Tim Billing

Co-Founder

Bolster Advisors specializes in helping owners of start-ups and creative service firms take their organizations from good to great. We work with leaders and teams to lay a foundation for growth and stability by improving the parts of your business that have been holding you back. Our holistic methodology addresses your business’s Purpose, the Client Journey, Team Empowerment, Service Offering, and Operations. Results are businesses that are owners who are less stressed and back in control! Sample clients include Wrecking Crew, Connected.io, Motivo, Iron Creative, Alloy, and Nile.

Director, Finance & Operations

Led all business operations, including finance, HR, legal, IT, and grant management

• Drove numerous improvement projects to increase organizational effectiveness in areas including HR, finance, grant management, and IT. 
• Managed a $30M/yr. budget, optimizing results by reviewing the plans and expenditures of our five threat teams
• Guided the planning and successful launch of two new non-profit organizations, Ending Pandemics (http://endingpandemics.org and The Climate Advocacy Lab (https://climateadvocacylab.org). These efforts included developing business plans, fundraising, organization design, vetting fiscal sponsors, and overseeing all start-up activities. 
• Oversaw the sunsetting of SGTF, prioritizing employee transitions, transferring critical IP assets, and preserving Jeff Skoll’s philanthropic legacy.

President & Chief Operating Officer

Full P&L responsibility for a 150-person strategy and digital design consultancy with offices in San Francisco, New York, and London. Brought in following a recent acquisition by Global Logic when the firm suffered from fluctuating revenue and unsatisfactory margins. Reported to Global Logic CEO and PE partner, APAX. Grew revenue 45% and margins 75%.

• Streamlined business processes and expenses, resulting in nearly $1M in annual cost savings while maintaining team morale and culture
• Worked with the parent company (Global Logic) to integrate the two companies’ offerings (digital design and software engineering) and our ability to deliver it
• Shifted organizational focus from project success to client business success and fostering long-term client relationships. As a result, multi-year retainer relationships grew from 0% to 30% of total revenue.
• Worked with principals to roll out “Experience Design” as our thought leadership POV and offering helping Method move towards the goal of becoming a premier brand

President

Brought in at the beginning of the 2008 recession to revitalize an under-performing product development firm. Increased revenue 55% and margins over 80%

• Overhauled company offering and team structure from sub-systems engineering to full turnkey services resulting in stabilizing revenue and growing margins.
• Developed unique market positioning and brand story that differentiated the firm from competitors
• Coached team to cultivate “trusted advisor” client relationships resulting in multi-year engagements with companies as diverse as Qualcomm, Genentech, Audi, and Polaroid.
• Advisor to multiple start-ups on business strategy, product definition, and bringing products to market

Managing Director

Led Business Operations for IDEO’s Palo Alto headquarters during a period of significant growth and transformation. Reporting to the CEO and CFO, responsible for overseeing the 170-person Bay Area design community. Member of the leadership team defining the strategy and action plans for the entire organization. 

• Led operations improvements across the company (nine global locations), replacing homegrown practices with more effective approaches that enabled IDEO to scale into the firm that it is today. 
• Successfully turned IDEO’s creative process inwards by creating and guiding project teams to design innovative business practices while protecting a culture of innovation. Improvements include business development, organizational structure, staffing and utilization, career planning, and office space design. 
• Led an 18-month turnaround of the London office that was in danger of being closed due to an extended period of poor financial performance. Guided the team through rethinking key business elements including marketing, business development, team restructuring, overhead reduction, and team culture. Grew margins from -10% to + 10% resulting in the office staying open and avoiding significant shutdown costs. 

Manufacturing Strategy Practice Lead

Created IDEO’s Manufacturing Strategy practice and built a 15-person global team to guide our client’s products into production in less time and with higher quality. Results included increased client satisfaction and improved revenue for the firm. Personally involved in bringing 20+ new products successfully to market for clients such as HP, Nike, AT&T, Palm, and Microsoft. Advisor to numerous successful start-ups in the areas of product definition, product development, and market launch.

Executive Program, Product Development & Manufacturing Strategy, STANFORD UNIVERSITY

MSE/MBA, Engineering and Business dual degree, STANFORD UNIVERSITY

BS, Mechanical Engineering, NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

SIEMENS MEDICAL (formerly Acuson) | Mountain View, CA – Senior NPI and vendor development specialist

NUMMI (Toyota and GM joint venture) | Fremont, CA – Product Design, New Vehicle Launch Manager, Production Quality Manager

GENERAL MOTORS | Flint, MI – Design Engineer, Competitive Analysis Expert