Studio — Deriss

Source: https://deriss.com/studio Canonical context: https://deriss.com/llms-full.txt

Deriss Studio is a founder-led advisory practice. Strategic direction and crafted execution for trust-sensitive transitions. We operate where brand and deep tech converge: distribution, credibility, and behavior change in an AI-native world. We take on a small number of engagements per year.

How we work

Most partnerships start with a sprint and evolve into an operating cadence.

  • The Explanation Audit (2–3 weeks) — one core position (what is true about the company at its current size); four written versions for customer, investor, recruit, and procurement; findings on where current material contradicts itself. Reasoning: The Explanation Gap.
  • AI-Native Build Sprint (4–8 weeks) — narrative and growth system; product and experience direction; execution-ready plans and artifacts; AI-ready by construction (llms.txt, structured data, agent surfaces).
  • Operating Partner (3–12 months) — monthly leadership cadence; decision support and steering; cross-team alignment and accountability.
  • Intelligence Partnership (Terminal + Studio) — ongoing briefs, scans, and signal synthesis; tailored frameworks; for boards, investors, and innovation teams.

Practice areas

Most engagements combine two or three practice areas — growth, trust, and product adoption are now inseparable.

  • Narrative & Growth Systems — positioning, growth strategy, and communications architecture designed for adoption, reputation, and category momentum. Brand and growth strategy · narrative and messaging architecture · public affairs and communications.
  • AI-Native Product & Experience — human-centric product strategy and service design for AI-native experiences, where usability meets trust. AI-native product strategy · service and experience design · digital transformation and innovation.
  • Trust, Reputation & Governance — board-level counsel for strategy, risk, and governance through AI, regulation, and public scrutiny. C-suite advisory and startup governance · risk, reputation, and disclosure posture · public affairs and stakeholder trust.
  • Market Intelligence & Signals — research, consumer insight, and trend mapping translated into decision-ready briefs and pilot roadmaps. Consumer insight and research · trend mapping and foresight · decision-ready briefs and hypotheses.

Methodology — Research → Terminal → Studio

Research authors the thesis. Terminal instruments it into repeatable scans, briefs, and decision memos. Studio applies it selectively in high-stakes contexts. Confidential client work remains confidential and is not used to train products.

Industry focus

  • Consumer Tech & Platforms
  • Retail (Fashion & Luxury)
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Venture / Innovation (venture arms, studios, growth-stage)
  • Deeptech at the startup-to-scaleup transition — and the funds behind them

Case studies

Structure of every engagement: Challenge → Contribution → Outcome. No performance dashboards, no invented metrics. The unit of value is intelligence transferred. The problem is the same at every scale — a company that has outgrown the story it started with. A global group has it at a hundred thousand people. A deeptech company has it at eleven.

  • H&M Group — Transparency: documentary-led supply chain narrative.
  • MTV — Global Rebrand (Europe & Nordics): reimagining the MTV identity system.
  • GANT — Redefining preppy for a modern generation.

Founded by Soheill Deriss, based in Stockholm, serving clients worldwide.

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