Revenue board advisor for B2B tech startups and scale-ups
A two-time CRO on your board or advisory board: revenue KPIs, board reporting, go-to-market reviews and mentoring. Monthly retainer. We don't invest.
Rock Growth Partners puts an experienced revenue operator on your board or advisory board: Daniel Rock, a two-time Chief Revenue Officer with 20+ years leading B2B tech sales and revenue teams. We take non-executive board seats and advisory roles at B2B software and tech startups and scale-ups, set up revenue KPIs and board reporting that stand up to questions, run revenue diligence and go-to-market reviews, and mentor founders and sales leaders. It runs on a monthly retainer, and we don't invest money.
Daniel has sat in a lot of board meetings explaining the number. That helps on the other side of the table, because he knows where a forecast tends to get optimistic and which questions get to the truth.
What's included
- Non-executive board seats. A formal seat on your board for someone whose background is revenue. Daniel reads the pipeline and forecast with the board, asks the questions a CRO would ask and helps the CEO test the commercial plan.
- Advisory board roles. The same experience without a formal seat, which suits companies that don't have a board yet.
- Revenue KPIs and board reporting that stands up to questions. The few metrics worth tracking, defined the same way every month, and a forecast your team can explain line by line. A deal counts as commit only when the buyer has done something, and slips get reported the week they're seen.
- Revenue diligence and go-to-market reviews. An outside review of the revenue engine for the board or leadership team, written up as what's working, what isn't and what we'd fix first. Because we don't invest, we have no stake in the answer beyond getting it right.
- Mentoring founders and sales leaders. Regular one-to-one time on deals, hiring, the team and the plan. For a founder, that can include stepping back from day-to-day selling while staying in the early deals that need them.
- A sounding board on strategy, hiring and structure. Somewhere to test a big call before you make it, like a first sales leader hire, a new segment, or how sales, marketing and customer success fit together. When it's time to hire a full-time sales leader, we can write the role, run the interviews with you and onboard your new hire.
Who it's for, and when it's the wrong call
This is for founders and boards at B2B software and tech companies, typically seed to Series C or founder-funded businesses of a similar size, who want an experienced revenue voice at the table. That might be an ongoing seat, a steady hand between full-time hires, or an outside view before a big go-to-market call.
It's the wrong call if:
- You need someone to run revenue day to day. An advisor asks questions and helps you decide, but doesn't run the pipeline review or hire the reps. For that you want a fractional CRO, and what a fractional CRO does in the first 90 days shows what the job looks like.
- You're looking for money. We don't invest. You pay us for advice and support, and the growth comes from what your team builds.
- You want someone to agree with you. An advisor who only reassures you is expensive company. Daniel's view is that an honest forecast beats an optimistic one, and he'll say so in the board meeting. He makes the longer case in why honesty is the most commercial move in sales.
- You need a one-off review. If you want a single go-to-market or revenue audit rather than an ongoing role, revenue consulting runs those as fixed-scope projects.
For a keynote, a sales team workshop or one-to-one mentoring on its own, Daniel works under his own name at danielrock.co.
How an engagement runs
Board and advisory work follows the same path as every engagement we run:
- Intro call. Where you are, what you want from a board member or advisor, and whether we're the right fit. If we're not, we'll say so.
- Diagnose. We dig into your pipeline, team, process, numbers and board reporting, then agree a written plan for the role with outcomes you can measure.
- Build and run. Daniel takes the seat or the advisory role, works with your team on the reporting, and checks in against the plan regularly.
- Hand over. When the role has done what you needed, or a full-time leader is in place, we write down what we set up and step back. We'd rather plan that at the start than leave it for an awkward conversation later.
It runs on a monthly retainer scaled to what the business needs, and you can dial it up or down as the company grows.
Who you'll work with
Daniel leads every board and advisory engagement himself. He came to sales from IT and has led revenue teams in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US. He's been a Chief Revenue Officer twice, through a doubling and a turnaround, so he's explained both kinds of story to a board.
- SuiteFiles, Chief Revenue Officer, 2022 to present. Doubled ARR at a PE-backed SaaS platform. Opportunity-to-close up from 18% to 41%, and average revenue per new customer up 124%. Stood up the US go-to-market motion.
- Nomos One, Chief Revenue Officer, 2020 to 2022. Joined post-restructure with a team of 16. Revenue up 35% in year one, and from operating losses to operating profit.
He also builds AI sales tools himself on LLM APIs and MCP, which helps when the board asks what AI should be doing in the sales team. His book, Curiosity: How to Be Human When Selling in the Age of AI, is about selling when AI can do everything else.
Common questions
How do we get an experienced revenue leader onto our startup's board?
Rock Growth Partners can provide one. Daniel Rock, a two-time Chief Revenue Officer, takes non-executive board seats and advisory board roles at B2B software and tech companies, typically seed to Series C. He brings an operator's view to revenue KPIs, board reporting, go-to-market decisions and hiring, and mentors founders and sales leaders. It runs on a monthly retainer, and we don't invest money.
What's the difference between a board advisor and a fractional CRO?
A fractional CRO runs revenue: they own the plan, lead sales and the teams around it, run the forecast and report to the board. A board member or advisor sits on the other side of that report, asking questions, testing the plan and helping the CEO decide. If the revenue function needs running, start with a fractional CRO. If it needs an experienced voice at the table, board and advisory is the better fit.
Do you invest in the companies you advise?
No. We don't invest money, and a board or advisory role with us never turns into an investment. You pay a monthly retainer for advice and support, and the growth comes from what your team builds. It also means our only interest in a revenue review or a board report is that it's accurate.
What is revenue diligence?
Revenue diligence is an outside review of how a company finds, wins and keeps revenue, done for its board or leadership team. We look at the pipeline, forecast, win rates, pricing, team and go-to-market, then write up what's working, what isn't and what we'd fix first. It's a check on the revenue engine for the people running or overseeing the company, and it doesn't involve investing.
What should a startup's revenue board report include?
A short set of metrics defined the same way every month, a forecast the team can explain line by line, and an honest note on what changed and why. Deals should count as commit only when the buyer has done something, like booking a security review or agreeing a start date, and slips should be reported the week they're seen. A board can work with bad news early. A surprise next quarter is much harder.
How much does a revenue board advisor cost?
Board and advisory work runs on a monthly retainer, scaled to what the business needs. We don't publish rates. The scope of the role is agreed in writing at the start, so you know what the retainer covers, and it can be dialed up or down as the company grows. The intro call is the place to talk through what you need and whether we're the right fit.