zwischenzug/ˈtsvɪʃn̩ˌtsuːk/n. — German, “in-between move”
The best move is rarely the obvious one.
Zwischenzug is a strategy and technology advisory for early-stage companies. We work with founders on the four things that decide the early game: strategy, product, operations, and people.
1. The position
( founders to move )
Advisory built for the earliest stages of company building.
A company's first years work like the opening of a game. A small number of decisions about direction, product, process, and people set up everything that comes later.
We work with founders on those decisions while they're being made. We don't write a deck and disappear. We sit on your side of the board for the whole game.
2. The repertoire
The work, in game order.
- 1.The opening
Business strategy
Direction and positioning. Where to compete, and what to leave alone.
- 2.The middlegame
Product–market fit
Customer discovery, iteration, and an honest read of what the market is telling you.
- 3.The zwischenzug
Process & operations!
The namesake move. We fix how the company runs before scale makes bad habits permanent.
- 4.The endgame
Talent & organisation
Who to hire, when, and what shape the team should take as it grows.
3. The approach
Position before material.
In chess, a zwischenzug is a move played before the expected one, to improve your position first. That's the job here. Before your next big move, we make sure the position is right.
Question the obvious.
Everyone at the table has already priced in the expected move. The advantage sits in the move nobody was preparing for.
Tempo is real.
Early companies win on the speed of good decisions. We help founders decide faster without deciding worse.
Play the whole board.
Strategy, product, operations, and talent make up a single position. We advise on all of it.
4. Your move
Your move.
Write to us about your company and the decision in front of you.
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