WHY 1990 EXISTS

The name 1990 points to a year of openings and shifts – a move from closed systems and controlled narratives to more open, connected, and truthful realities. That's the energy of this shop: a quiet but firm insistence on integrity, clarity, and courage.

1990 is not about "optimizing the story." It's about finding the real story, facing it, and then building systems that can carry it.

The Core Insight

The concept of 1990 recognizes that startups naturally begin as closed systems – they have to be. You need conviction, narrative, and controlled messaging to get off the ground.

But at a certain point, that closed system becomes a cage. The very things that helped you survive early on – optimism, performance, controlled narrative – start preventing you from growing.

1990 is the inflection point where you choose:

  • Stay closed and stagnate

  • Or open up, face reality, and build something sustainable

Our company exists to help founders and funds make that transition successfully – with clarity, courage, and without the theater that usually surrounds it.

The Pattern We're Breaking

This business was started after years of watching the same pattern repeat: boards, VCs, and founders circling around the real issues, using nice language and good intentions, but not making the decisions that actually move the company forward.

We exist to break that pattern.

We're a small, selective team of operating partners who have sat in real seats: inside companies, between founders and investors, in the middle of tense rooms and messy execution. We know what it looks like when things are breaking, and we know how to help you fix it.

What Makes Us Different

No Theater, No Myth-Building: We strip out the ego, slideware, and performance. The work is plain spoken, low-jargon, and specific. Light on artifacts, heavy on decisions and behavior change. You don't get a mythology; you get movement.

Operator Mindset, But Not Another Fractional Exec: We sit between "smart consultant" and "battle-scarred operator." No title, no power games, no need to protect an internal position. Deep enough to understand reality, detached enough to say what needs to be said.

Built For Founders And Funds At The Same Time: We understand the pressure, language, and expectations on both sides. Founders feel protected enough to be honest. Investors feel confident the conversation isn't being sugarcoated. The company moves from a shared view of reality.

A Clear Filter: Not For Everyone: Because we choose a few companies per quarter, we say no often. That filter is part of the product.

  • If you want validation more than change, it's not a fit.

  • If you want cosmetic improvements without touching how decisions are made, it's not a fit.

  • If you're ready to face what's really happening and act on it, then it is.

This clarity about who we're for is what keeps the work honest and the brand aligned with reality.