What you need to know:

• Simon Ryan has launched his latest venture as part of RyanCap, transformation agency Tightrope.
• The business launches with "significant investment" from ex-Dentsu colleague Konrad Spilva through his consultancy Shadowboxer.
• Former Accenture Strategy Director, Stijn De Vriendt, joins as Managing Director.
• The plan is to go toe-to-toe with big consultants on transformation, without shoehorning problems to fit solutions.

Ryan and Spilva strike back

Simon Ryan reckons new business transformation unit Tightrope is the "final major pillar" of his masterplan for indie network RyanCap.

The new business sees Ryan and former Dentsu colleague Konrad Spilva reunite, with Spilva's own marketing and venture consultancy Shadowboxer taking a "significant" stake in Tightrope. 

The investment in Tightrope will come through Spilva's Sb Ventures, a wholly owned entity of Shadowboxer. 

Speaking to Mi3, Ryan said the time was right for the two to combine forces, especially given the "strategic alignment" between the two businesses in the consultancy space.

He declined to confirm the ownership split but said RyanCap will remain the clear and largest stakeholder, with Spilva's Shadowboxer the second largest.

Under the arrangement, Ryan and Spilva will work closely together, with Tightrope able to tap into Shadowboxer's brand and product strategy, technology, design, and experience building new ventures.

Ryan said there will be an opportunity for clients to crossover between the two businesses, however, both Tightrope and Shadowboxer have alternate strategies when it comes to new clients.

"It's a great thing to be able to turn friendship into a business opportunity like this, that really is going to take on those operating in the top end of town both consultancy and agency," Ryan said.

"While we both will work closely together, Konrad and his team have done a great job of identifying a market in the new venture space and developing strategies to drive their growth. What we will do with Tightrope is identify established brands that are looking to overhaul their business."

Spilva told Mi3, Shadowboxer will use the opportunity to "double down" across new ventures, where it is generating the majority of gains, while providing services across what have been seen as "traditional" transformation projects.

He said the Shadowboxer team will help identify opportunities for Tightrope, including new clients, projects and staff.

"It's something that Simon and I have been discussing for months and is a way of staying across building new businesses in funding rounds, while also lending our skills to established clients, which Tightrope will target," Spilva said.

"This won't be the first joint venture we take on in the services industry as Shadowboxer either. We want to have a reverse holding group mentality, whereby we partner with but operate separately from agencies or businesses in similar sectors.

"What we have with Tightrope is a great oversight of brands with transformation opportunities that we can refer and work on between the two consultancies. It's a really unique setup."

Ryan said Tightrope is already working with "half a dozen" clients, with the expectation of signing on 30 in the next six months. The business is also looking to hire six new staff.

The agency will be led by ex-Accenture Strategy Director, Stijn De Vriendt, as Managing Director. De Vriendt has 15 years of experience in strategy consulting, customer strategy, operating model transformation, and digital transformation. 

Tightrope makes three

Ryan and Spilva are going to market on a platform of disruption, with Ryan aiming for a slice of the $1.8bn transformation sector by wrapping in greater breadth of services and fewer preconceptions.

"Tightrope [will] seamlessly integrate strategy, design, data, and tech into a single offering," said Ryan. "Traditional legacy consulting is heavily weighted to having the answer upfront, while Tightrope focuses on the process, critical thinking, and bespoke analysis."

While Ryan said Tightrope is Melbourne-based RyanCap's "final major pillar", sitting alongside RyvalMedia and Foxcatcher, he did not rule out further diversification in the medium-term.

In the short-term, he said a RyanCap Sydney office is "imminent" and that he would bolster Tightrope's capabilities this financial year by acquiring a business in the consultancy sector.