Revenue starts coming in. At first, that feels like validation.
Then something shifts!
- Growth introduces complexity.
- More customers bring more moving parts.
- Hiring adds more decisions.
- Momentum builds but so does pressure.
And strangely, things don’t feel clearer. They feel noisier.
You might recognise this:
• You’re busier, but not further ahead
• You’re hiring, yet still the bottleneck exists
• You’re growing, but predictability hasn’t grown with it
ZERO–THREE–ONE is a structured clarity framework developed inside BSP Advisory to help early-stage and scaling businesses grow without losing control.
ZERO–THREE–ONE answers three practical questions:
What is really happening in the business today?
Where should this business be in three years?
What must we focus on in the next 12 months to get there?
Through that structure, founders gain:
✓ Clear priorities
✓ Visibility on real constraints
✓ A steady operating rhythm
✓ Measurable progress
Ideas attract attention.
Execution builds companies.
55%
Early-stage businesses fail within five years
75%
VC-backed startups fail to return capital
65%
Team and people issues
The Data Is Clear. Execution Is the Risk.
Between 50–60% of early-stage businesses fail within five years.
Around 75% of venture-backed startups fail to return capital.
Most businesses don't fail at launch.
They fail after early traction, after revenue, after hiring, after growth introduces complexity.
What looks like momentum externally often feels like increasing strain internally.
At this stage, the market doesn't usually defeat companies.
Growth adds moving parts. Systems don’t always keep up. Small problems start stacking quietly.
The Business is Not the Product.
Early-stage conversations are almost always about the product.
✓ Features
✓ Funding
✓ Market opportunity
✓ Valuation
But scale is determined by what sits behind it.
A strong product may open the door. It does not build the business. What sustains growth is structure:
✓ Clear strategy
✓ Operating discipline
✓ Financial visibility
✓ Distribution strength
✓ Leadership capability
Without these, growth amplifies weakness instead of value.
ZERO - THREE - ONE gives founders a structured way to see the whole business, not just the idea.
Because investors fund products.
Markets reward businesses.
A Simple Framework for Serious Founders
Early-stage growth does not fail for lack of effort. It fails when there is no shared operating clarity.
ZERO – THREE – ONE is not a startup template.
It is a structured way to think.
ZERO
The Business Today
Before ambition, there must be honesty.
ZERO forces clarity on how the business actually operates:
Revenue reality
Execution gaps
Founder dependency
Distribution strength
System discipline
ZERO removes illusion.
ZERO creates context.
THREE
The Business in Three Years
Growth without direction amplifies weakness.
THREE defines a credible operating future:
Revenue shape
Organisation structure
Distribution model
System maturity
Financial resilience
THREE provides orientation.
THREE provides a compass.
ONE
The Next 12 Months
Strategy without constraint becomes theatre.
ONE translates direction into execution:
3–5 strategic objectives
Constraint removal
Clear operating cadence
Defined execution priorities
ONE closes the gap between ambition and capability.
ZERO tells the truth.
THREE defines direction.
ONE builds disciplined traction.
STRUCTURED EXECUTION
This is NOT Startup Theatre.
ZERO – THREE – ONE does not end with a framework. It integrates into a disciplined Implementation Plan designed to remove reactivity and install operating rhythm.
Execution becomes deliberate.
Monthly performance review cadence
Lever-by-lever operating priorities
Advisory preparation enhanced by AI
Clarity provides direction and replaces reactivity.
Scale becomes a choice, not a gamble.
Who ZERO - THREE - ONE is For
Founders
Early-stage founders with traction
Scaling businesses feeling execution strain
Founders preparing for investment
Businesses plateauing after early growth
Investors & Advisors
Investors assessing execution risk
Professional service firms supporting founders
Advisory partners seeking structured frameworks
Led by Rob Dorey
Rob has spent decades advising business owners on scale, succession, and execution discipline.
ZERO – THREE – ONE reflects applied advisory insight, now deliberately focused on early-stage clarity.
This is not theory.
It is operating discipline applied before scale.
Rob will be delivering a complimentary live workshop introducing ZERO – THREE – ONE and walking through how founders can test their own business for execution risk — before lack of growth becomes a problem.
If you’re building, scaling, or investing in an early-stage business, this session is designed to help you step back, see clearly, and decide what needs attention now.
Experience ZERO – THREE – ONE
Join a live ZERO – THREE – ONE workshop
or book a Founder Clarity Session.
