Our Partners
Imagine having a dedicated team that’s as committed to your company’s growth as you are. Equipped with the knowledge, perspective and agility of a startup. Fully attuned to your industry’s specifics. We don’t just provide a team; we become a core partner in your strategic journey. We bring our expertise to your unique landscape and co-create solutions that fit your corporate environment and goals. And if it doesn’t work? You can turn it off.
Why we partner
In complex industries, we believe that most paradigm-shifting growth happens when internal and external teams unite. When we combine your deep understanding of commercial context and constraints with our broad vision and rapid execution. The49 offers a turnkey solution as the first step on that pathway - building and managing an innovation wing that perfectly bridges your current business to your ambitions.
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Like the idea of a low-risk route to dynamic, sustainable business growth?
let’s chat
Who we are
Innovation, creativity and impact don’t scale with headcount - in fact, it’s the opposite.
We believe there’s a sweet spot before things deteriorate. It might be seven squads of seven, eight of six with one left over, or a bunch of teams of four and a few of five. Whatever the configuration, there’s a cap to the number of people we’ll deploy on your behalf. When it comes to innovation, small, context-sharing teams outperform.
We don’t have any account managers. Or people managers. Or finance managers. Or HR managers. We have teams made exclusively of makers and scientists taking on challenges that have stumped businesses a thousand times (and more) our size. It works because we’re a group of motivated, autonomous entrepreneurs.
Who we are not
One note of caution: we put delivering results way ahead of worrying about relationship management. We’re sort of an “anti-consultancy”. If you expected McKinsey or Accenture, you’re better off going here or here.
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Would you like a group of dedicated entrepreneurs delivering you an astronomical impact : management ratio?
let’s get to know each other
Where you’ll find us
Our curiosity for creating growth from within complex and regulated sectors started with insurance (on both sides of the Atlantic). Since then, we’ve played in similarly thorny contexts across a broad spectrum of industries. Whether your company operates in aviation, logistics, retail, or any other “tough” environment for creating new products; we’re confident we’ve got the unique experience and expertise to co-create the future with you.
Still seem vague? Here are some examples of what we’ve achieved:
Distributing an excellent experience
A Fortune 500 insurer needed more effective sales and administration software for their tens of thousands of independent agents. By streamlining complex processes and connecting data across previously fragmented platforms, we built a best-in-class experience that delivered higher retention rates and has helped to rapidly increase agent sales by tens of millions of dollars.
The benefit of going direct
A large employee benefits provider didn't think they could generate B2B sales online. We felt differently and they were willing to let us take on the challenge. We designed, built, marketed, and iterated on an entirely new way of prospecting. That process is now delivering them upwards of 4x ROAS, along with higher margins and shorter sales cycles.
Charismatic technology
A rapidly growing brokerage wanted to improve the experience that their call reps gave to prospective customers. By designing and deploying a proprietary suite of AI tools, we helped reps provide more tailored product recommendations, capture higher quality data and automate a process in which they hit their agreed follow up actions nearly every time.
Insight from discovery
A national sales agency wanted a new customer experience to increase direct sales. Through our research and discovery work, we identified that internal teams were heavy users of the customer website, as they didn’t have a better tool when advising customers by phone. We built a new internal-facing experience, unlocking productivity and doubling profit within a year.
Get in touch
Got sky-high ambitions in a complex or delicate context?
We’d love to hear about it.
Our first date
The first thing we’ll do is look to spend time with you, for free, getting to know the specific challenges that you’re grappling with, and some of the key dynamics underpinning your company. We’ll explore opportunities that you’re considering, and give you our perspective on where we think there’s room for growth.
Getting engaged
We understand that we’re an unusual partner, and that new growth initiatives can feel risky. That’s why we absorb as many of those imagined downsides as possible; we’ll typically propose a small, ring-fenced initial challenge to get working on together, and give you a vanishingly short notice period to stop working with us if you feel uncomfortable. If all goes well, you’ll soon fall in love with the outputs and outcomes we deliver, and the way in which we deliver them.
In it for the long-haul
In an ideal world, we’ll grow alongside you, building out a dedicated innovation wing that, time and again, delivers the impact that you’re searching for. But we understand that things change; at every step of the journey, we’ll be working with you and your key leaders to ensure that the wheels keep turning smoothly if you decide it’s time to take these challenges on alone.
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