The Well-designed Firm
The Well-designed Firm is a solo advisory practice founded in 2020 by Steven Burns, FAIA, that provides strategy, diagnostics, and annual retainers to architecture and engineering firm principals, plus a succession planning software tool.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Well-designed Firm does
The Well-designed Firm is a solo professional services practice founded in 2020 by Steven Burns, FAIA, that advises architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. Its service portfolio is tiered: one-off Strategy Sessions at $600, short Diagnostic Sprints at $5,000, and a 12-Month Advisory engagement at $15,000 per year. The firm also sells Firm Forward, a succession planning software tool priced at $600 one-time. Delivery is founder-led, with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
The practice's distribution relies on Burns's personal brand, a prolific blog, and a network built across 40 years in the A/E industry, including work with 1,400+ firm principals, 600+ presentations, and three prior exits. The blog functions as the primary inbound channel and a body of thought leadership, including recent posts (e.g., January 2026) positioning the firm around AI's impact on A/E firm operations.
The business model is classic solo advisory: founder-delivered engagements, no disclosed headcount, no outside funding, and small-ticket pricing across both services and software. The addressable market is the long tail of small and mid-sized U.S. A/E firm principals, with no enterprise anchor accounts or recurring SaaS ARR disclosed. The Firm Forward tool is the only packaged software offering and represents the firm's only modest move beyond pure services.
The Well-designed Firm firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Well-designed Firm
- Legal name
- The Well-Designed Firm
- Website
- https://thewelldesignedfirm.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Well-designed Firm is a solo advisory practice founded in 2020 by Steven Burns, FAIA, that provides strategy, diagnostics, and annual retainers to architecture and engineering firm principals, plus a succession planning software tool.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Well-designed Firm industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting for Architecture and Engineering Firms
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- M&A HR Advisory (Due Diligence, Integration, Carve-outs) (BPACAJAL)
Keywords
Where The Well-designed Firm is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Well-designed Firm business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Advisory Retainer: 12-month advisory retainer billed quarterly at $15,000 total ($3,750 per quarter). Includes quarterly strategic sprints covering mission/vision, market positioning, operations/team, and financials/execution, with recurring leadership sessions and working sessions each month.
- Professional Services - Diagnostic Sprint: 4-week intensive consulting engagement priced at $5,000. Includes week-long sprints for discover, diagnose, design, and plan phases, culminating in a 12-month roadmap, value narrative, fee framework, and case briefs.
- Professional Services - Strategy Session: A 90-minute strategy session priced at $600 for a focused, one-time consulting engagement.
- Firm Forward Succession Planning Software: One-time software purchase of $600 for the Firm Forward succession planning tool. Provides valuation baselines, funding plans, draft legal documents, executive summary, and auditable decision records.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One-time | Complimentary 30-minute fit call |
| One time/ perpetual license | One-time | Strategy Session - 90 Minutes |
| One time/ perpetual license | One-time | Diagnostic Sprint - 4 Weeks |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | 12-Month Advisory (Quarterly Retainer) |
| One time/ perpetual license | One-time | Firm Forward - Succession Planning Tool |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
The Well-designed Firm product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Well-Designed Firm provides advisory consulting and a cloud-based succession planning software (Firm Forward) for owners and principals of architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. Engagements range from a 90-minute strategy session ($600) and a 4-week Diagnostic Sprint ($5,000) to a 12-month quarterly retainer ($15,000), with retainer clients receiving structured sprints covering direction, market positioning, operations/team, and financials/execution. The standalone Firm Forward software ($600 one-time) helps A/E firm owners build documented valuations, model deals, define successors, and export attorney-ready succession documents.
Product overview
The Well-Designed Firm offers a combination of consulting services and proprietary software for architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. The consulting portfolio includes Strategy Sessions, Diagnostic Sprints, and 12-Month Advisory Retainers focused on firm management, pricing, positioning, and succession planning. The company also offers FIRM FORWARD, a dedicated succession planning software tool that enables firm owners to document valuations, define successors, model deals, and generate attorney-ready drafts. Together, these offerings provide A/E firms with advisory guidance and practical tools for business improvement and exit planning.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Firm Forward: Succession planning tool for AE firms that enables users to value the firm, define successors, model deals, and export attorney-ready drafts.
Products and services
- Strategy Session (90 Minutes) A 90-minute consulting engagement that helps architecture and engineering firm owners make one to three key strategic decisions and leave with a 30 to 90-day action plan; priced at $600 and bookable online.
- Diagnostic Sprint (4 Weeks) A 4-week data-driven diagnostic consulting engagement for A/E firm owners that clarifies pricing, positioning, pursuit strategy, and succession readiness, producing a 12-month roadmap, a value narrative, two case briefs, and a fee packaging framework; priced at $5,000.
- 12-Month Advisory (Quarterly Retainer) A 12-month advisory retainer for A/E firm owners delivered through quarterly strategic sprints covering direction and diagnosis, market and positioning, operations and team, and financials and execution, supported by monthly leadership sessions and bi-weekly working sessions; $15,000 billed quarterly at $3,750 per quarter.
- Firm Forward Succession Planning Tool A cloud-based succession planning software tool for architecture and engineering firm owners that builds a documented succession plan in hours by valuing the firm (revenue, profit, and asset-based methods with adjustable weights), defining successor roles, modeling deals tied to payroll, bonuses, distributions, and bank financing, and exporting attorney-ready document drafts with auditable decision records; sold as a $600 one-time purchase.
Quantifiable outcome
- Clients receive a complete working Strategic Plan with quarterly execution, covering mission, vision, goals, culture, SWOT, KPIs, marketing, operations, team, and financial projections through the 12-Month Advisory retainer.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Well-designed Firm
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Well-designed Firm technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
The Well-designed Firm partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
The Well-designed Firm competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PSMJ Resources: Longstanding consulting and education firm serving architecture and engineering firms on financial management, project delivery, leadership, and pricing. Directly comparable niche focus on the A/E firm owner as the buyer, with overlapping advisory offerings to The Well-Designed Firm.
- Zweig Group: A/E industry advisory and research firm offering management consulting, M&A advisory, marketing, and leadership services to architecture, engineering, and environmental firms. Direct peer with the same target buyer (firm principals/owners) and overlapping services in strategy, M&A, and succession.
- Morrissey Goodale: Management consulting and M&A advisory firm exclusively focused on the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry. Direct peer in succession/transition advisory, leadership development, and strategy for A/E firm owners.
- Stuckey Partners: CPA and consulting firm specializing in architecture, engineering, and construction firms with services in valuation, ownership transition, financial management, and succession planning. Direct peer in the A/E firm advisory space with overlapping succession and valuation offerings.
- SageClarity: Consulting firm focused on technology strategy, digital transformation, and business optimization for architecture, engineering, and construction firms. Comparable as a niche A/E consulting peer serving firm principals with operational improvement services.
Broad incumbents
- Deltek: Major ERP and project-based software provider for architecture, engineering, construction, and professional services firms. Comparable as a broad incumbent that A/E firm principals procure software and operational improvements from, overlapping with the Firm Forward and advisory buyer.
- BQE Software: Software platform serving professional services firms (originally A/E) with time tracking, billing, project management, and practice management tools; acquired the founder's prior software (ArchiOffice) in 2010. Comparable as an incumbent technology provider to A/E firms that The Well-Designed Firm serves.
- CohnReznick: Top-30 advisory and accounting firm with a dedicated Architecture, Engineering & Construction practice providing consulting, tax, and operational advisory to A/E firm principals. Comparable as a scaled incumbent offering adjacent advisory services to the same buyer persona.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Well-designed Firm social profiles
Digital presenceThe Well-designed Firm financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Well-designed Firm leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Well-designed Firm funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Well-designed Firm M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Well-designed Firm
What does The Well-designed Firm do?
The Well-Designed Firm provides advisory consulting and a cloud-based succession planning software (Firm Forward) for owners and principals of architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. Engagements range from a 90-minute strategy session ($600) and a 4-week Diagnostic Sprint ($5,000) to a 12-month quarterly retainer ($15,000), with retainer clients receiving structured sprints covering direction, market positioning, operations/team, and financials/execution. The standalone Firm Forward software ($600 one-time) helps A/E firm owners build documented valuations, model deals, define successors, and export attorney-ready succession documents.
Is The Well-designed Firm a public or private company?
The Well-designed Firm is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Well-designed Firm founded?
The Well-designed Firm was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Well-designed Firm based?
The Well-designed Firm is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Well-designed Firm make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Professional Services - Advisory Retainer is the primary driver. The others are professional Services - Diagnostic Sprint, professional Services - Strategy Session and firm Forward Succession Planning Software.
Who are The Well-designed Firm's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PSMJ Resources, Zweig Group, Morrissey Goodale, Stuckey Partners and SageClarity. Broad incumbents are Deltek, BQE Software and CohnReznick.
Does The Well-designed Firm have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Well-designed Firm.
What industry is The Well-designed Firm in?
The Well-designed Firm's product category is Management Consulting for Architecture and Engineering Firms. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAJAL, M&A HR Advisory (Due Diligence, Integration, Carve-outs). Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.