Forum for Impact — Confidential
What Should
FFI Actually Be?
FFI Actually Be?
A Strategic Identity Questionnaire for Michael Meehan
This is not a survey. It is the most important strategic conversation FFI has had in six years — asked in writing so the answers can be precise. Every question forces a choice or a ranking. There are no right answers. There are only honest ones. The answers to these 35 questions will determine what FFI becomes, what it stops being, and where the next $5M in revenue comes from.
How to approach this
Answer quickly. Your first instinct is more useful than a considered answer designed to please everyone. This is a conversation with yourself, not a board presentation.
Do not hedge. Every question is designed to surface a choice. If a question feels uncomfortable, that discomfort is the point. Sit with it and answer anyway.
No "both" or "it depends." If a question offers you A or B, choose one. You can add a note — but you must choose.
Forum for Impact
Question 0 of 35
Part One — Identity
1
Complete this sentence honestly: In five years, when someone describes what FFI is at a dinner party, the first word they use is ___________.
This surfaces Michael's identity instinct — not his aspiration, his instinct. The answer reveals whether FFI is, in his mind, a consulting firm, a network, a platform, a movement, or something else entirely.
2
PwC leads with advisory and consulting. It convenes, publishes, and runs programmes — but those are in service of the advisory core. Could FFI operate the same way: advisory first, everything else in service of that? Choose one:
This is the central identity question of this entire exercise. The answer determines the entire commercial architecture, website, and hiring plan.
3
Rank these five descriptions of FFI from most accurate (1) to least accurate (5) — as it should be, not as it currently is:
Forces a hierarchy. Many founders say "all of these" — but the order reveals the true identity. The #1 answer is the one that should lead the website hero.
A trusted advisor to sovereign funds, governments, and family offices navigating cross-border impact capital
A convening platform that creates the conditions for impact investment decisions that would not happen elsewhere
A capital mobilization engine that builds and manages structured investment programmes
A global impact investing community of 1,000+ principals across 20+ countries
An intelligence and thought leadership platform that publishes the most credible data on impact capital flows
4
Michael has historically been uncomfortable charging for advice and connections because it felt like profiting from goodwill. On a scale of 1–10, how comfortable are you today — right now — with FFI's primary income coming from advisory fees charged to sovereign funds, governments, and family offices? (1 = still deeply uncomfortable, 10 = completely at ease)
This is the most important question in the questionnaire. Every commercial recommendation in the blueprint depends on the honest answer. If the number is below 7, the entire advisory strategy needs a different framing before it can be executed.
1 — Deeply uncomfortable
10 — Completely at ease
5
FFI has inadvertently built five distinct businesses. You can only properly resource and lead two of them. Which two do you choose?
Forces a ruthless prioritization. Whatever is not chosen here should either be handed to a partner, run by a programme director, or retired. This question reveals what Michael is actually willing to give his energy to.
Select exactly two.
6
If FFI could only have one sentence on its website — the only thing a visitor reads — which one should it be?
This is a brand and identity question disguised as a copy question. The answer reveals what Michael believes is FFI's single most differentiating truth.
7
Michael's 2031 vision: Chairman of FFI, with a CEO running day-to-day. What needs to be true by the end of 2026 for that transition to begin? Name one specific thing — not a feeling, a fact.
This surfaces the real constraint on FFI's evolution. If the answer is a revenue number, that number becomes the 2026 target. If it's a hire, that hire becomes the priority. This grounds the entire strategy in something specific.
Part Two — Offers
8
Rank FFI's five potential revenue models from the one you want to build to $5M (1) to the one you'd eliminate first (5):
The #1 answer becomes the commercial architecture for the next 24 months. Everything else is supporting cast or gets retired. This is the most consequential ranking in the questionnaire.
Advisory mandates (fee-for-service: $50K–$350K per engagement to sovereign funds, DFIs, governments, family offices)
Programme participation fees (annual membership in corridors, ocean programme, sport coalition: $10K–$250K/yr)
Event-based revenue (ticket sales, sponsorships, partnership packages: $1K–$100K per event)
Intelligence & content products (Capital Flow Index subscriptions, annual reports, data licensing)
Network membership fees (annual community membership, Advisory Council seats: $5K–$50K/yr)
9
A colleague has said the Sovereign Risk & Clean Energy Fund programme should be a consultancy service, not a programme. Choose the commercial model you believe is right for it:
These three models produce very different client relationships, fee structures, and team requirements. The choice here determines whether FFI needs a deal structuring team, a programme management team, or neither.
10
Events. Choose one — no hedging:
Events currently define FFI's identity and consume the most operational energy. This question forces the strategic choice that every other commercial decision depends on.
11
FFI has ten Impact Lenses. Name the three you would keep if forced to choose — and be specific about why each one earns its place commercially (not emotionally).
Ten lenses is operationally impossible for a three-person team. The three that survive should be the ones with a named co-investment structure, a committed capital partner, or a direct link to advisory mandates.
LENS 1
LENS 2
LENS 3
12
What is the maximum number of active advisory mandates FFI should carry at any one time, given the current team?
This number determines the revenue ceiling of the advisory practice before a CEO or Practice Lead hire. If the answer is 2, annual advisory revenue caps at ~$400K. If it's 6, it could reach $1.2M. The answer forces a conversation about team capacity.
simultaneous mandates maximum
13
Should FFI publish its advisory fees publicly on the website — the way a law firm publishes hourly rates, or a consultant publishes engagement ranges? Choose one:
Boutique sovereign advisors like Evercore or Lazard do not publish fees. McKinsey does not publish fees. But FFI is not McKinsey. Publishing fee ranges can increase conversion from digital traffic by filtering out non-ideal clients. This is a positioning choice with direct revenue implications.
14
The GCC→Canada Corridor founding member brief is built and ready to send. Anchor seats are priced at $250K. When Michael makes the first call this week, what is the actual number he is comfortable asking for — not the listed price, the number he will say out loud without hesitation?
There is often a gap between the listed price and the price a founder actually asks for in conversation. This number surfaces that gap. If it's lower than $250K, the Anchor tier needs a different framing — not a lower price.
$
per year for an Anchor seat
15
Should FFI retire the "Partner Programs" language from the website and all materials — replacing it with "Programmes" (for corridor/ocean/sport) and "Advisory" (for mandates)? Yes or No — and why in one sentence.
"Partner Programs" implies corporate sponsorship and logo placement. "Programmes" and "Advisory" imply institutional participation and professional service. This language change signals a fundamental repositioning to every visitor.
Part Three — Target Market
16
Rank FFI's five ideal client types from the one you most want to build revenue with (1) to the one you'd stop actively pursuing (5):
FFI currently tries to serve all five simultaneously. That is the core of the market confusion. The #1 answer determines who gets the website hero, the first paragraph of every proposal, and the first WingAssistant sequence.
GCC sovereign wealth funds (Mubadala, PIF, ADQ, QIA) deploying $500M+ into impact and transition assets
Development finance institutions (GFCR, AfDB, IDB Invest, DBSA) with capital commitments needing private co-investment
National governments and sub-sovereign bodies (Bahamas, Kenya, Canadian provinces) with private capital gaps
Family offices and UHNWI philanthropists ($10M–$500M in impact capital, acting largely alone)
Corporate ESG divisions at major banks and energy companies (CIBC, Enbridge, TC Energy)
17
What is the minimum engagement size — in dollars — that FFI should accept? Below this number, FFI declines or redirects to a self-serve product.
Every premium advisory practice has a floor. Setting it explicitly prevents the organization from filling Michael's time with low-value work that blocks high-value relationships.
$
minimum to take on work
18
FFI should stop actively pursuing which one of the following? Choose one — the segment that consumes energy without producing proportional revenue or strategic value:
Every organization has one client segment it serves out of inertia rather than strategy. Naming it here allows FFI to redirect that energy to higher-value relationships.
19
What is the single most specific problem that FFI solves — stated as the client would describe it, not as FFI would describe it? Complete this sentence: "I hired FFI because I needed ___________."
The most powerful positioning comes from the client's language, not the advisor's. This answer becomes the first sentence of every sales conversation, every proposal, and the website hero.
20
The GCC-Canada corridor is geopolitically defined — the window is real but it will close. How many years does FFI have to establish itself as the definitive cross-border capital facilitator before a larger institution (a bank, a Big 4 firm, a multilateral) builds a competing capability?
This answer sets the urgency of the entire commercial strategy. If the window is 18 months, FFI needs to close three Anchor seats this quarter. If it's five years, the pace can be deliberate. Michael's honest assessment of this timeline drives everything.
years before a well-resourced competitor closes the window
21
Geography: should FFI concentrate its commercial focus on the GCC→Canada corridor for the next 12 months — or should it pursue mandates globally wherever the relationship exists?
Concentration beats breadth at this stage. A firm known for one corridor done exceptionally well commands higher fees and generates more referrals than one known for "global impact." This choice determines where Michael's relationship energy goes.
Part Four — Community & Network
22
FFI's 1,000+ principal network is the most undermonetized asset in the organization. Choose the commercial model you believe is correct for it:
These four models require completely different infrastructure, pricing, and team capacity. Choosing the wrong one means building something that does not match how the community actually behaves. Choosing none means continuing to leave value on the table.
23
Honest answer: of FFI's 1,000+ network principals, how many do you believe have a specific, funded, deployable mandate that FFI could directly serve today?
This number is the real size of FFI's addressable market within its own network. If the answer is 20, that's a $2M–$4M annual advisory business waiting to be asked. If it's 5, the commercial strategy needs to look outside the current network.
principals with a fundable, active mandate right now
24
When someone in the FFI network asks "What can I do for you?" — how often does Michael currently have a specific, commercial answer? Choose one:
This question measures how much revenue the existing network is not generating. If the answer is "rarely," every week Michael goes without a specific ask is a week of lost advisory pipeline.
25
The FFI advisory roster model requires Michael to invite 20–30 principals to participate in mandates for a share of the fee. Is Michael willing to make those invitations — explicitly asking trusted peers to participate in commercial engagements as paid contributors? Yes or No, and why.
The roster model only works if Michael can comfortably make commercial asks of his network. If there is any reluctance here, the roster model needs a different framing before it is presented to principals.
26
Should the FFI community be visible on the website — with named principals, their affiliations, and their areas of focus — as a signal of network quality? Or should it remain private and invitation-only, with no public roster?
PwC does not publish its client list. But boutique impact funds often publish their LP network as a quality signal. This choice determines how FFI uses its network as a marketing asset versus a trust asset.
27
Is the FFI community — honestly — an asset Michael actively wants to deepen and invest in commercially, or is it a by-product of the events and dialogues that has grown without a specific strategy to monetize it?
This question does not have a "right" answer. But it has an honest one. If the community is a by-product, the strategy should focus on extracting value from the most engaged 5% rather than trying to activate 1,000+ people.
Part Five — Brand & Messaging
28
At a dinner party, a guest you have never met asks: "What does Forum for Impact do?" You have 15 seconds. What do you say — verbatim, exactly as you would say it in that moment?
The 15-second answer is the most honest positioning test in existence. It bypasses strategy and reveals instinct. Whatever Michael says here is the real answer to what FFI should be — regardless of what any document says.
29
The current website hero says "ENGAGE. INSPIRE. LEAD WITH IMPACT." This headline could belong to a TEDx chapter, an HR consultancy, or a student leadership conference. On a scale of 1–10, how much does that headline represent what FFI actually is? (1 = not at all, 10 = perfectly)
If the answer is below 7, the hero rewrite is a Day 1 priority. If it's above 7, Michael still believes FFI is primarily an inspirational convening platform — and the entire commercial repositioning strategy needs a different starting point.
1 — Not at all
10 — Perfectly
30
Should FFI's brand name stay as "Forum for Impact" — or should it evolve to something that signals advisory and capital strategy more directly? Choose one:
"Forum" implies convening. It does not imply advisory, structured capital, or sovereign access. This is not a trivial branding question — it is a signal question. What does the name tell the market about what FFI is?
31
When a GCC sovereign fund analyst Googles "impact capital advisory" or "cross-border clean energy investment," FFI does not appear. How important is it that FFI appears in those searches within the next 12 months? (1 = not important, 10 = critical)
This surfaces how much Michael believes in digital discovery as a commercial channel for FFI versus relationship-led business development. The answer determines the SEO and content investment priority.
1 — Not important
10 — Critical
32
FFI's Michael Meehan LinkedIn presence currently describes him as "Founding Partner, Forum for Impact." Should his primary professional title be updated to signal the advisory practice more directly?
Professional titles on LinkedIn are a first-impression signal that determines whether the right people request conversations. "Founding Partner" signals an organization. "Managing Director" or "Senior Advisor" signals a professional services practice.
33
The PwC comparison: PwC leads with "bold insights, proven expertise and tech that moves business forward." In one sentence — using that same structure — what does FFI lead with? Complete: "FFI delivers ___________, ___________, and ___________ that moves capital to impact."
This is the messaging architecture exercise. The three things FFI delivers become the three pillars of the website, the pitch, and the annual report. Michael's instinctive answer here is more valuable than any agency's version.
Pillar 1
Pillar 2
Pillar 3
34
The most important thing FFI does that no other organization in the world does. One sentence. Specific enough that if you said it to a Mubadala CIO they would lean forward.
This is the moat statement. It becomes the third sentence of the website hero, the first sentence of every proposal, and the phrase Michael says when asked "why you and not McKinsey?" The answer must be un-copyable.
35
Final question. If FFI had to shut down everything except one thing — one offer, one programme, one client relationship type — and rebuild from that single foundation, what would it be?
This is the identity question in its purest form. The answer reveals what Michael believes is FFI's deepest, most irreplaceable value. Everything else — every strategy recommendation, every hire, every website headline — should serve this foundation.
Submit Your Responses
Troy will compile every answer before the next strategy session and produce a concise synthesis document showing where clarity exists and where the key decisions remain open.
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Troy Mutter will compile these responses within 48 hours and share a synthesis document before the next strategy session. These answers are confidential and will not be shared beyond the FFI core team without Michael's explicit approval.
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