Consulting
Strategy, valuation, M&A, leaders and founders.
Work with me
I price private software and online companies
And I can read the product behind the number. Most people can only do one of those. Companies I founded → Ventures.
Book a call My ventures →Mentoring
Students and early-career operators. Reply to an email and I will make time.
Speaking
Guest lectures from $2,500, corporate workshops from $7,500. Topics →
When to work with me directly
Advisory is about me, not my companies. See Ventures for those.
Ideal clients
- Corporate and Fortune 500 leaders, strategy, M&A, and valuation under pressure
- Founders preparing for institutional capital or a pivotal GTM decision
- Fund managers and allocators pricing private portfolios or healthcare thesis
- MBA students and early-career operators finding a path into venture or corp-dev
Not a fit
- Full-time operating roles or generic “advisor” titles
- Unscoped requests without a defined decision or deliverable
- Pure software implementation without strategy or valuation context
- Media interview requests (use the Media page instead)
Formats
How engagements work
Discovery call
30–45 minutes to frame the problem, stakeholders, and timeline. No commitment.
Outcome: Clear next step, scoped sprint, retainer, or pass.
Focused sprint
1–2 weeks on one decision: IC memo support, valuation framework, diligence plan, or narrative for raise.
Deliverable: Written recommendation, model outline, or decision memo.
Ongoing advisory
Retainer for funds, corp-dev, or founders with recurring deal flow or portfolio needs.
Deliverable: Standing office hours + async review on live deals.
One-off diligence
Independent view on a target, round, or asset, healthcare or private-markets valuation.
Deliverable: Diligence memo and risk map for your IC or board.
Practice areas
What I help with
01
What a buyer will actually pay
A defended range for an online, software or AI-native company, built from 7,601 recorded small-business transactions and the same method I used inside a Fortune 500 acquirer. Not a certified appraisal, and never presented as one.
02
What diligence will find in the product
I open the thing. Whether it is durable or a thin layer on somebody else’s API, where the revenue concentrates, what the stack costs to run, and which parts of the story do not survive a technical reader.
03
What to change in the next ninety days
A ranked list of the objections a buyer will raise, priced in dollars off the offer, so you can decide what is worth fixing before you go to market.
04
And then the fixing, if you want it
I write the code, the site and the materials myself. Product surface, metrics instrumentation, positioning, and the memo a buyer reads. Scoped to whatever the read said would move the number, never sold as a standalone build.
05
What I do not do
No certified appraisals, no 409A, no fairness opinions, nothing an examiner, a court or an auditor relies on. No success fees and no percentage of any transaction. No introductions to investors, at any price. And no paid work with any company Sonnerie VC is evaluating or has backed.
Examples
Representative work
Private markets
Portfolio fair-value review
Problem: A fund manager needed IC-ready ranges across illiquid holdings with inconsistent internal models.
Judgment → deliverable: Rebuilt valuation framework aligned to institutional standards; memo and model template for recurring quarters.
Healthcare VC
Operator diligence on a seed round
Problem: An angel syndicate needed to stress-test operational claims in a complex care-delivery startup.
Judgment → deliverable: Diligence memo separating market story from executable operations; clear invest / pass recommendation.
Corp-dev
Acquisition pricing band
Problem: A corp-dev team evaluating a mid-stage asset lacked independent pricing discipline ahead of term sheet.
Judgment → deliverable: Pricing range with strategic rationale, integration risks, and negotiation guardrails for leadership.
Examples are representative of engagement types; client names withheld for confidentiality.
Starting point
Book a session
Everything starts with the read. The sprint and the package are sold only to people who bought one, because the price of a fix is set by what the objection costs in proceeds, and you cannot know that until the number exists. Lighter doors are on the calendar too: a free fit call, a $200 advisory hour on any topic, and a $500 pitch deck rebuild. For the companies I founded, see Ventures.
The core engagement
The Read
$2,500 USD
Five business days. What the company is worth to a buyer, what that buyer will challenge, and what to change before you go to market.
- A defended range, with the comparable transactions behind it
- A written buyer-objection list
- A product and stack read, from actually opening it
- A ninety-day fix list, ranked by dollars
- A 45-minute readout call
Introductory price, first three engagements. I am pricing these to earn named references; after three the Read is $4,500. This is not a certified appraisal and is not for tax, court, audit or lender reliance.
After a Read
The Fix Sprint
$15,000 USD
Four to six weeks, fixed fee. I make the changes the read said would move the number, and I build them myself.
- Product surface, metrics, and the things a buyer checks
- Positioning and go-to-market, where that is the objection
- Site and materials, built rather than outsourced
- Scope fixed in writing before we start
The document they read
The Buyer Package
$9,500 USD
For a seller going to market, or a founder arming a champion inside an investor. The memo, the model as its exhibit, and the materials.
- Written for the person on the other side of the table
- Model and comparables as exhibits, not decoration
- Built by the person who did the pricing
One question, one hour
Second Opinion
$750 USD
One call on a live decision: a model, a pitch, a go-to-market plan, a company you are buying, or an offer you have received.
- 60 minutes, booked on the calendar
- Bring the deck, the model, the listing, or the LOI
- Prep beforehand and written notes after
Two guarantees: if I am not the right person, I say so in the first ten minutes and refund you in full. And if we finish and you do not think it was worth it, tell me and I will refund you.
Strategy sprints and fractional advisory are scoped per engagement, contact me with your timeline and deliverable. Guest lectures and workshops from $2,500 USD, see speaking.
Not ready to book? Start free: estimate your business value, grab the Private-Company Pricing Checklist, or if you are a founder raising, use the free founder and fundraising tools.
Why work with me
What backs the advice
No borrowed authority, the judgment is grounded in operating experience, companies built, and institutional method.
Operator track record
Fortune 500 corporate development and M&A, with billions in transaction experience, origination, valuation, diligence, and integration.
Founder, not just advisor
Founder of Value Alpha and Sonnerie VC. The operator diligence I run on live deals is the diligence you get.
Institutional method
Value Alpha's fair-value models were developed with Columbia faculty and draw on NYU research, and that discipline applies directly to your decision.
In their words
What people say
Tomasz has a strong ability to step back and frame business challenges in clear strategic terms. He helped sharpen our messaging, refine our target customer focus, and bring greater structure to how we think about pricing. I would warmly recommend him to any team looking for a thoughtful, strategic partner.
He fostered an environment where people felt genuinely comfortable sharing ideas while keeping strong conviction about what was best for the product. His leadership balanced being receptive to feedback with clear direction. Any team would be lucky to work with him.
A great founder with strong leadership and a clear product vision. He shared his ideas, listened to feedback, trusted the team, and communicated effectively. The venture has a bright future under his leadership.
FAQ
Questions, answered
What if the session is not useful?
You get your money back. If I am not the right person for your question, I will say so in the first ten minutes, end the call and refund you in full. And if we finish the session and you do not think it was worth it, tell me and I will refund you. No forms and no argument.
How do I work with Tomasz Felpel?
Start with a free 15-minute fit call, bringing the decision you are making and your deadline. Most engagements then begin with the Read, a five-day written pricing and product assessment. The Fix Sprint and the Buyer Package are sold only after a Read, because the price of a fix is set by what the objection costs in proceeds.
What does advisory cost?
The Read is $2,500 USD for the first three engagements and $4,500 after that. It takes five business days and delivers a defended price range, a buyer-objection list, a product and stack read, and a ninety-day fix list. The Fix Sprint is $15,000, the Buyer Package is $9,500, and a single Second Opinion call is $750. Guest lectures and workshops are priced separately, starting from $2,500 USD.
Who is advisory a fit and not a fit for?
It fits corporate and Fortune 500 leaders, founders preparing for institutional capital or a pivotal GTM decision, fund managers and allocators pricing private portfolios, and MBA students and early-career operators finding a path into venture or corp-dev. It is not a fit for full-time operating roles, unscoped requests without a defined decision or deliverable, pure software implementation without strategy or valuation context, or media interview requests.
Limited capacity
Start with a discovery call
Tell me the decision you're facing. I'll tell you honestly if I'm the right person, or point you to Ventures if a company is the better front door.
Book a call Email an enquiry ↗Typical response within 48 hours. Paid sessions carry a full first-10-minutes refund if I'm not the right fit.