Does this sound familiar?
“Everyone around me says yes.
Nobody tells me when I’m wrong.”
Your team depends on you, your consultants want to sell you something. I have nothing to lose by disagreeing with you – and nothing to gain by agreeing.
“I can’t discuss this decision
with anyone in the company.”
People, succession, a sale, the big contract: some topics don’t belong in the team meeting. With me, you think out loud before you decide.
“Everyone talks about AI.
I don’t know what matters for us.”
I come from IT and have spent 23 years translating technology into costs, benefits, and risks. You get an honest assessment instead of hype.
“A coach asks me questions.
I need someone with an opinion.”
I have founded or co-founded six companies and ran an agency for ten years. I ask – and then I tell you what I really think.
What an external advisor is –
and what they are not.
What does an external advisor do?
An advisor’s job is to push back before the CEO decides. Large companies have a board for that. Most companies with fewer than 250 employees have none – their CEO makes the big decisions alone, between two meetings.
My offer is that role in one person: an external advisor and sparring partner for CEOs who is there regularly, knows your context, and pushes back honestly. No committee, no bylaws, no liability questions – but commitment and a fixed rhythm.
Sparring partner or coach – what is the difference?
A coach works on you: attitude, communication, role. They ask questions and hold back their own opinion. A sparring partner works on your decision: they argue against it, bring their own experience, and tell you what they would do in your place. Both have their place. I am the second one.
Why an advisor from IT?
Because hardly any big decision today comes without a digital component: the new software, the AI project, the service provider, selling through your own platform. And because exactly this competence is missing from most boardrooms. I have been in IT for 23 years, I am CISSP-certified, and I serve as external IT lead for companies without an IT department. With me, the digital side comes along – without our session turning into a tech meeting.
How it works.
- Sixty minutes every two weeks. One on one, by video or in person. You bring the topic, I bring the counter-position.
- A direct line in between. A decision doesn’t wait for the next session. Then you call.
- Your agenda, my opinion. No method, no workbook. I listen, I ask – and I tell you what I really think.
Typical topics
- AI and digitalization: what matters, what doesn’t
- Big contracts and investments
- Strategic partnerships
- Positioning and value creation
- Vision & culture
- Conflicts with shareholders and key people
- Succession & shareholdings
- Your own role and workload
External Advisor
from €2,400 / month (net)
Sixty minutes one on one every two weeks, plus a direct line in between. Confidential, of course. Start anytime, cancel monthly.
For leaders everyone agrees with – and who don’t find that reassuring.
For comparison: one bad hire costs you a year’s salary, one badly signed contract often more.
Decisions like these are not made in passing.
Who is pushing back here.
I am Sebastian Ullherr. I have been in IT for 23 years – as a developer, user researcher, designer, project manager, product owner, and leader. I have founded or co-founded six companies, four of them startups, and led a remote-first, common-good-oriented digital agency for ten years – with everything that comes with it: hiring, letting go, crises, decisions without a safety net.
Today I work as an external IT lead for companies without an IT department. What my clients value most about it is not my IT knowledge, but that I push back honestly. That is where the external advisor offer comes from.
I rely on radical honesty and critical discussions – so we actually make progress. I meet you at eye level, whatever your background. And I am a member of the Economy for the Common Good, because I want to create value, not just revenue.
Recommendations
The full texts can be found in my LinkedIn profile.
“Sebastian encourages critical questioning and challenges the team constructively.”
Laura Fiona Holder-Wurzinger, AKDB
“A remarkable core aspect of Sebastian is that he is not afraid to challenge the status quo and explore new ways of working, which has led to amazing successes.”
Anna Matzat
“His deep know-how and independent opinion give us confidence in IT decisions that are economically sound AND sustainable.”
Simon Lühr, Sales4Good
“Every meeting noticeably moves us forward and takes the pressure off our entire team – because it gives us clarity and confidence.”
Dr. Katharina Roos, CEO of Netzwert Partner GmbH
Frequently asked questions
How much does an external advisor cost?
From €2,400 per month (net), cancel monthly. This includes two 60-minute sessions per month and the direct line in between. No setup, no minimum term.
Who is the external advisor for?
For CEOs, owners, CTOs, and other executives who make decisions that carry weight and have nobody in their own house to discuss them with – typically in companies between 10 and 250 employees, with or without an IT department of their own.
Do I need a concrete problem?
No, but it helps. Most people start with a decision that is pending: a hire, a contract, a strategic fork. After that, the session becomes the fixed place where you think out loud before you decide.
How confidential is it?
Completely. What we discuss stays between us – including towards your team, your shareholders, and your service providers. On request, I sign a non-disclosure agreement.
What is the difference between the external advisor and IT Sparring?
IT Sparring is about your company’s IT: strategy, service providers, security. The external advisor is about you: your decisions, your people, your role. The digital side comes along, but it is not the focus.
Advisor, board member, coach – what is the difference?
A supervisory board member controls and carries liability. An advisory board member advises and pushes back, without authority to give orders, but meets only a few times a year. A coach works on you as a person and holds back their own opinion. My external advisor is a sparring partner: one person, a fixed rhythm, a clear opinion – without a committee and without liability questions.
I’m curious to meet you!
A first conversation costs nothing – except 30 minutes and the willingness to hear pushback.