As a COO for over a decade, I've seen countless challenges in buying and selling of products and services. I've noticed two big issues: 1. Businesses are too fixated on external opinions, which can vary in value. 2. Teams struggle to find the right external input sources to help their organisation grow. The first issue can become overwhelming and hinder quality control. While external input is valuable, it's a challenge if not executed well. The second issue shows that people often just need guidance and a chance to test their ideas, instead of a drawn-out consulting service. When the cost-value ratio for advice is off, it causes businesses to lose faith in professional support; or overspend for value. We're not saying there's no place for long engagements, but they should be chosen based on need, not as a default. Team members need access to diverse advice to grow and help the organisation achieve its goals. Many lack the connections to do this, and even those who do often only have contacts in their own industry. Research shows that UK small and medium sized enterprises face a significant issue, with a £60bn and growing market suffering up to 20% (or £12bn) in loss due to mistimed, disproportionate, or poor advice. Counsl aims to tackle this issue in the UK and the US (where annual spend is £250bn) by creating a single platform for advice and services. We want to make them available and proportionate so businesses can get what they need, when they need it, from start to success.

Congrats on the launch! I've needed a service like this myself when working on a previous startup. As this is a SaaS business could you share a bit about your development experiences? Was there any particular feature that proved challenging to develop?