ABOUT
The advice comes from the inside.
Rob Curtis builds for founders and investors navigating conditions the playbook doesn't cover. He co-founded Daylight — the first banking platform for LGBTQ+ people in the United States — and was the person in the room making the call: on product, on fundraising, on the pivot, and on the exit.
He named his firm Crucible Hill, for what that experience cost and what it taught. The firm exists for founders and investors in their own crucible moment.
He has supported overstretched founders through the hardest moments of building, restructured distressed assets, helped investors stress-test what they're backing, and built operating systems from the ground up.
He has been a consultee on the CFPB's Personal Financial Data Rights Rule, pitched financial inclusion at the Federal Reserve, the CFPB, and the White House, and lectured at Tuck Business School at Dartmouth and Stanford.
FOUNDER AND CEO AT SCALE
Co-founded Daylight — the first US banking platform for LGBTQ+ people — 100,000 signups, Series A at 5x uplift, hard exit. Has been the person in the room when the mission and the money stopped pointing in the same direction.
BOARD AND INVESTOR NAVIGATOR
Has run both sides of the boardroom — as the CEO getting grilled and as the advisor giving the brief. Knows what investors are actually worried about when they ask their questions.
M&A, PIVOT AND EXIT
Led a full operational pivot mid-flight and navigated a company through acquisition and hard exit. Knows what the process costs the founder because he has paid it.
CRISIS & REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Has been through board investigation (cleared), national press scrutiny, and the reputational aftermath of a high-profile startup ending. Knows what to say, what not to say, and when silence becomes the story.
AI-NATIVE OPERATING MODEL DESIGN
Has designed AI-native operating models at the capability level — mapping where human judgment is load-bearing and where it is not. Not a framework. Built and delivered.
Services
Four ways to engage.
Each offer is scoped around a specific problem. If you're not sure which fits, get in touch and we'll figure it out in one conversation.
ONGOING ADVISORY · COHORT
Founder Cohort Advisory
The pressure that arrives after Series A — board expectations, scaling failures, team fractures, investor anxiety — comes faster than most founders expect. The cohort exists to work through it before it works through you.
Six or twelve month cohorts
Series A+ founders · Fintech & AI focus
OPERATING MODEL · FIXED FEE
AI-Native Operating Model Redesign
Most leadership teams are building AI into their operating model by accident — automating things that should stay human, keeping humans in the loop on things AI handles better. The result is an old model with AI bolted on. This engagement redesigns it with intention.
Four-week engagement
Fintech, SaaS & AI-first teams · 90-day rollout plan
DIAGNOSTIC · FIXED FEE
Scaling Inflection Diagnostic
Growth is stalling. Founder bottlenecks are emerging. Culture is fracturing. Board pressure is rising. The problem isn't obvious because it never is at this stage — it's always the operating model, not the market. This diagnostic finds the fracture before it becomes a break.
Three-week engagement
Founders and fund partners · Diagnostic + priorities workshop
INTERIM LEADERSHIP · RETAINER
Turnaround & Distressed Asset Leadership
A portfolio company in real trouble. Revenue declining. Board confidence eroding. The current leadership team may be overwhelmed, or part of the problem. This engagement puts an experienced operator into the room — not to replace the CEO permanently, but to stabilise, diagnose, and rebuild credibility fast.
Typically 3–6 months
PE funds & boards · Introduction or referral preferred
Not every situation comes with a clean brief.
If you're dealing with something you can't discuss inside the company yet, reach out. You don't need to know what you need to speak confidentially.
A first conversation is private and without obligation.
SELECTED WORK
Problems we have solved.
A selection of engagements across fintech, venture, and operating model design.
EUROPEAN CHALLENGER BANK
Recapitalisation, restructure and U.S. market launch
SITUATION
Failed EU neobank. Two previous CEOs. Founding investor with $1M deployed, no market traction, and no viable path forward.
TASK
Take the business from Slovakia to US market. Build the brand from scratch, recap, and raise US capital. Build a US team from Europe, during COVID travel restrictions.
OUTCOME
$25M equity and venture debt raised. U.S. market launched. Company acquired by fintech firm Atlas.
DECISION INTELLIGENCE
AI Research & Decision
Scenario Mapping
SITUATION
A leadership team or services agency faces a consequential decision and needs to test their assumptions before committing — without the budget or timelines that conventional research requires.
TASK
Design a structured scenario testing plan using synthetic audiences to road-test strategic assumptions against key stakeholders and 2–3 real-world conditions.
See Case Study
OUTCOME
Operating model and governance structure developed and presented. Fundraising commenced.
LEGACY DIGITAL BRAND - LGBTQ+
Revenue stabilisation, burn reduction and joint venture exit
SITUATION
Market leader overtaken by mobile-first competitors. Failed platform migration accelerating decline. Revenue down 8% month on month. Burning £100K per month.
TASK
Stabilise operations, reduce burn, assess brand and asset value, and develop strategic options for the investor.
OUTCOME
Revenue stabilised in 90 days. Burn reduced 50%. Moved from operating loss to revenue-neutral JV within six months.
SPATIAL AI PLATFORM - US
Strategic diagnosis and bridge funding at inflection point
SITUATION
Early-stage spatial AI venture building real-world data infrastructure at a strategic inflection point. Product direction, commercial model, and capital strategy all in question simultaneously.
TASK
Strategic diagnosis across product direction, commercial model, and capital strategy.
OUTCOME
Bridge funding secured. Investment tied to product telemetrics.