Four core ways to engage. All start with a structured commercial diagnostic. None run on a fixed methodology — the brief is shaped to fit the business, the investor, and the outcome the work is being judged against.
Embedded CCO, Commercial Director or VP — accountable for revenue, retention and the commercial team for a defined window.
Brought in when a business has a specific commercial moment to navigate: a leadership gap, a fundraise, a post-acquisition integration, a turnaround, or a window before bringing a permanent hire on board. I take direct accountability — for the number, for hiring, for the difficult calls — and run the function as if the seat were permanent.
Typical mandates run 3–12 months and conclude with a clean handover to a permanent successor or to a next-stage operating model. I'm engaged through Paul Lucherini Ltd on a day-rate or milestone basis depending on the brief.
PE or VC-backed SaaS, services or infrastructure businesses between £2m and £100m revenue. Scale-ups preparing for a fundraise, integration, exit or major operating-model change. Founder-owned businesses navigating their first non-founder commercial leader.
Discuss an interim mandateGet the commercial story, the metrics and the operating function diligence-ready — before an investor committee or a buyer has the chance to flag a gap.
Capital decisions are made on commercial credibility. The product can be brilliant; if the commercial function looks founder-led, retention is opaque, pipeline isn't defensible or the leadership bench is thin, the round slows down, the valuation softens, or the deal falls over.
This engagement gets the commercial side of the data room ready. I've supported equity rounds (seed, Series A, growth) and debt facilities totalling more than £160m with tier-1 institutional investors and high-street banks — and led the sale of a SaaS business to a US listed acquirer. I know what a diligence-grade commercial function looks like.
Businesses 6–18 months from a Series A, growth round, refinance, strategic exit or trade sale. PE portfolio companies preparing for a follow-on raise. Founder-owned businesses approaching their first institutional round.
Discuss investor readinessRebuild the commercial operating model: GTM, pipeline rigour, account management, customer success, retention.
The commercial engine that got you to £5m won't get you to £25m. The acquisition motion that worked when the founders sold every deal won't survive the first scaled hire. The customer success function that started as "post-sales support" needs to become a retention and expansion engine investors actually rate.
I rebuild commercial operating models for the next stage — particularly for SaaS and recurring-revenue businesses. The engagement focuses on three things at once: revenue growth, retention/NRR, and the cultural shift inside the team that makes both stick.
SaaS and recurring-revenue businesses between £3m and £50m revenue. Post-Series A scale-ups graduating from founder-led selling. Cyber security, Martech, video tech, vertical SaaS. Businesses where churn is the bottleneck on the next round.
Discuss a transformationLong-term partnership — alongside the team rather than inside it.
For founders, CEOs and investor groups who don't need an interim leader but do need a senior commercial voice in the room — at the board, alongside the leadership team, or one-to-one with a developing CCO or commercial director.
I currently hold one Non-Executive Director appointment with a national sporting body and take on selective advisory mandates — typically with PE portfolio companies, founder-owned businesses and investor groups looking for an experienced commercial perspective on the board or executive team.
PE and VC portfolio companies seeking commercial expertise on the board. Founder-led businesses approaching the next stage of professionalisation. Investor groups wanting commercial scrutiny of portfolio investments. First-time commercial leaders looking for structured coaching from someone who has done the role at scale.
Discuss an advisory role30–45 minutes. Confidential and obligation-free. We talk through where the business is, the outcome you're working toward, and whether the fit is right for both of us.
Structured assessment of pipeline, retention, GTM, leadership bench, customer concentration and commercial governance. Delivered as a written board-grade pack with prioritised actions.
The diagnostic converts into a defined engagement — interim, project, transformation or advisory — with a clear scope, success measures, duration and commercial terms.