Work.
The work
We Found Waldo
Focus · Consumer Brands
We find
what you're missing.
Every consumer brand has its Waldo. A sweet spot hidden in what you're already doing. A channel that's not delivering what's in it. A proposition that was right in 2022 and now sits beside the market.
I look at your product, your market, your customer and your model. Not to confirm what you already know, but to find what you don't see. And to rebuild it into something that sells.
My field: fashion, home & living, lifestyle. Consumer brands with retail, wholesale or D2C ambitions. 20 years on both sides of the table: Puma, PVH, G-Star, HNST, my own concept store, now Trademart.
Where it falls outside my field, I bring in the ecosystem. Specialists I put my name to. You have one point of contact.
The AI reality
"AI does what AI does well: thinking, data analysis, models. I do what AI can't: call the right people, make the hard choices, and actually get it sold. That's the difference."
Who this is for
Consumer brands that need to make the next move.
Founders and CEOs in fashion, home, interior and lifestyle. Companies that feel there's more in there than comes out.
Scale-ups that have grown from €0 to €5M and now need to open a new revenue stream or channel. Founders who've found their first traction and still need to build the operational backbone. Established brands between €5M and €20M, stuck in their own processes, with a proposition that was right in 2022 and now sits beside the market.
Not everyone. The right ones.
Why.
How I look
We Found Waldo
Why your growth is stalling
You know something's shifting. You just don't know what yet.
Revenue still comes in, slower than two years ago. Margins under pressure. And somewhere you know something fundamental is moving in your market that you don't have an answer to yet.
In nearly every consumer brand I've seen working over thirty years (from above, from within, and in the thick of it) I saw the same pattern. Pushing products in. Fighting for the biggest piece of the pie. And losing the end consumer somewhere along the way.
Whoever's inside the system doesn't see the system.
How that pattern plays out in scale-ups and in established brands, and what that means for the Waldo in your business: that's the full diagnosis.
Read the full diagnosis →
Not everyone. The right ones.
You don't find a Waldo in a company that's too convinced of its own correctness. Nothing changes there, and that's precisely the reason it's stagnating.
Book thirty minutes. One question: is there a Waldo in your business, and is it big enough to be worth going after. You'll know the answer within the hour.
Real.
How we work
We Found Waldo
This is not
Slides that vanish in a drawer.
A circle where we discuss feelings.
Jargon that sounds more impressive than it is.
Dutch direct.
Belgian connecting.
Direct enough to name what's really going on. Connecting enough to actually get it done.
No report. A build plan. Then move.
Four.
Four ways to work with me
We Found Waldo
Four ways.
From a pilot that lets the market decide to recurring sparring. All in the same language: that of consumer brands that need to make the next move. Scale-up or established, the work is the same, only the place where the Waldo sits differs.
What it is
We're not going to describe it. We're going to sell it. Out of our first conversation comes one hypothesis: there's revenue here. These accounts can do more. These brands want to sign. This channel has room. The Pilot tests that hypothesis where it counts: at the table, with real buyers, with real signatures. No research beside the market. Work inside the market. The proof is a by-product of selling: orders, signed intents, opened doors. Things you can count.
Examples
→ Scale-up. A €4M interiors brand whose wholesale proposition never really got sold. Five weeks later: fourteen doors visited, six first orders, and proof of the price point the market bites at.
→ Established. An organisation weighing a new unit but missing the proof. Six weeks later: twenty-five brands approached, ten signed letters of intent, square metres and rates included. The board doesn't have to judge a vision. Just count signatures.
The verdict
At the end, there's a verdict. One A4, talked through in person. The numbers against the baseline, what the market literally said, and what it's worth. Then you choose: continue on your own, build together, or stop. And yes, the outcome may be that it isn't there. You'll hear that too. Numbers included.
How it adds up
Low base, half upfront. On top, a fee per result: per signature, per order above the bar. My fee hangs on the outcome, so you won't get a pretty story. You'll get the real one. I only really earn when things get signed. And the base counts towards a Sprint if you push on.
Pilot vs Sprint
A Pilot sells what already exists. A Sprint finds and plans what doesn't yet. If the Pilot succeeds, there's something on the table your organisation can't deliver yet. Otherwise it wouldn't have stayed hidden. Then you choose who builds it.
House rule
Two Pilots at a time, maximum. And the answer may be no. My yes means something because my no exists.
What it is
Three weeks. We find your Waldo and deliver a plan you can execute yourself. A proposition that holds. A business case that adds up. A roadmap you can walk through tomorrow. Traction, not paper. You roll it out.
Examples
→ Scale-up. A founder of a lifestyle brand doing €3M, ready for a second channel. Three weeks later: validated D2C economics, first campaign live, and clarity on which 30% of the product line can carry the next phase.
→ Established. A €12M home brand watching its wholesale position erode. Three weeks later: a revised wholesale proposition, a new pricing matrix, and 5 warm-introduced meetings with retail partners.
→ Both. A fashion brand leaving money on the table in its collection. Three weeks later: which 40% of SKUs need to go, why, and tested against 3 key accounts.
The AI acceleration
AI does in three days what used to take two junior consultants a week. Data, scenarios, market mapping. The sprint isn't shorter than a classic strategy project because of it. It's equally deep, but half the time goes into what AI can't do: pick up the phone.
Who buys this
The founder who has his first traction, knows he needs to make a call, and wants to execute himself. Or the CEO of an established brand who no longer wants to lose six months to a strategy report. Both get the same thing: the thinking in three weeks, so they can do the rolling.
Benchmark
Boutiques like Prophet or Interbrand charge €30–50K for comparable scope. We deliver hands-on execution on top.
What it is
Three months. One new business unit, revenue stream or channel. From scratch to launch. Not just finding and planning. I build with you, I run in the operation, I make the first calls with you. Only when it really stands, I'm gone. Hands dirty. Skin in the game.
Examples
→ Scale-up. A founder with a strong product and a small group of first customers, ready to expand internationally. Three months later: an international proposition, first agents or distributors contracted, and the operational base to deliver what we've sold.
→ Established. A €15M fashion brand that wants to convert a wholesale position into a D2C second leg. Three months later: channel up, first campaigns running, economics validated on real numbers.
Month one · The Deep Search
Two days a week on-site. We dig deeper. We test the opportunity with your market, with customers, with my network in the sector. End of month one: go or no go. No diplomacy.
Month two · The Build
We build. Product, business model, pricing, positioning. Where needed we bring in ecosystem specialists. Branding, digital, financial: whatever it takes. End of month two: pitch-ready business case.
Month three · The Launch
We go live. First customers, first partnerships, first orders. I'm there when the real game starts. Adjusting. Pushing. And your team is at the table with me. This isn't something I throw over the wall.
Two models
Shared: €9,000/month × 3 + 12% revenue share over 24 months. My earnings sit in your result.
Fixed: €14,500/month × 3. No revenue share. Go/no-go after month one.
Unfair advantage
"I don't build business units in sectors I don't know. I build them in fashion, home and lifestyle, where I know the buyers, the retailers and the pitfalls. That's the difference between three months and three years."
What it is
A fixed external sparring partner. One day a month on-site, one call a month, unlimited Slack/WhatsApp for short questions. I'm your strategy lead without having to hire one full-time.
Who this is for
Brands that can't afford a full-time strategy lead but need one. Founders who decide alone and want someone who really knows their business.
Examples
→ Scale-up. A founder with a first team of six and plans for twelve. Needs sparring on operational decisions, hires and commercial direction, but can't carry a full CCO fee. Gets an experienced strategy voice every month that knows his numbers.
→ Established. A director of a €10M brand who has to account to his board on course changes. Gets an external second voice that's not in the organisation and therefore dares to name what's no longer said internally.
What AI changes here
Between sessions I monitor your market with AI: competitor moves, retail signals, trends in your segment. You get a strategic check-in every month that's really fed, not running on gut.
Why now
After a Pilot, Sprint or Next Level trajectory, this is the natural next step. No big new investment, but continuous access. Predictable cashflow for me, predictable advisor for you.
Diane.
Diane Steinfort
We Found Waldo
The person behind
Diane.
Steinfort
20 years on both sides of the table. At Puma, PVH, G-Star: the corporate machine. At HNST: a startup that had to reinvent everything. At Brussels International Trade Mart: a platform with 1,500 brands. And four years in my own concept store of 340m², where I had to prove my proposition every day.
Survived five reorganisations. Got to see a few brilliant CEOs up close. And a few who proved that ego is the most expensive line item that's not on the balance sheet.
Been there. Seen it. Built it. Lost it. Learned from all of it.
"The dumbest thing you can do, at any level of an organisation, is not question yourself. Political agendas are the most efficient way to waste talent and money."
That's why I choose startups, scale-ups and SMEs. No layers. No politics. Just people who want to build.
If you don't like where you are, move. You are not a tree.
Dutch by birth. Belgian by base. Direct enough to name what's really going on. Connecting enough to actually get it done.
Overview.
At a glance
We Found Waldo
At a glance.
Four ways, one philosophy: from paper to traction.
01
The Waldo Pilot
Four to six weeks. The market decides. Proof, not paper.
For those who first want to know the Waldo exists.
from€6,500+ result fee
02
The Waldo Sprint
Three weeks. Plan in hand. You execute yourself.
For founders with execution power.
investment€18,000
03a
Next Level Waldo · Shared
Three months. Plan plus execution. I build with you until it runs.
Skin in the game.
€9,000/month +12% RSover 24 months
03b
Next Level Waldo · Fixed
Three months. Plan plus execution. No revenue share.
For those who don't want to give up revenue share.
investment€14,500/month
04
The Brand Board
Recurring. One day a month + continuous access. Your external strategy lead.
For brands that keep sharpening.
investment€2,500/month
No hidden fees · No surprises · All prices excluding VAT
Next.
Contact
We Found Waldo
What's next
Time to
find your
Waldo.
You've read how we work. You've seen what we do. If you've made it here, there's something that won't let you go. A question. A doubt. An opportunity you don't want to leave on the table.
One conversation. 30 minutes. Free. No pitch. No obligation. Just to see if there's a Waldo in your business that needs finding.
You'll know the answer within the hour.
Available to a limited number of clients per quarter