Build Different
Advisory for founders who refuse to build by someone else's playbook.
A clear path to a profitable, purposeful business. Built around you.
Authority Magazine
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Most Mistakes Don't Look Like Mistakes
Not at first, anyway. They look like good ideas. Reasonable assumptions. Opportunities that seem too good to pass up. The problem is what’s underneath them.
Blind spots. Unexamined tradeoffs. Decisions made too quickly, or carried forward longer than they should be. By the time those show up clearly most founders have already invested valuable time, capital, and energy.
That's why I created Build Different.
The Build Different Method
Building a business isn’t just about momentum. It’s about direction.
I advise founders and early-stage entrepreneurs on what’s worth building, and what isn’t, so they can make better decisions from the start.
Sometimes that means refining a business idea. Sometimes it means simplifying a strategy. And sometimes it means recognizing that what you're pursuing isn't worth building in the first place.
That means looking at how you're evaluating your idea before you commit, where your time and capital are actually going, the assumptions quietly driving your decisions, and the risks that won't show up until later — when they're much harder to fix.
This isn't about doing more. It's about making better decisions early, so your business has a real chance to work.
How I Think
Most problems don't start where they show up. They start earlier — in decisions that felt small at the time. A positioning choice. A tradeoff. Something that didn't get questioned closely enough.
I've spent years working with businesses at the point where those decisions become visible and expensive — across brand strategy, communications, and crisis work in financial services, technology, and high-growth companies.
That changes how you look at the beginning.
Who I Work With
You might be starting your first business. You might be refining something that already exists. Or you might be at an inflection point where the next decision feels heavier than the ones before it.
Whatever the stage, the common thread is the same — you want to build something that lasts, not just something that makes a splashy entrance.
Startup Strategy & Founder Advisory Services
Most founders don't fail because they lack effort. They fail because early decisions are made without enough clarity, structure, or perspective.
This is where that changes.
Evaluate your idea before you commit time, energy, and capital
Identify the assumptions and blind spots driving your decisions
Simplify your strategy so it's actually executable
Understand the risks that don't show up until later — and plan for them early
Build a business that's profitable, sustainable, and worth the effort
How I Work
I keep my advisory practice intentionally small.
Most founders start with a single session — a focused conversation around a specific decision, idea, or direction. From there, we decide together whether a longer engagement makes sense.
If there's a fit, I work with a small number of founders on an ongoing basis as a strategic advisor.
Building a business will always involve risk. The goal isn't to eliminate it — it's to understand which risks are worth taking, and which ones you're carrying without realizing it.
If you're facing a decision that matters, it's worth getting a clear perspective before you commit.
Hello. I'm Rebecca.
Your trusted advisor for the moments that matter most.
I'm a strategic consultant, executive advisor, and trusted sounding board for leaders navigating critical inflection points. Over the past 20 years, I’ve guided founders, CEOs, and senior teams through brand evolutions, leadership shifts, and reputational challenges with clarity, discretion, and sensitivity.
What Makes My Work Different:
A rare blend of strategic insight and intuitive perspective, rooted in global brand experience.
Known for earning instant trust and offering candid feedback others won’t.
Expertise across brand positioning, growth strategies, executive visibility, crisis communications and reputational repair.
Deep commitment to your growth, your people, and your peace of mind.
A little more about me...
I’ve climbed the corporate ladder and started again as an entrepreneur. I know how it feels to be a senior leader juggling motherhood, identify shifts, success, life. And I know how it feels to wake up each day inspired by the endless possibility - and responsibility - of building your own business.
I hold an MBA in global marketing and a BA from Vanderbilt University, built my career in high-stakes boardrooms managing global brands, and spent years refining strategies rooted in data and the pursuit of ROI.
But I’ve always trusted my intuition just as much. I believe the best decisions happen where analysis meets instinct — where the numbers align with that quiet, inner yes.
After 15 years in corporate roles, I started my business to design my life on my own terms. For three years, I traveled the country full-time in an RV with my family because I believe success — in business and motherhood — should feel authentic, adventurous, and full of ease.
Today, I’m just as comfortable guiding a CEO through a delicate reputational pivot as I am on a hike in the mountains or spending the day on the water. I love the finer things — beautiful spaces, exceptional meals, thoughtful experiences — just as much as I cherish simplicity and nature.
It’s this lens I bring to our work together:
The strategist and the intuitive.
The ambitious executive and the present parent.
The lover of luxury and the advocate for soulful simplicity.
My blog
I'll let you in on some trade secrets and share my top tips on how to successfully promote your brand online.
”We went from having zero online presence to dominating our niche on Google. As a technophobe I never thought we could do it, but currently social media amounts for the majority of our sales.”
Nicollas Ductorn
Director of Corporate MarketingForge Inc.
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