The odds are stacked against STEMM founders — but they don't have to be
The average Series A investment round is $18.5M, and VCs expect 3–5x growth within 12–18 months. To raise it, you need a clear strategy, a solid market understanding, a productive team, and the leadership skills to deliver all of it. These are not the skills most STEMM founders were trained for.
The 12 STEMM Leadership Blindspots
Identified through thousands of hours of 1-2-1 conversations, strategy sessions, and peer-group masterminds. Individually, none of them are catastrophic. Together, they seriously hinder your ability to grow your business.
Leadership — Theory vs Practice
Drowning in books and courses but unable to turn theory into practical, relevant action.
Doing, Thinking, Planning
Creating and executing comes easy. Thinking long-term and strategising is much harder.
Stuck in the Whirlwind
Too much time eaten up by day-to-day operations — working long hours with no end in sight.
World Class Problem Solver
For other people and clients. But much harder to see and fix problems within the business itself.
Hiring Non-Techies
Struggling to make the right hires for non-technical roles — the bits that actually grow the business.
Focusing on the Micro
Deep focus on getting to MVP and beyond — seeing how it fits the bigger picture can be hard.
Communicate Better
Everyone has a preferred communication style. Knowing and using these creates clarity and less frustration.
Perfection is King?
Can lead to procrastination: the search for the ideal rather than the "good enough".
Unleashing Inner EQ
Managing people means managing their emotions and behaviours. Building functional teams can be problematic.
See the World Differently
The potential to be blinded by a vision of what the world needs — without checking whether it's what it wants.
Peas in a Pod?
An inherent assumption that everyone thinks and behaves the same way as the Founder or CEO.
Outside the Comfort Zone
Background and training can create a fear of doing things outside direct experience or knowledge.
A quicker route to the summit
12Squared™ is built around your 12 blindspots — one per month, tackled directly in the context of your actual business and investor situation.
12 × monthly 90-minute 1-2-1 sessions
- How you are specifically affected by this blindspot
- What impact it's having on you and your business
- Practical activities and solutions to overcome it
Weekly 15-minute check-ins
Regular accountability to maintain progress between sessions — keeping you on track rather than letting work swallow the development.
Unlimited Laser Calls
- 15 minutes, one problem
- Fixed in the here and now
- Whenever you need it
Your own 12Squared™ Leadership Toolkit
A bespoke, personalised toolkit — worksheets, frameworks, and resources — developed through the programme and yours to keep and use long after it ends.
What does it cost?
Two payment options — pay in full for simplicity, or spread the investment monthly.
- Deposit of $7,500
- Balance due within 14 days
- Bank transfer, credit/debit card via Stripe, or Direct Debit via GoCardless
- Deposit of $3,000 to start
- 11 monthly payments, invoiced on the first of the month
- Direct Debit via GoCardless or Stripe Payment Plan
By the end of the programme, you will have:
This is what your world looks like if you do this.
Strategic clarity
- A clear understanding of where you want to be in 3 years
- A strategy and action plan to get there
- A route map with KPIs and milestones
Leadership & people
- More control of your time; confidence in delegating
- An org chart that will allow you to scale effectively
- Policies to recruit, retain, and engage the right people
- Tactics to understand and fix dysfunctional teams
Commercial & investor confidence
- Better lines of communication with your investors
- Renewed investor confidence you will deliver on your plans
- A clear route to your next funding round
- Significantly increased chances of raising future capital and exiting on your terms
What Carri's clients have achieved
Results from real STEMM founders who have worked with Carri directly — across engineering, telecoms, software, solar, SaaS, and more.
$5.7M → $16.4M in 18 months · Engineering sector
$4.2M → $10.2M in 24 months · Secure telecoms & software
Licensing stream identified · Solar sector
From pre-revenue to $10M in 3 years · SaaS
From $35M valuation · Recycling sector
By restructuring team · Chartered surveying
Carri Nicholson — The Leader Whisperer®
Carri Nicholson
36+ years as a business consultant, owner, and adviser to national and regional governments. Worked with 1,000+ businesses and leaders — 80% in STEMM sectors. Co-wrote the Scottish Government playbook on successful commercialisation of R&D. Married to a STEMM innovator, and has built her entire practice around the specific leadership challenges that STEMM founders face.
She has founded or co-founded 7 businesses, served as a "hired gun" CEO, managed 4 MBA programmes for a global top-40 business school, and was the Strategic Planning Officer for a NATO Logistics Brigade.
This does not need to be a solo attempt.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Book a Discovery Call and let's explore whether 12Squared™ is the right fit — and what your scaling Everest actually looks like.