"Our CRM isn't working" was the brief.
What we discovered was a £multi-billion investment firm running mostly on spreadsheets, unable to use the systems they'd invested in to measure progress and drive towards their business goals. Here's how we transformed their entire investment pipeline.

The Challenge

A major UK private equity firm with £multi-billion assets under management was struggling with what they thought was a "CRM problem." In reality, they faced the classic transformation challenge: management couldn't see or measure performance because critical data lived in spreadsheets and people's heads.

The Core Issues:

• Management Blind Spots: Senior partners were struggling to get visibility into team performance across their extensive portfolio of potential investment targets.
  
  
• Data Entry Avoidance: Deal teams avoided manual data entry, leaving valuable insights trapped in spreadsheets and institutional knowledge.
  
  
• Disconnected Systems: Multiple research platforms, databases, and marketing tools operated in silos.
  
  
• Unmeasurable Marketing: They couldn’t track ROI from marketing efforts like websites, events, and campaigns.
  
  

The Solution

Our Approach: End-to-end investment pipeline transformation involving all business teams, not just informing them.

Key Strategic Components:

• Cross-Functional Involvement
  Teams actively participated in designing solutions — marketing, data, research, origination, and investment.
  
  
• Reliable Delivery Engine
  Established a delivery model with the right partners and internal structure to execute.
  
  
• Business Integration Focus
  Focused on cultural and process change — not just tech.
  
  

Key Activities Delivered:

• Technology audit, stakeholder interviews, and process mapping
  
  
• Unified platform design and integration architecture
  
  
• System build including lead scoring and marketing attribution
  
  
• Training programs and UK-wide roadshows
  
  
• Champion community setup and post-launch adoption support
  
  

The Innovation

A comprehensive investment intelligence platform that connected scattered research activities into a measurable, optimized investment pipeline.

Key Components Delivered:

• Management Visibility
  Real-time dashboards for transparency into team performance and pipeline health.
  
  
• Improved Data Capture
  User-friendly UI with integrated workflows improved data quality.
  
  
• Intelligent Lead Scoring
  Prioritized opportunities based on interaction types and investment criteria.
  
  
• Marketing Attribution
  Linked campaigns to real investment outcomes.
  
  
• Champion Community
  Internal advocates drove adoption and momentum.
  
  

The Results That Mattered

Quantified Business Impact:

• Pipeline Transparency: Tracked 40,000+ companies in real-time.
  
  
• Performance Metrics: First-time visibility into conversion rates and team output.
  
  
• Efficiency Gains: Eliminated manual reporting; teams focused on value-adding work.
  
  
• Marketing ROI: Proved which campaigns drove actual deals.
  
  

Delivery Excellence:

• Timeline: Completed 2-year plan in 18 months (despite COVID-19).
  
  
• Budget: Came in under budget through scope and partner optimization.
  
  
• Adoption: High engagement through Champion-led training and feedback.
  
  

The Real Victory

• Investment Intelligence: Built a measurable engine that made deal flow transparent.
  
  
• Cultural Shift: Users shifted from resistance to seeing data as a strategic asset.
  
  
• Scalable Growth: Enabled expansion into new sectors and regions with confidence.
  
  

The Long-Term Impact

This transformation became the backbone of the firm’s market leadership in tech and operations. Years later, they remain ahead in business systems effectiveness — proof that visionary leadership and a systematic approach drive measurable results.

What I Learned & Would Do Differently Today

Despite this being a success, it shaped how I work today.

Key Lessons:

• User Incentives Were Misaligned: Execs wanted data; users had no reason to care.
  
  
• Adoption Still Needed Work: A better UI wasn’t enough.
  
  

What I’d Do Now:

• True Co-Creation: Not just feedback — teams would build with us.
  
  
• Rapid Experimentation: Validate early with working prototypes.
  
  
• Hypothesis Clarity: Ensure we solve real root issues, not just surface ones.
  
  
• AI-First Design: Let AI handle admin, insights, and predictions so users scale impact without friction.
  
  

The Bottom Line

Even the best transformation is a starting point. Today, with AI and neuroscience-based methods, we move faster, collaborate better, and ensure adoption is baked in from day one.

At Solved Together, we help organizations get real outcomes — not just better plans.

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