Duaxiom — Operators for the AI era

01 · THE TENSION

Most organisations aren't broken. They're tangled.

Decisions take three meetings to make. The same five conversations keep happening. A technology stack that costs a fortune and delivers nothing. A founder who knows something is wrong but can't see exactly where.

Left unchecked, it doesn't kill organisations — it traps them. Teams that work hard but can't seem to get ahead. Leaders who feel overloaded but can't locate the source. The difference between an organisation that scales and one that stalls is rarely strategy. It's almost always operational.

02 · WHAT WE DO

One method. Three tracks.

We work across three types of organisation, applying the same diagnostic methodology with packaging and language that fits each context.

TRACK 01

Institutions & schools

Mission-driven organisations stewarding limited resources and complex governance

We help leaders build the operating discipline and decision rights to lead effectively — and steward their institutions responsibly. Compliance-grade rigour, partner-delivered, calibrated to multi-stakeholder environments.

TRACK 02

Owner-led businesses

Commercially-driven operators who have outgrown their original systems

We find what's leaking, quantify what it costs, and build the operational foundation that lets the business scale beyond its founder. Concrete, measurable, fast.

TRACK 03

Scaling companies

VC- and PE-backed teams under investor pressure to grow efficiently

We embed operational rigour, governance frameworks, and AI-native leverage — turning a busy company into a scaling one. Built for boards, calibrated to runway.

03 · THE METHOD

An operational health score across six dimensions.

Every engagement begins with a structured diagnostic. We score what's working, what's not, and what to fix first.

OPERATIONAL HEALTH SCORE · ILLUSTRATIVE

0 5 10

0–3Critical

3–5Developing

5–7Structured

7–10Optimised

The diagnostic is the product. Multi-session, partner-delivered, scored against a proprietary rubric we've built across schools, owner-led businesses, and scaling companies.

Each dimension is rated and weighted by track. The output is an Operational Health Score, a prioritised action plan, and a board-ready report you can act on the same week.

Most clients use the diagnostic as the entry point to a longer engagement. Some take the report and run with it themselves. Both are fine — we built it that way on purpose.

Every completed diagnostic adds to the benchmark. The data is the asset.

Strategic clarity

Mission, direction, priorities, stakeholder alignment.

Governance & rights

Decision rights, accountability, policy, controls.

People & org health

Capability, culture, leadership, retention.

Financial stewardship

Budget visibility, runway, unit economics.

Operating cadence

Meetings, reporting rhythm, execution speed.

Technology & AI

Stack, integration, AI maturity, software ROI.

04 · A REAL OUTCOME

A Track 2 client. Twelve months later.

68% → 54%

Revenue concentration, two largest clients (90 days)

+31%

Revenue growth, same headcount (12 months)

4.6 → 6.1

Operational Health Score (developing → structured)

CASE · ANONYMISED · 2025

"We knew something was off. We didn't know it was this."

A professional services business with 14 staff. Three weeks into the Operational Diagnostic, the highest-impact finding wasn't in the operating model — it was a revenue concentration risk: 68% of billings from two clients.

Within 90 days, the founder had diversified the book to 54%, introduced a weekly financial rhythm, and separated themselves from day-to-day service delivery for the first time. Twelve months later, revenue had grown 31% on the same headcount. The Operational Health Score had moved from 4.6 (Developing) to 6.1 (Structured).

The diagnostic took three weeks. The implementation took three months. The compounding has continued ever since.

05 · PRICING

A clear floor. Bespoke from there.

We publish our entry-point pricing because vague pricing wastes everyone's time. Larger engagements are scoped on a discovery call.

RECOMMENDED · ENTRY POINT

Operational Diagnostic

For all three tracks — the most common starting point

$12,500

FROM · 4 WEEKS · PARTNER-DELIVERED

Multi-session diagnostic across six dimensions
Scored Operational Health Score
Prioritised action plan, board-ready
Both partners on every session
Most clients continue with a follow-on engagement

FOR VCS & PE PORTFOLIOS

Scale Readiness Review

Fixed-price diagnostic for portfolio companies

$25,000

FIXED · 2 WEEKS · BOARD-READY

Pre- or post-investment portfolio diagnostic
Operational readiness for next funding stage
Risk register and remediation roadmap
Designed to be referenced in board materials
Repeatable, productised, fixed scope

EMBEDDED ENGAGEMENT

Operating Architecture

After the diagnostic — we stay until it's moving

Scoped individually

6–12 MONTHS · TYPICAL

Partner-led delivery against the diagnostic plan
Operating rhythm, governance, AI integration
Embedded with leadership team
Fee scoped to scale and depth
Scope and fee discussed on the call

AI-NATIVE · GROWTH-STAGE

AI Operational Leverage

Systemic AI adoption — not just tactical experiments

Scoped individually

6–10 WEEKS · SERIES B+

End-to-end AI integration across operations
Workflow redesign, not bolt-on tooling
Team enablement & change management
Built on real Google-scale AI ops experience
For companies past product-market fit

All pricing in USD · Engagements priced before kick-off · No retainer surprises

06 · THE PARTNERS

Two operators. One firm.

Duaxiom is a two-partner firm by design. Every engagement is delivered by both of us. No juniors, no offshored research, no slide jockeys.

Stephen Donnelly

Co-founder · Operations & AI strategy

At Google, Stephen leads AI & Engineering Strategy and designed the global AI evaluation framework delivering $20M+ annualised impact across a $300M+ vendor ecosystem. He brings the pattern recognition that comes from running operations at the scale of the world's largest technology companies.

Previously held senior leadership roles in technology strategy at Accenture and Deloitte, working with large enterprise clients. Earlier, founded and successfully exited two ventures.

Board Director, Friends of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland. Executive Advisor, PhishCloud Inc. MSc Information Management & Computer Science, Queen's University Belfast. Based in the Bay Area.

GOOGLE ACCENTURE DELOITTE 2× FOUNDER QUB · MSc

Khurram Khan

Co-founder · People & operations

Khurram brings the lived experience of building the operational and people infrastructure inside a scaling startup — the playbook that turns five employees into fifty without breaking. Most recently Head of Operations at Herewith for three and a half years, through the company's critical scaling phase and successful exit.

Earlier as Global HR Business Partner at Herewith, he designed the people frameworks that underpinned the company's growth. Previously HR Business Partner and Chief of Staff at Artworks Foundry; People Operations at the Argentine Embassy.

Currently Senior People Ops Consultant at BTG and an independent consultant with Upwardly Global. UC Berkeley. SHRM Certified Professional. Based in the Bay Area.

HEREWITH BTG UPWARDLY GLOBAL UC BERKELEY SHRM-CP

WHY TOGETHER