because it targets the same founder persona and combines advisory, education, and capital in a hybrid programme model.
• Maven: Online learning platform that pioneered live, cohort-based courses for professional and executive learners, frequently featuring founder and operator-led curricula. Directly comparable because it monetises high-touch cohort experiences taught by practitioners and pioneered the very model The Startup MBA has migrated toward.
• Y Combinator Startup School: Free online cohort-based founder education programme that progresses into intensive in-person experiences. Directly comparable to Up and to the Right's Startup MBA, which also evolved from an online course into an intensive face-to-face programme for early-stage founders.
• Entrepreneur First: London-headquartered founder-building programme that helps individuals find co-founders and build technology companies from scratch. Directly comparable because it operates in the same London founder-support ecosystem, runs structured cohort-based programmes for aspiring startup founders, and competes for the same early-stage entrepreneurial talent.
• Section4 (formerly Section): Cohort-based online learning platform delivering strategic, leadership, and operator skill courses to executives and founders via live weekly sessions. Directly comparable because it bundles intensive cohort education with practitioner-led content aimed at ambitious leaders and startup operators.

Emerging players

• Founders Factory: London-based incubator and venture studio that builds and backs startups with operational, advisory, and education support. Comparable as a London-headquartered ecosystem peer that bundles founder coaching with scaling support, but it operates with more institutional backing and a venture-build model.
• On Deck Founders (On Deck): Cohort-based community and fellowship programmes for early-stage founders and operators that combine curated peer groups with mentor-driven learning. Comparable because it monetises founder peer cohorts and operator education at a similar life-cycle stage to The Startup MBA, and competes for the same founder persona.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Established global accelerator with mentor-driven programmes that include structured education for early-stage founders. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering founder education and advisory at scale, but it is a much larger franchise with an investment component that Up and to the Right does not replicate.
• Mindvalley: Global personal-development and cohort-based learning platform with programmes on entrepreneurship, leadership, and life performance. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering cohort-based founder/leader development at scale, but with a much larger catalogue and consumer-facing brand.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/routetoweb
• Xx.com/UP2RIGHT

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Up and to the Right