Year One at Wildly Open: Turning Plans into Strategic Direction
Our first year at Wildly Open was spent inside a familiar tension. Teams were doing meaningful work, yet something felt just out of reach. Goals existed, but trade-offs were rarely named. Plans moved forward, but priorities shifted under pressure. Teams were busy, capable, and committed, but not always confident they were heading in the right direction. Clients came to us at that moment, not to start over, but to bring strategic clarity and focus to what they were already building. Together, we shaped clear direction, named what truly mattered, and translated strategy into choices teams could act on.
As the year unfolded, one lesson became clear. “Clarity is not what you hand people. It is what you build with them. When that happens, direction becomes obvious and action becomes easier.” — Courtney Babott, Co-founder, Wildly Open
We had the privilege of working across sectors and continents. Global scientific publishing. Philanthropy in the Bow Valley. Open science meetings in Banff and San Diego. Shaping Tourism and HR tech products in Alberta. Through all of it, we saw the same pattern. Teams were doing meaningful work. What they needed was not reinvention but a clearer wedge product with clear delivery. The wedge is the distinct core of their value, the part of the work that sets them apart and has the potential to expand into growth. Once that distinctness was named, the story sharpened, decisions aligned, and the future became something they can build toward, not something inherited from the past.
Finding and strengthening wedge products with our partners
In early stage companies, clarifying down to your wedge product is transformative. Our work with Curvenote made that clear. The team already had a powerful product, a strong mission, and deep expertise. Together we sharpened the story they were already living. We helped name their wedge, refine their category, and build the early adopter strategy that matched their ambition. It was not about changing who they were. It was about elevating what made them distinct. That strategic clarity became the jumping off point for our trusted collaborators Venture Web and Lasagna Studios to design a website and brand with the lift and flexibility needed for the next stage of growth. To see how this work is shaping Curvenote’s next chapter, explore their evolving story and platform.
“Wildly Open helped us articulate the value we always knew was there but could never quite define in a way that resonated internally and with customers. The clarity they brought changed how we talk, plan, and how we see our future.”
— Rowan Cockett, CEO, Curvenote
Strategy lives in real conversations
Our work with the Continuous Science Foundation reinforced that strategy is not static. It emerges in dialogue, trust building, and shared meaning. CSF brought together researchers, founders, funders, and tool builders around the future of scientific communication. Designing the facilitation with our partner and collaborator Jason Thompson brought new structure and depth to the convening. Thoughtful facilitation became strategic infrastructure for CSF. It created the conditions where shared direction became a driving force and a movement required to embed change in an industry. We helped lead the group to co-design and name the movement for a new paradigm for open science.
Community as strategic guidance
Working with the Banff Canmore Foundation grounded our year. Their efforts in mental health, wildfire relief, and community storytelling reminded us that strategy lives in people’s real experiences, not in theoretical models. These teams were already leading with purpose. Our role was to help make their impact visible through clear stories, aligned priorities, and confident messages, all in service of their new goal to grow their endowment to 25 million dollars. Community became both context and compass.
The people who shaped our first year
This year was built by people who trusted us with their ideas, their uncertainties, and their ambitions. While we have only shared a few of the meaningful projects and collaborators we worked with, we are grateful to all of them. And our families, who carried the early mornings, the travel, and the beautiful chaos of building something new.
“This year reminded me that people do their best work when they feel supported and seen. That is what Wildly Open is becoming. A place where teams find clarity and feel steady enough to make bold moves.”
— Heather Szpecht, Co-Founder, Wildly Open