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Strategy & management consulting · Halifax, Nova Scotia

Your success.
Our strategy.

A boutique firm that helps you navigate change: we strategize, plan and implement with your team — consulting, process automation, digital marketing and executive training.

Book a free 1-hour discovery call Free PDF: Plan Your Business Growth

Or call +1 902 989 7277, 10am – 4pm Atlantic.

Years in business
8+
Countries the leadership team has worked in
6
Continents
4
Markets engaged at a business level
60+
Participants in the University of Houston digital start-up simulation
600
Start-up boards Strategy Up sits on
3

Change management strategy consulting

Change, without disrupting the business you already run.

Fear of disruption stops many owners from changing at all. We work through your challenges, goals and culture with you, and build the strategy around them.

  1. 01

    Strategize

    Your leadership team works closely with our consultants on a comprehensive strategy aligned with your business objectives, using industry best practices and proven methodologies to design a roadmap for your organization.

  2. 02

    Plan

    Planning decides whether a change initiative succeeds. Your teams are involved at every step, with open and transparent communication that builds trust and shared accountability.

  3. 03

    Implement

    Implementation is where the real transformation takes place: hands-on support and guidance throughout, helping you overcome obstacles as they arise.

The PIVOT Methodology

Five stages from diagnosis to lasting change.

  1. 01 — Plan

    Diagnose the real constraint holding back growth.

    Planning is the most important step. Without proper strategic planning methodologies, a business is potentially set up to fail.

    • SWOT analysis
    • Value curve
    • BCG strategy palette

  2. 02 — Implement

    Build and execute the change.

    Once the plan is endorsed by all stakeholders, resources are ramped up in stages matched to the complexity of the program.

    • People — training, recruitment, rotation
    • Processes — improvement, re-engineering
    • Systems — upgrade, implement, retire

  3. 03 — Verify

    Prove that it's working.

    The implementation is scrutinized against the KPIs and metrics set during planning and implementation.

    • KPI definition & dashboard
    • User acceptance tests
    • Stress tests, when needed
    • Internal process audits

  4. 04 — Operate

    Make the new way the normal way.

    An operating plan sized to the risk. Few risks: ramp up quickly. Many risks: ramp up gradually.

    • Risk-sized operation plan
    • Staged ramp-up

  5. 05 — Transform

    Compound the gains over time.

    A gradual, iterative transformation gives internal and external stakeholders time to adapt and adopt, reduces risk and keeps time to market short.

    • Progressive, iterative rollout
    • Internal & external communication plan
The PIVOT Methodology in full

What we do

Four practices. One team that works alongside yours.

Strategy Up blends with your environment as one team — building strategies, training your people and building digital solutions for your business.

01 · Consulting

Strategy & management consulting across Canada and North America

All

02 · Process automation

Software bots for the repetitive, rule-based work

Built for law firms and healthcare. Bots work across your existing systems without changes to your IT.

Use case01/06

Document review

  1. Identify
  2. Configure
  3. Run
Law firmsHealthcare

04 · Digital marketing agency

A plan before spend — then the channels to carry it

Marketing
  • SEO Management
  • Social Media Management
  • Website Design
  • Digital Marketing Strategy
  • Video Marketing
  • Brand Identity
  • WooCommerce
  • Shopify

Funding

Government programs can cover part of the cost

WIPSI — training
$10,000 / 50%
CBDC CAS — consulting
$5,000
Check eligibility

Set up in Canada

Moving a business to Canada? Six areas, handled with you.

  1. 01 Business plan
  2. 02 Local partners
  3. 03 Registration
  4. 04 Professional services
  5. 05 Office space
  6. 06 Human resources
Packages

Founder & CEO

An advisor who has run the operations he advises on.

Marc Zirka, founder and CEO of Strategy Up

Marc Zirka

Builds commercial strategies and helps companies grow revenue. Operational and consulting background, with leadership roles at France Telecom (Orange), KPMG, Digicel, Bakcell and Cable & Wireless.

Certified adult educator. Author of Path to Employee Happiness. Has worked from multinationals to start-ups, and from conflict zones to boardrooms.

Previous leadership roles

  • France Telecom (Orange)
  • KPMG
  • Digicel
  • Bakcell
  • Cable & Wireless
About Strategy Up
Path to Employee Happiness: From Vision to Reality — book cover

The book · First edition

Path to Employee Happiness

From Vision to Reality

Paperback $20.99 · Kindle from $4.99

Read about the book

Clients & students

In their words.

  • “Working with Strategy Up has been a very positive journey; it always feels good to have a trusted advisor by our side. They provided our team with invaluable strategic advice and helped us procure and implement a key application for our customer service team.”
    Dwayne DavisChief Information Officer, ALIV
  • “Telcovision delivered a quality product, on time and with no surprises or drama. The experience for my 600 participants in the digital start-up simulation was an unqualified success.”
    Daniel CurrieClinical Professor, University of Houston — Bauer College of Business
  • “We feel so lucky to have found Strategy Up, and it's clear from your report that you really understood our small operation. Meeting at our home (and bringing pizza!), rescheduling calls, and challenging us to think differently made us feel valued and in capable hands.”
    Amy & Luke LachanceBusiness owners, The Bandwagon Food Truck
  • “Strategy Up did well in preparing foundational models and topics with relatable, usable content for all role levels, from junior to senior managers. We have continued to work with Strategy Up on other initiatives to invest in our staff.”
    Ryan FrithHead of Hedge Fund Operations, Maitland Group
  • “We were able in less than a month to work on my social media portals and travel-related websites to help boost my Airbnb business. I would love to have Strategy Up work on my future projects.”
    Vanessa ShebibKing Street Cottages
  • “It was a pleasure to work with a very professional team. They offered a fresh perspective about the strategic approach for my business. I would recommend them.”
    Chris SullivanCPA, Chris Sullivan Inc.
  • “Marc has both the practical and theoretical expertise to not only excel at teaching but truly engage his students. I have completed two graduate degrees, and Marc was a higher-calibre instructor than most of my university professors.”
    Pat PowerMinto Consulting Services
  • “It was an amazing 12-week crash course (because yes, there is that much to learn). Does this make me an expert? No. But now I know what I don't know when it comes to marketing, and that's immeasurably valuable.”
    Jay FisherHeadshot photographer, Capture It Photography
  • “This course was well suited to what we do in our sector. It provided us with the tools to be better leaders and to navigate change within our teams, both small and larger-scale changes.”
    Laurie ReyndersSociety for Treatment of Autism — NS

Clients

Organizations in Canada, the USA, the Caribbean, West Africa and Azerbaijan.

All clients by practice