EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC

What EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC does

EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC is a solo financial operations management and virtual CFO consulting practice founded by Monique Lusse in June 2011 and based in Mill Valley, California. The firm serves mission-driven small business owners and entrepreneurs, with a stated focus on aligning business financial systems with social, environmental, and economic justice values, framed as 'designing equity into the financial systems.' The founder deliberately caps the active client base at five engagements at any one time to ensure high-touch, high-quality delivery.

The core offerings are advisory services rather than products. The menu includes Financial Clarity VIP Consulting at $375 per hour with a two-hour minimum, plus two structured 'Designing Equity Into Your Business' programs: a three-month engagement starting at $2,250 and a twelve-month engagement starting at $4,500. A secondary program, SetUP to StartUP, targets first- and second-year entrepreneurs transitioning from Excel to QuickBooks. The underlying technology stack is limited to QuickBooks for bookkeeping and financial reporting; there is no proprietary software, no AI/ML capability, and no digital product. All services are delivered virtually.

The business model is direct-to-client professional services with a sales-led, high-touch go-to-market anchored by a complementary Financial Clarity Call as the lead-conversion mechanism. Customer segments span solopreneurs, SMBs in consulting, wellness, and coaching, and growth-stage businesses seeking investor readiness. Marketing is driven by content (blog, free worksheets, expert interviews) and organic social on Facebook and LinkedIn. The firm is independently owned, bootstrapped, and has no disclosed external funding, employees, or parent organization.

Name

EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC

Legal name

EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC

Website

https://equitybydesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC is a solo virtual CFO and financial operations management consulting practice founded by Monique Lusse in 2011, serving values-driven small business owners with hourly VIP consulting and structured multi-month equity design programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. VIP Consulting: Hourly consulting at $375/hr with 2-hour minimum commitment
2. Designing Equity Into Your Business - 3 Month Program: Structured 3-month engagement starting at $2,250 for comprehensive financial alignment and business transformation
3. Designing Equity Into Your Business - 12 Month Program: Extended 12-month program starting at $4,500 for sustained financial operations management and equity design

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Equity By Design is a financial operations management and virtual CFO consulting practice that helps mission-driven small business owners and entrepreneurs align their financial systems with social, environmental, and economic equity values. Services include hourly Financial Clarity VIP Consulting ($375/hr, 2-hour minimum) and structured multi-month Designing Equity Into Your Business programs (3-month from $2,250; 12-month from $4,500), delivered virtually one-on-one.

Product overview

EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC is a financial operations management and CFO services firm offering consulting-based services rather than a software product. The core offerings include Financial Clarity VIP Consulting (hourly engagements at $375/hr with 2-hour minimum), and two structured 'Designing Equity Into Your Business' programs—a 3-month package starting at $2,250 and a 12-month package starting at $4,500. Additional offerings include the SetUP to StartUP program for new entrepreneurs. All services focus on helping business owners align their financial systems with social, environmental, and economic justice principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Clarity VIP Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• $18,000 added to client bottom line in single engagement, representing 2x ROI
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Wendy Dickinson (Ascent to Sell)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2019Co-hosted webinar on July 23, 2019 covering 4 Steps to Selling Your Business with People, Profits and Planet In Mind. Partnership for educational content delivery.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• FinancePal: FinancePal offers outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO services to small businesses. It is a direct peer in the SMB financial operations management segment, addressing overlapping pain points (cash flow, profitability, financial clarity).
• Bench: Bench provides online bookkeeping and financial reporting for small businesses via a tech-enabled service model. It is a direct peer in the outsourced bookkeeping / fractional CFO space serving U.S. SMBs, competing for the same wallet as Equity By Design's VIP consulting and program clients.
• Bookkeeper360: Bookkeeper360 provides bookkeeping, CFO, and back-office financial services to SMBs across the U.S. It is a direct peer offering subscription-style financial operations management analogous to Equity By Design's structured programs.
• CFO Share: CFO Share delivers fractional CFO and financial operations services to SMBs and mid-market companies. It is a direct peer in the outsourced / fractional CFO category, comparable in service mix to Equity By Design's structured programs.
• Pilot: Pilot delivers bookkeeping, CFO advisory, and tax services to startups and SMBs on a subscription basis. It is a direct peer in the outsourced financial operations category, offering comparable bundled services at higher volume and lower per-engagement price points.
• Finvisor: Finvisor provides outsourced CFO, controller, and bookkeeping services for small and growth-stage businesses. It is a direct peer offering fractional financial leadership analogous to Equity By Design's VIP and program engagements.
• 1-800Accountant: 1-800Accountant delivers accounting, bookkeeping, tax, and advisory services targeted at SMBs and entrepreneurs. It is a direct peer competing for the same small-business financial-services customer that Equity By Design serves.

Broad incumbents

• Xero: Xero provides cloud accounting software and an advisor / bookkeeper partner ecosystem serving SMBs globally. It is a broad incumbent that shapes the tooling environment Equity By Design operates in (QuickBooks is the primary tool today; Xero is the cross-platform alternative).
• Intuit QuickBooks Live: Intuit's QuickBooks Live bundles bookkeeping and advisory services on top of its dominant SMB accounting software platform. It is a broad incumbent that pressures Equity By Design's lower-tier engagement pricing through scale, automation, and platform integration, though it does not specialize in values-aligned advisory.

Emerging players

• Ascent to Sell: Ascent to Sell, led by Wendy Dickinson, is a strategic partner of Equity By Design focused on exit planning, M&A advisory, and selling SMBs with people, profits, and planet in mind. It is an emerging player in values-aligned business sale advisory, intersecting with Equity By Design's investor-readiness and exit-preparation use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equity-by-design-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 EQUITY BY DESIGN, LLC