Real Work. Real Outcomes.

Case Studies

Real operational problems. Real structural fixes. These are the engagements behind the outcomes — documented in full, anonymized to protect client confidentiality.

Each case study follows the same format: Situation → Constraints → What we did → Outcomes → What changed operationally.

Case Study 01·Fundraising Readiness

Breaking the Founder Bottleneck Before a Series A

B2B SaaS company, U.S.-based, 28 employees — Series A fundraising process, 6 months out

The Situation

A founder-led B2B SaaS company with $3.2M ARR and strong NPS scores was preparing for a Series A. Revenue was growing. The product worked. But when the founder attempted to complete an investor data room, it took four weeks and was still incomplete. The team was moving — but everything moved through the founder. Approvals, priorities, client escalations, hiring decisions. The business was operationally dependent on one person, and no one had documented what that person actually did.

Constraints

·Fundraising timeline was fixed — investor conversations were scheduled in 90 days
·The founder had no bandwidth to run the business AND build the infrastructure simultaneously
·Three key leadership hires were in process — any restructuring had to account for incoming roles
·The team was high-performing but had no formal accountability framework

What We Did

01Ran a full Lumena Lens diagnostic across all seven pillars — completed in 3 weeks
02Mapped every decision the founder was making and classified by type, frequency, and delegability
03Built a decision rights framework that pushed 75% of recurring decisions to the team level
04Documented the top 15 investor due diligence questions with verified answers and source documentation
05Created an accountability map with clear ownership for every critical function
06Built an operating cadence (weekly leadership sync, monthly ops review) the team ran independently by week 6

Outcomes

Area	Before	After	Timeframe
Founder approval rate	>90% of decisions	<15% of decisions	30 days
Data room completion	4 weeks, incomplete	Built and verified in 12 days	30 days
Leadership cadence	Ad hoc, founder-driven	Weekly team-run rhythm in place	45 days
Due diligence questions	Could not answer 11 of 15	All 15 answered with documentation	60 days

What Changed Operationally

The business went from operationally dependent on one person to structurally ready for outside scrutiny. The founder entered investor conversations with documented systems, clean answers, and a team that could demonstrate independent execution. The structure problem that would have surfaced in due diligence was closed before the process started.

Lumena Lens Pillars Applied

Decision Rights & ApprovalsRole Clarity & AccountabilityTooling & DocumentationOperating Cadence

Learn about the Lumena Lens framework →

Case Study 02·LATAM Expansion Readiness

Building the Operating Model Before Entering Two LATAM Markets

Professional services firm, U.S.-based, 45 employees — Pre-expansion into Colombia and Mexico

The Situation

A U.S. professional services firm with established domestic operations had secured contracts in Colombia and Mexico. The leadership team had 8 weeks before the first team members needed to be on the ground. They had a go-to-market plan and a client commitment. What they did not have was a compliant operating model, a clear understanding of local employment law, an entity structure suited to both markets, or a cross-border HR framework. The domestic playbook did not translate.

Constraints

·8-week timeline to operational readiness for two markets simultaneously
·No prior international operations experience in the leadership team
·Client contracts had deliverable milestones that could not slip
·Existing team members were being redeployed to new markets — compliance for existing roles had to remain intact

What We Did

01Ran Lumena Lens Pillar 7 (Cross-Border Complexity) as an accelerated diagnostic — completed in 10 days
02Identified entity structure requirements and employment compliance gaps for Colombia and Mexico
03Built a cross-border HR framework covering compensation structure, benefits, local employment contracts, and termination compliance for both markets
04Adapted the domestic operating cadence to account for timezone, communication, and reporting differences
05Documented handoff protocols between U.S. headquarters and in-market teams
06Delivered a LATAM operating model with country-specific compliance guides for immediate use

Outcomes

Area	Before	After	Timeframe
Entity structure clarity	Unresolved — two options under consideration	Structure confirmed, legal counsel engaged	2 weeks
Employment compliance	U.S. contracts for international hires	Locally compliant contracts in place for both markets	5 weeks
Operating model	Domestic playbook applied verbatim — three known gaps	Cross-border model with market-specific protocols	6 weeks
Market entry timeline	At risk — compliance gaps unresolved	On schedule — first team on the ground week 8	8 weeks

What Changed Operationally

The firm entered two new markets on schedule, with a compliant operating model and an HR framework built for cross-border complexity. The compliance gaps that would have created legal exposure — and potentially derailed the client engagements — were identified and resolved before anyone crossed a border. The operating model that came out of the engagement became the foundation for all subsequent international expansion.

Lumena Lens Pillars Applied

Cross-Border Complexity ReadinessCross-Functional HandoffsRole Clarity & AccountabilityTooling & Documentation

Learn about the Lumena Lens framework →

Your Situation

Every engagement starts with understanding where you actually are.

The outcomes above came from a clear-eyed look at what was structurally broken — and a sequenced plan for fixing it. An Operational Readiness Assessment is where that starts.

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Operational Readiness Assessment

The diagnostic behind every case study above

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View All Results

Before/after metrics across all engagement areas

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The Lumena Lens Framework

The methodology applied in each case study

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