Strategy built for owners for the growth stage that doesn’t come with instructions.
Stage II entrepreneurs don’t need another program. They need a strategist who does the hard work: deep engagement, sustained effort, and a willingness to go where other advisors stop.
Why I started Synnovatia
I started Synnovatia because I believe small business owners deserve the same quality of strategic thinking that Fortune 500 companies take for granted, and I wanted to do something about it.
What I’ve found over 25+ years of working with Stage II entrepreneurs (business owners navigating roughly $250K–$4M in revenue) is that the problem is rarely what it looks like on the surface. There’s almost always a gap between the symptom you’re experiencing and the core issue driving it. That’s exactly what I built Synnovatia to address.
I’m passionate about two things: small business and science-based performance strategies. Together, they let us build an approach that goes beyond your business goals to how you actually operate, because the two are more connected than most people realize.
And I believe in walking the talk. I test and iterate strategies in my own business. When something stops working, I stop. When something new is worth trying, I try it. My clients deserve an advisor who models the same adaptability she coaches.
Jackie gave me clarity I didn’t have. She made my goals feel achievable, not just aspirational.Anne Laguzza The Works Consulting Client since 2003
Strategic thinking plus what it actually takes to achieve it.
The View You Can’t Get From Inside
Clarity that only comes from outside
When you’re running a growing business, you are too close to see it clearly. Clients consistently describe this as the turning point: finally seeing their situation from the outside. That shift in perspective is what makes everything else actionable.
The Peer Dynamic That Makes It Work
A fellow business owner, not a detached expert
The advice carries weight because it’s grounded in lived experience — my own years running a business, plus years working with owners across industries and stages. Clients tell me I’m someone who understands their business.
The Persistence That Delivers Results
Sleeves rolled up, not pom-poms raised
I’m encouraging and supportive, but that’s not the same as cheerleading. I engage with the actual problem, work through it collaboratively, and deliver something concrete. That persistence is what clients point to as fundamentally different from other advisors they’ve worked with.
The Emotional Intelligence That Changes the Work
Space for what’s actually happening
Stage II is isolating. You carry things you can’t say to your team, your family, or your competitors. I hold space for the ache and frustration of building a business because the emotional reality of ownership is part of the strategic reality, not separate from it.
The Methodology That Sharpens the Intuition
Science-based strategy that makes instinct more precise
Intuition matters, but it’s most powerful when it’s grounded in science. I use evidence-based strategy to uncover what’s actually driving the problem, not just what’s visible on the surface. That rigor is what turns a good instinct into a permanent solution.
The Longevity That Proves the Value
Clients who stay, some for over a decade
The length of a relationship is its own data point. Clients who have worked with me since 2000, 2011, and 2014 aren’t renewing a contract. They’re continuing a relationship that proves its value repeatedly over time. That’s the proof I’m most proud of.
My approach
The Messy Middle is a specific place: past early-stage chaos, but well short of the plateau of a mature business. It’s the stage where the strategies that got you here aren’t getting you there: growth creates complexity faster than you can manage it, and you’re simultaneously too big to operate intuitively and too small to hire the talent that would solve it.
I don’t package clients into programs. I listen, ask different questions, and together we develop options calibrated to where you actually are and what’s achievable for you to implement, not where a curriculum assumes you should be.
And I keep thinking about your problems between sessions. When our appointment ends, I may physically clock out, but I don’t mentally clock out, and that’s often when the real problem-solving happens.
Credentials & Background
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Diploma, Corporate Coach University & Coach UniversityProfessional coach training program
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Faculty, Corporate Coach University & Coach UniversityTaught small business development and marketing
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Certification, Management Development for Entrepreneurs (MDE)UCLA Anderson School of Business
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Founder, Mastermind for the Messy Middle & Seven Figure ForumTwo curated peer groups for Stage II entrepreneurs, intentionally matched for perspective and relatability
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Published Author and Small Business ContributorRegular contributor to publications serving entrepreneurs and small business owners
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Student, Cultural AnthropologyCommitted to continuous learning because it’s hard to ask clients to grow if I’m not doing the same
What clients say,
in their own words.
I’ve returned to Jackie for one consistent reason: wise counsel paired with the right questions. She provides guidance rooted in a genuine understanding of what I was navigating.
Sandra Martinez Roe
Hello Earth Club
Client since 2011
Jackie walks the talk. She balances kindness with assertiveness in a way that’s distinctly her, not a technique. You feel like she has your back, even when she’s pushing you toward something uncomfortable.
Christina Carlson
Unstuck Leadership Consulting
Client since 2018
Start Here
Let’s have a real conversation.
Just an honest look at where you are and what’s actually getting in the way of your next stage of growth.
Start the Conversation Explore the Messy Middle