Questions,
answered.

Taylor Sicard Consulting works with two types of clients: established direct-to-consumer brands that are scaling, and software companies and apps operating within the Shopify ecosystem. The work spans strategy, organizational design, go-to-market, and advisory, depending on what a client needs to move faster.

On the brand side, clients are usually DTC companies doing $5M or more in revenue that are hitting growth or operational ceilings. On the SaaS and ecosystem side, clients include Shopify app founders, solution partners, and platform businesses looking for strategic guidance from someone who has been in the ecosystem since its early days. App and SaaS founders can start with Shopify app growth advisory.

Taylor was one of Shopify's early employees, where he helped build and scale the Partner Program, and has spent the years since working with, investing in, and advising DTC brands and commerce software companies. That background includes multiple SaaS companies scaled to over $100M in ARR and consumer brands from single-digit millions to hundreds of millions in revenue. It also includes one of the world's largest consumer brands, a case study that has never cleared their legal team but one I'm able to reference in broad terms. Because that experience spans operator, investor, and advisor roles, the guidance rests on what has worked in practice.

Yes, but selectively and on a case-by-case basis. Whether it makes sense depends on bandwidth, existing engagements, and market conditions. If you're looking for a formal board seat or advisory arrangement, include that in your inquiry and we can discuss fit.

Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute scoping call to understand what you're trying to solve and what a good outcome looks like. If there is a fit, you can start with The Read to test it: two weeks, a fixed fee, and a written read of the business across six lenses. Or you can go straight to one of three monthly retainers (Consulting, Advisory, or Partner), depending on how close you need me. All three, with fees and terms, are published at taylorsicard.com/engagements. If you want a head start on the scoping call, the free calculators cover the numbers I usually ask about first.

Retainer, at one of three tiers. Consulting runs a six-month minimum, Advisory a twelve-month term, and Partner a six-month minimum with a quarterly scope review. The one project-shaped piece of work is The Read, an optional fixed-fee diagnostic for testing the fit first, which you can also buy on its own with no further commitment.

Advisory engagements run twelve months and renew for twelve at a time; Consulting and Partner carry a six-month minimum. After the minimum, either side can end the engagement on sixty days' written notice, and stepping down a tier is always an option before stopping. In over a decade of client work, I've never needed a refund clause, but it's there if you want it.

Fill out the inquiry form with a brief description of your situation and what you're hoping to accomplish. I review every submission personally and respond within two business days. If it sounds like a potential fit, we'll set up a free 30-minute scoping call. From there you pick a tier, or start with The Read, an optional fixed-fee diagnostic with a written output, if you want to test the fit first. Sign a tier within 30 days of the readout and that fee is credited against your first invoices.

The focus is on companies that have meaningful traction, usually brands doing $5M+ in revenue, or SaaS companies past initial product-market fit. If you're close to that threshold or have an unusual situation, reach out anyway.

Open to both. Shopify is a global platform and DTC is a global playbook. Time zone and communication preferences will factor into scoping, but geography alone isn't a barrier.

You can work with me in five ways, and I lead the work myself in all of them. The Read is the two-week, fixed-fee starting point for new founder-led clients. Three monthly retainers follow it: Consulting, a call every two weeks for founders under $5M or seed-stage software companies; Advisory, a weekly seat for consumer brands from $5M to $100M and software companies past $1M ARR; and Partner, two calls a week, a seat in your leadership meetings, and hands-on work on fundraising, acquisitions, and exits. Enterprise Engagements are phased, fixed-fee statements of work under your MSA, for Fortune 500 brands, large retailers, and software companies. Fees and terms for all five are published at taylorsicard.com/engagements.

Yes, and I tell you who before it happens. I lead every engagement and I am the person you deal with; on most work I am also the only person on it. Where a problem needs a specialist, I bring in someone from a network of operators I met while running businesses of my own: people who built the billing rails inside Shopify, an executive who has taken a consumer company public, the FP&A lead who models consumer roll-ups for private equity buyers. These are peers and founders with their own operating records, not subcontracted labour. On Enterprise Engagements an associate is named in the statement of work before the phase starts. The retainer tiers are different: the network usually shows up as verification rather than hands, so the answer you get has been checked against someone who has already solved it inside a bigger business.

I know a number of venture groups well and often help with diligence from the operator side. For a raise, I can help you sharpen your narrative, evaluate your positioning relative to investors, and pressure-test your model. I don't operate as a placement agent, but I can help you prepare and make introductions where there's a real fit.

Yes. That is the Partner tier: two calls a week, a seat in your leadership meetings, and hands on the work, including fundraising, acquisitions, and exits. It is the seat people mean when they ask for a fractional CRO or a paid co-founder, and it runs from $20,000 a month with a six-month minimum.

Yes, selectively. Topics include DTC growth strategy, the Shopify ecosystem, and building consumer software companies. Reach out via the speaking inquiry form with the event details.

Pricing is published, in US dollars. The Read is $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 depending on the size of the business. At Taylor Sicard Consulting, Consulting starts at $6,000 a month, Advisory at $10,000, and Partner at $20,000. Where you land inside a range depends on the size of the business, how many of your people I work with directly, and whether a deal is in process. The number is stated in the readout of The Read, before you commit to a tier. Full details at taylorsicard.com/engagements.

Every client starts with one. The Read is a two-week, fixed-fee diagnostic you can buy on its own, and about a third of them end there, before anyone commits to a retainer. If you sign a tier within 30 days of the readout, the fee is credited in full against your first invoices.

Results depend on the engagement, but common outcomes include increased revenue, improved profitability, and reduced mental load as an operator. I've operated and advised brands for over a decade, so the guidance comes from what it takes to move the business in practice.

The scoping call is for that, and The Read is the proof. Two weeks with your real numbers tells both of us whether the work is a fit before either side commits to a tier. There's no pressure to move forward, and I'll be candid if I don't think the engagement is the right match.