Case Studies

Four engagements. Concrete outcomes.

Anonymised at the client's request, verified references available under NDA. Each case study breaks down the original challenge, our approach, and the measurable outcome. No marketing puffery, just the work.

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EA PlacementCase 01

Partner, mid-market PE firm

London, UK·Private equity·Full-time EA · 6 months ongoing

The challenge

A London-based PE partner was spending ~12 hours per week on inbox triage, travel coordination, and portfolio-company follow-ups. A domestic EA hire was quoted at £85,000 fully loaded, plus a 4-month hiring window. The partner needed support inside two weeks, not two quarters.

Our approach

0120-minute discovery call to map inbox volume, travel cadence, and portfolio-company touchpoints
02Shortlist of 3 vetted EAs delivered in 48 hours, each with a recorded 90-minute simulation
03Selected EA had 4 years' experience at a Nairobi-based consulting firm and prior exposure to deal-flow documentation
04Two-week monitored ramp: weekly check-ins from a dedicated success manager, daily standups with the partner's chief of staff
05Quarterly access audit, the EA only has access to the partner's inbox and travel tool, never the deal room

Outcomes

12h → 2h

Weekly time recovered for the partner

62%

Lower cost than the UK hire quote

2 weeks

From first call to fully onboarded

“Three months in, my PrimeStart Consultant EA runs my inbox and travel better than my last in-office EA at half the cost. The timezone overlap with London is genuinely seamless.”

Partner, mid-market PE firm · London

Local MarketCase 02

Head of Market Entry, FMCG

Series C consumer brand · Nairobi fieldwork·Consumer goods·6 focus groups + 12 depth interviews · 3 weeks

The challenge

A Series C FMCG brand was preparing to launch three SKUs in Kenya. Their internal research team had run a desk study but lacked on-the-ground signal: would urban Nairobi consumers actually pay a 20% premium for the brand's positioning? The team needed qualitative evidence before committing a $1.2M launch budget.

Our approach

0120-minute brief intake to define research question, respondent profile, and decision criteria
02Methodology proposed within one business day: 4 focus groups in Nairobi (Westlands, Kasarani, Langata, Embakasi) + 2 in Mombasa, plus 12 depth interviews with retail trade
03Recruited respondents across income bands (SEC A-C) and shopping channels (modern trade, traditional trade, e-commerce)
04Bilingual moderation in English and Swahili; all sessions recorded and transcribed
05Thematic synthesis delivered in 7 days, including a recommendation to revise the SKU mix for the Kenyan market

Outcomes

Respondents across 6 focus groups + 12 IDIs

3 weeks

From brief to executive report

10x

ROI on the engagement vs. avoided misfire

“The findings changed our SKU mix, that alone paid for the engagement ten times over. PrimeStart Consultant's moderators understood Western research norms without us having to explain them.”

Head of Market Entry, FMCG · Series C consumer brand

EA PlacementCase 03

Founder, B2B SaaS

San Francisco, US·SaaS & technology·Full-time EA · 11 months ongoing

The challenge

A solo founder running a $4M ARR SaaS was drowning in investor reporting, customer success escalations, and conference logistics. He had burned through two US-based freelance VAs in 9 months, both ghosted within weeks. He needed someone vetted, managed, and accountable, not another marketplace gamble.

Our approach

01Discovery call focused on tool stack (Notion, Linear, HubSpot, Chili Piper) and working hours (PT, 7am-11am overlap)
02Shortlist included one EA with prior SaaS founder-support experience and another with HubSpot admin certification
03Recorded simulation reviewed by the founder before the interview, he chose the candidate without a live interview
04Success manager runs monthly check-ins; the EA has a documented escalation path if the founder goes dark for >48h
05Quarterly performance review tied to a simple scorecard: inbox SLA, calendar accuracy, founder NPS

Outcomes

Daily coverage overlap with PT

11 mo

EA tenure (vs. 9-week average for marketplace VAs)

Replacement fees over the engagement

“What sold me was the vetting. I got to watch the recorded simulation of my EA triaging a deliberately messy inbox. That level of transparency is unheard of. She's been with me eleven months.”

Founder, B2B SaaS · San Francisco

BothCase 04

General Partner, family office

Geneva, Switzerland·Family office · cross-border·Executive desk retainer · 14 months ongoing

The challenge

A Geneva-based single-family office was diligencing three Kenyan assets: a logistics company, an agribusiness, and a fintech. They needed (a) a senior EA for the GP, (b) primary research on each target's market position, and (c) on-the-ground operational support for site visits. Hiring three vendors was a non-starter.

Our approach

01Scoped a single 'executive desk' retainer covering EA placement, embedded research capacity, and local-agent services
02Senior EA placed with the GP within 10 days; simultaneously, a research team began market landscaping for each of the three targets
03Local-agent support arranged for two site-visit trips: logistics depots in Mombasa, agribusiness operations in Eldoret, fintech HQ in Nairobi
04Business-registration pre-work completed in parallel so the family office could incorporate a Kenyan holdco if any deal closed
05Monthly retainer includes 40h EA coverage, 20h research capacity, and on-call agent support

Outcomes

1 vendor

Replaced what would have been 3 separate hires

10 days

From brief to EA onboarded

3 / 3

Targets diligenced with primary research

“We needed a senior EA, primary research, and on-the-ground operational support, all under one NDA, one invoice, one accountable team. PrimeStart Consultant delivered all three without us having to coordinate vendors.”

General Partner, single-family office · Geneva

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