What does your company do?
By: Rachel Formaro, Co-CEO, Collabry
As the company I founded marked 11 years in business in November, you’d think I could rattle off a straightforward answer to the question, “What does your company do?” I should have my elevator pitch nailed, like every good entrepreneur. Sure, I generally respond with a simple, “We do project management and marketing consulting for large financial services companies,” and it seems to settle the question. But in my head and heart, it feels like such a flat answer. Very cookie cutter, and not completely reflective of who, what, why, when, and where we are.
Part of the challenge in having an elevator pitch at the ready is that the Collabry story continues to be written. We have grown in scope and services since our founding, and we continue to adapt to the needs of our clients. And that isn’t a bad thing! It’s actually a good problem to have. Being a “needs-based” organization has helped to shape who we are today—not just the needs of our clients, but also of our consultants and our community.
“Part of the challenge in having an elevator pitch at the ready is that the Collabry story continues to be written.”
For example, when I started Blu Pagoda (we rebranded to “Collabry” in 2024), I was a solopreneur who provided communications development. That first year, it was just me and a couple of clients who were also solo practices. The next year, I added some enterprise clients—mostly in tech and fintech—so I added writers to my team. A year or so later, I was called upon for my project management experience and took on a large client project. I then signed Master Services Agreements with two major financial services providers—and with that came the need for more experienced consultants to join our team in project management, marketing, communications, and business analysis. I continued to run the company’s day-to-day operations while also working on client projects.
And then COVID happened. As a business that had always been remote based, we already knew how to work with and on remote teams. At the same time, major consolidations in the financial services sector required our unique skills in integrations. Our clients came calling in droves and we tripled in staff size. Thanks to our fair and collaborative approach to working with consultants, we were able to attract incredible talent. Our experience of having been in our clients’ shoes helped us navigate the onboarding process for every new project. So, in the span of a few years, we went from being a solo writing shop to a thriving mid-size consulting boutique.
“Being a “needs-based” organization has helped to shape who we are today—not just the needs of our clients, but also of our consultants and our community.”
Collabry is embracing our future as a fully developed enterprise that delivers project, change, and marketing management expertise to financial services leaders. Might we branch out into a different vertical in the future? Perhaps! For now, there’s plenty to focus on in the world of investing, asset management, credit unions, banking, and insurance. It all comes down to what our current and prospective clients need, and what fulfills our mission of doing good work and being good to one another.
