Fortitude Consulting
We help businesses harness the full power of AI, automation, and community-driven growth — drawing directly from our own experience building and operating technology companies at scale.
Why We Consult
Most consulting firms advise from the outside. We advise from the inside.
Fortitude Consulting exists because the businesses we have built, operated, and scaled have given us a depth of practical knowledge that is genuinely rare. We do not theorise about AI strategy — we have deployed AI across every layer of our own operations. We do not speculate about community-driven growth — we have built communities with tens of thousands of engaged members. We do not hypothesise about subscription economics — we have designed, optimised, and operated subscription businesses generating millions in recurring revenue.
When we consult, we bring that operational experience to our clients. Every recommendation we make has been tested, refined, and proven inside our own portfolio. We know what works because we have done it ourselves — not because we read about it in a case study.
This is what separates Fortitude Consulting from conventional advisory firms. We are operators first, consultants second. And that distinction matters, because the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it is where most strategies fail.
We have seen what happens when businesses get AI right — and what happens when they get it wrong. We have learned which automation investments deliver ten-times returns and which become expensive distractions. We have built subscription models that compound and watched others collapse. We have grown communities that transformed businesses and diagnosed why others never gained traction. This experience — earned over years and across multiple industries — is what we bring to every engagement.
AI Strategy & Implementation
The question is no longer whether your business should use AI. The question is whether your business will survive if it doesn't.
We help organisations move beyond pilot projects and proof-of-concepts to full-scale AI integration across their operations. This includes:
AI content systems.
We design and implement AI-powered content generation pipelines that produce high-quality, brand-consistent content at scale — across articles, reports, newsletters, social media, and more. Our systems combine large language models with editorial guardrails, brand voice calibration, and human review processes that ensure quality without sacrificing speed. We have built these systems for our own publishing brands and understand the nuances that determine whether AI content enhances or diminishes a brand.
AI-powered personalisation.
We build systems that serve individualised experiences to every user, adapting content, recommendations, and communications based on behaviour, preferences, and context. Personalisation is not a luxury feature — it is a core driver of engagement, retention, and lifetime value. We have deployed personalisation systems that increase engagement metrics by 40% or more, and we understand the data infrastructure, model design, and testing frameworks required to achieve those results.
AI operations and workflow automation.
We help businesses identify and automate the repetitive, high-volume tasks that consume disproportionate time and resource — from data entry and reporting to customer service triage and content moderation. Our approach focuses on practical, measurable impact rather than speculative transformation. We start with the processes that will deliver the fastest return and build from there.
AI governance and risk.
We advise on the practical realities of deploying AI responsibly — including data privacy, bias mitigation, regulatory compliance, and the organisational change management that successful AI adoption requires. AI implementation is not purely a technical challenge. It is an organisational one, and we help businesses navigate the human side of the transformation as carefully as the technical side.
AI tool selection and architecture.
The AI landscape is vast and evolving rapidly. We help businesses cut through the noise, evaluate tools and platforms on their genuine merits, and design architectures that are flexible enough to evolve as the technology matures — without locking into vendors or approaches that will become obsolete.
Automation & Systems Design
Automation is not about replacing people. It is about freeing them to do the work that actually matters.
We design and implement automation systems that allow businesses to operate at dramatically greater scale without proportional increases in headcount or cost. Our approach is pragmatic and results-driven:
Process automation.
We map existing workflows, identify high-impact automation opportunities, and build systems that reduce manual effort while improving consistency and speed. This includes everything from content publishing workflows to customer onboarding sequences to financial reporting pipelines. We have automated processes across our own operations that previously required teams of people and now run with minimal human oversight.
Agent-based automation.
We design and deploy AI agents — autonomous systems that can execute multi-step tasks, make contextual decisions, and interact with multiple tools and platforms without human intervention. This is the next frontier of operational efficiency, and we are at its leading edge. Our agents handle everything from content research and drafting to data analysis and customer communication, operating twenty-four hours a day with consistency that human teams cannot match.
Integration architecture.
We connect disparate tools, platforms, and data sources into unified automated workflows, eliminating the manual data transfer and reconciliation that drains productivity in most organisations. Modern businesses run on dozens of tools. When those tools do not communicate with each other, the gaps between them are filled by human labour. We close those gaps.
Monitoring and optimisation.
Automation is not a set-and-forget exercise. We build monitoring systems that track performance, identify failures, and enable continuous improvement of automated processes over time. Every automated system we build includes comprehensive logging, alerting, and analytics — because automation that fails silently is worse than no automation at all.
Data & Analytics
Data is only valuable if it changes decisions. We help businesses build the systems, capabilities, and culture needed to become genuinely data-driven.
Data strategy.
We help organisations define what data matters, how to collect it, and how to structure it for analysis. Most businesses are data-rich and insight-poor — they collect enormous volumes of data but lack the infrastructure, processes, and skills to extract meaningful insights from it. We close that gap with practical, implementable data strategies that deliver results within weeks, not months.
Analytics infrastructure.
We design and implement analytics systems that provide real-time visibility into business performance — from customer acquisition and retention metrics to content performance and revenue attribution. We work with all major analytics platforms and can design custom solutions where off-the-shelf tools fall short.
Predictive modelling.
We build AI models that forecast outcomes, identify trends, and surface opportunities that traditional analysis would miss. Our models are designed for practical application, not academic elegance — they must be accurate, interpretable, and actionable. We have built predictive models across sports, consumer behaviour, content performance, and subscription economics, and we bring that cross-domain expertise to every client engagement.
Data-driven content.
We help publishers and content businesses use data to inform editorial strategy — identifying what audiences want, when they want it, and how to deliver it in formats that maximise engagement and value. Content decisions should be informed by data, not governed by it — and we help businesses find that balance.
Content Strategy & Production
Content remains one of the most powerful tools for building audiences, establishing authority, and driving organic growth. But the content landscape is changing faster than most organisations can adapt.
AI-augmented editorial.
We help content teams integrate AI tools into their workflows — not to replace editorial judgment, but to amplify it. This includes AI-assisted research, drafting, editing, optimisation, and distribution. We have trained editorial teams across our own portfolio to work effectively alongside AI, and we understand the cultural and process changes required to make this transition successful.
Content architecture.
We design content systems that are built for scale — including taxonomies, tagging frameworks, content models, and publishing workflows that allow organisations to produce more content, in more formats, across more channels, without proportional increases in complexity or cost. Poor content architecture is one of the most common barriers to scaling content operations, and it is one we have solved repeatedly.
SEO and organic growth.
We develop search strategies that account for the evolving landscape of AI-powered search, zero-click results, and shifting user behaviour. Our approach focuses on building topical authority and direct audience relationships rather than chasing algorithm updates. We have navigated multiple major search algorithm shifts across our own portfolio and understand how to build organic traffic strategies that are resilient to disruption.
Content repurposing and distribution.
We design systems that extract maximum value from every piece of content — repurposing across formats (articles, newsletters, social posts, video scripts, podcasts) and distributing through owned, earned, and paid channels. Most businesses dramatically underutilise the content they produce. We help them multiply the return on every piece.
Community Building & Engagement
In a world where AI can generate unlimited content, the businesses that will win are those that build communities that AI cannot replicate.
Community strategy.
We help businesses define their community vision — who the community serves, what value it creates, how it integrates with the broader product and business model, and how success will be measured. Community cannot be an afterthought bolted onto an existing product. It must be designed intentionally, with clear goals and a clear understanding of why members will participate.
Platform selection and design.
We advise on the technology and design choices that support thriving communities — from platform selection (forums, membership sites, social features, comment systems) to UX design, moderation frameworks, and engagement mechanics. We have evaluated and deployed multiple community platforms across our own portfolio and understand the trade-offs that each involves.
Community-led growth.
We design strategies that turn community members into advocates, contributors, and growth drivers — through user-generated content, referral mechanics, peer-to-peer support, and social proof systems. The most powerful growth engine in digital business is a community that grows itself — and we know how to build the conditions for that to happen.
Moderation and trust.
We design and implement moderation systems that combine AI automation with human judgment to maintain safe, high-quality community environments at scale. Trust is the foundation of any community. Without effective moderation, even the most promising community will degrade into noise. We take this seriously and bring both technical tools and operational frameworks to ensure it is done well.
Monetisation & Subscription Strategy
We believe the most valuable businesses are those with direct, recurring revenue relationships with their customers. We help businesses design and optimise these models.
Subscription model design.
We help businesses transition from advertising-dependent or transaction-based models to subscription and membership revenue. This includes pricing strategy, tier design, value proposition development, and paywall optimisation. We have designed subscription models across multiple verticals and understand the psychology, economics, and mechanics that determine whether a subscription business thrives or struggles.
Conversion optimisation.
We analyse and optimise every stage of the conversion funnel — from initial awareness through trial activation to long-term retention. Our approach is data-driven, iterative, and focused on measurable improvement. We have optimised conversion funnels that deliver trial-to-paid rates significantly above industry benchmarks, and we apply the same rigour to our client engagements.
Trial mechanics.
We design free trial experiences that maximise conversion to paid subscriptions, drawing on extensive operational data and proven frameworks for trial-to-paid conversion. The design of a free trial — its length, its constraints, its onboarding experience, and its payment mechanics — is one of the single most impactful decisions in subscription business design. We have tested these decisions exhaustively and bring that knowledge to every engagement.
Retention and lifetime value.
Acquisition is expensive. Retention is where profit lives. We help businesses reduce churn, increase engagement, and maximise customer lifetime value through data-driven retention strategies. We have operated subscription businesses long enough to understand that the real economics of recurring revenue only become clear when you obsess about what happens after the first payment — not before it.
Revenue diversification.
We advise on complementary revenue streams — including premium tiers, events, partnerships, licensing, and ancillary products — that increase total revenue per customer while deepening engagement.
How We Work
We are not a traditional consulting firm. We do not produce hundred-page strategy decks that gather dust on a shelf. We work alongside our clients to design, build, and implement real systems that deliver measurable results.
Discovery and diagnosis
We begin every engagement with a rigorous assessment of the current state — technology, processes, team capabilities, competitive position, and market dynamics. We ask hard questions and give honest answers. If we believe the problem is different from the one you think you have, we will tell you.
Strategy and design
We develop a clear, actionable plan that identifies the highest-impact opportunities and defines the specific systems, processes, and capabilities needed to capture them. Our strategies are not theoretical frameworks — they are implementation roadmaps with clear priorities, timelines, and success metrics.
Implementation support
We do not hand over a strategy and walk away. We work alongside our clients to implement — building systems, configuring tools, training teams, and solving the practical problems that inevitably arise during execution. Implementation is where strategies succeed or fail, and we stay involved through this critical phase.
Ongoing partnership
For clients who want sustained support, we offer ongoing advisory relationships that provide continued strategic guidance, technical support, and performance optimisation. Many of our most successful engagements are long-term partnerships where we work alongside clients through multiple phases of growth and transformation.
Who We Work With
We work with a range of clients, from established media companies and digital publishers to technology startups and ambitious entrepreneurs. Our clients typically share a few characteristics:
They recognise that AI is not a trend to observe but a fundamental shift to embrace. They understand that community and audience ownership are becoming essential competitive advantages. They are prepared to invest in building systems and capabilities that compound over time. And they value practical, experience-based advice over theoretical frameworks.
We are not the right fit for every business. If you are looking for a large team of junior consultants producing slide decks, you will be better served elsewhere. If you are looking for experienced operators who will work directly with your leadership team to solve real problems and build real systems, we should talk.
Get Started
To discuss how Fortitude Consulting can support your business, please contact us.
We begin every potential engagement with an initial conversation to understand your challenges, objectives, and context. There is no obligation, and we will be straightforward about whether we believe we can add meaningful value. Our time is limited, so we are selective — but when we engage, we engage fully.