For founders

Clarity for the team.
Breathing room for you.

Strategic alignment workshops for founder-led companies, facilitated by a 9-year scale-up CEO.

Book a discovery call My story
Travis Terrell presenting to a team
Soundstripe, co-founded and led by Travis Terrell
5000
2x Inc. 5000Fastest growing companies in the US
5x Best Work PlacesTop Workplaces Award
3x Next AwardsNashville Entrepreneur Center
Travis Terrell
About Travis

A founder who has
been in the room.

I'm a founder who spent nine years as CEO of Soundstripe, the music licensing company I co-founded. I took it from a bedroom startup to a global leader, through the same growing pains most founders run into when their company outgrows what they can hold in their head.

Along the way, I navigated the real challenges of team alignment, strategy, and execution, and discovered that my greatest passion is helping other entrepreneurs and leadership teams get more out of their businesses while avoiding the common mistakes we all make.

No matter the industry, startups face a common set of challenges. I draw on my experience as a founder, combined with time-tested frameworks, to help leaders gain clarity on where they're going, build a healthy and aligned team, and establish a consistent operating rhythm, so they can focus on what matters most: realizing their vision.

The work

Strategic Alignment
Workshops.

Strategic alignment workshops install the operating system that turns a founder-led company into a leadership-led one, without losing what made the founder-led version work.

You walk away with clarity on who owns what, priorities everyone agrees on, a scorecard that tells the truth weekly, and a meeting cadence that keeps it moving, so you can lead instead of holding it all in your head.

Who this is for
Founder-led companies
$1M to $20M in revenue, with a leadership team forming or in place, ready to stop running on instinct and start building something that scales intentionally.
The Framework
Vision Where are we going and
why does it matter?
Team Right people, right seats,
right culture.
Data Weekly numbers that
tell you the truth.
Issues Say it out loud.
Then fix it.
Rhythm The cadence that keeps
everything moving.
How an engagement runs

From discovery to quarterly rhythm.

A clear arc, not a vague retainer. Every engagement starts the same way and builds from there.

01
Discovery call
90 minutes · Free
Org Health Checkup, framework intro, fit assessment. We figure out together whether this is the right work for your team right now.
02
Foundation Day
Full day · In the room
Accountability map, 90-day priorities, scorecard, meeting cadence. The operating spine of your business, built in one day with your leadership team.
03
Clarity Days × 2
Two full days · ~30 days apart
The full Blueprint: core values, purpose, winning aspiration, where we play, how we win, one-year plan. The strategic foundation, made explicit.
04
Quarterly rhythm
One day every 90 days
Priority review, issue solving, annual planning. The cadence that keeps the operating system from drifting after the first year.
Fit

Is this for you?

Yes, this is for you if
  • You've built something real, between $1M and $20M in revenue
  • You have a leadership team forming or in place, but they're not aligned on the same priorities
  • Strategy still lives mostly in your head, and you can feel that's a problem
  • You want structure
Not yet if
  • You're pre-revenue or pre-team, and the framework needs a leadership team to align
  • You're 100+ people with a COO or chief of staff already running operating cadence
  • You're happy where you are and not trying to become better
  • You're not yet ready to commit, and aligning people together is not easy
"

Friday's Foundation Day with Travis was genuinely one of the most valuable things we've done as a team since starting Giggs. We finally slowed down enough to think together instead of just executing, and having someone as patient, calm, and experienced as Travis was the reason why it worked.

Nikki Sanz
Founder & CEO, GIGGS
"

I owe a significant portion of my career trajectory and peace of mind to Travis. If you're a founder, I would not only suggest working with him; I would say you're doing yourself, your family, and your customers a disservice not to.

Mark Eckert
Founder, That Pitch
Client portal
Your operating system,
always on.

Every client gets access to a private digital workspace, built from what we create together in the room. Your accountability map, scorecard, and meeting tools stay live between sessions.

Access the portal
Accountability map
Scorecard
90 Day Priorities
The Weekly
The Blueprint
More tools added every quarter.
portal.thehemlock.group
Hemlock Group
Client portal
Tools
Accountability Map
Scorecard
90 Day Priorities
The Weekly
The Blueprint
Meridian Co.
Accountability map
✓ Saved
James Okafor
Visionary
· Strategy & vision
· Key partnerships
· Culture
Sara Finch
Integrator
· Lead, manage, accountability
· P&L ownership
Marcus Lee
Sales
· Outbound
· Client relations
Priya Mehta
Operations
· Delivery
· Quality control
Dana Cruz
Marketing
· Brand
· Demand gen
Tom Reyes
Finance
· Forecasting
· Reporting
Common questions

Before we talk.

The questions founders ask most before booking the first call.

What is a strategic alignment workshop, exactly?

A facilitated working session, usually a full day in person, where we install the operating components a leadership team needs to run together: a clear accountability map, a 90-day priority list everyone agrees on, a weekly scorecard, and a meeting cadence that keeps it all moving.

The output isn't a deck. It's an operating system your team will actually use the next Monday morning.

Who is this not for?

Three groups, honestly:

Pre-revenue or pre-team. The framework needs a leadership team to align. If you're solo or the team is two co-founders still figuring out the product, the timing isn't right yet.

Already systematized at scale. If you're 100+ people with a COO or chief of staff who already runs an operating cadence, you don't need me; you need to keep doing what's working.

Looking for a hands-off retainer. This work requires the leadership team in the room, on paper, doing the actual thinking. I facilitate; you decide. If your team can't or won't show up to that, the framework can't help.

What does it cost?

The 90-minute discovery call is free. It's the diagnostic step before any commitment, and how we confirm we're a good fit for each other.

From there, workshops are $3,000 each. The core program is three strategic alignment workshops, with quarterly and annual planning sessions from there until you feel like you can spread your wings without a facilitator. Travel beyond the Nashville area is billed at cost.

The portal is included for the life of the engagement at no additional charge. Calls and questions between sessions are too.

In person or virtual?

In person, in the room, on paper. Eye contact and shared focus do something a Zoom call cannot. Phones go away. The work happens at a whiteboard or around a table.

The digital portal exists for between sessions. That's where the scorecard, priorities, and weekly meeting tools live so the work stays alive when the room empties out.

Quarterly sessions can be virtual when scheduling demands it. The first three sessions, Foundation Day and the two Clarity Days, are always in person.

Don't see your question? Send it over.
Start the conversation

Let's talk.

Tell me about your team and where you're trying to go. We'll start with a 90-minute discovery call and an Org Health Checkup.

Book a discovery call Client portal →