A Canadian tech company was managing three separate cloud-based products. While two showed strong market traction and operational synergy, the third struggled with adoption and required distinct technical capabilities. Leadership faced a strategic decision: continue investing in the underperforming product or refocus resources on the core business.

We were brought in to support a strategic assessment of the product portfolio, focusing on the impact on the workforce, opportunity costs, and readiness for acquisition.

Our approach included:

• A performance review of all three products: growth rate, customer acquisition, retention, and profitability.
• Market benchmarking to evaluate competitive pressure and barriers to scale in the retail tech space
• A talent and org structure assessment, identifying role overlaps, dilution of key resources, and hiring risks

Scenario planning around three pathways:

• • Maintain and invest in all three products
  • Spin off the third product as a separate entity
  • Retire the third product to focus on the two core offerings

Our workforce modelling included analysis of hiring needs, skills gaps, onboarding costs, and operational strain. We helped quantify not just what it would take to continue—but what it might cost the business in focus, speed, and strategic clarity.

The company decided to sunset the third product and reallocate resources to its core platforms. This strategic shift sharpened their go-to-market approach and aligned teams around a unified vision, which was just in time for acquisition discussions.

Key results:

• Reclaimed ~25% of engineering and GTM capacity to invest in high-growth areas
• Avoided an estimated $2.5M in future hiring and infrastructure costs to support a third, non-core solution
• Improved organizational focus and messaging—enhancing the company’s valuation and appeal to investors
• Within 12 months, the company was successfully acquired by a global investment fund