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The Firm
Most technology advisors live in one world. They're either enterprise consultants who've never touched an operational business, or IT vendors who can fix the server but can't tell you whether your technology is actually aligned to where your business is going. We built Strata Mind Labs to do both.
John Barrow
Founder & Principal Advisor
John Barrow spent years as a Chief Information Officer inside large organizations, running technology at the scale where a wrong decision affects thousands of people and millions in capital. He's sat in boardrooms where strategy gets made and on job sites where it gets executed. That range is the firm's competitive edge.
Strata Mind Labs is built on the belief that great businesses deserve the same quality of technology leadership that enterprise organizations take for granted. Owner-operators and GMs are making technology decisions every week with no one in their corner who actually understands both the business model and the tools. That's the gap we fill.
We stay on retainer not because clients are locked in, but because the relationship produces better decisions every time a new one has to be made. That's the model: the partner you call before the decision, not the vendor you call when something breaks.
What Makes Us Different
Most firms can credibly do one thing. Enterprise advisory firms bring frameworks and strategy but have never built a CRM for a plumbing company or helped an HVAC owner stop losing jobs to a slow follow-up process. IT vendors and managed service providers keep the lights on but rarely connect technology to revenue or risk.
We bridge both sides of that gap in one relationship. Former enterprise CIO experience that understands governance, AI accountability, board-level reporting, and digital transformation. And the operational credibility to work directly with growing businesses that run lean and need real answers, not frameworks.
That combination is hard to replicate. Advisory frames the relationship. Operations grounds it. The result is technology guidance that actually produces outcomes instead of just producing reports.
Every recommendation has to
If a system, tool, or process doesn't give your team hours back, it isn't worth implementing. Capacity is the point.
Every recommendation has to
Technology that isn't governed, backed up, and accountable is a liability. Every engagement is built with that in mind from the start.
Every recommendation has to
Better systems, faster pipelines, smarter retention. If a recommendation doesn't connect to revenue, we push back on it first.
"The trusted operator behind the operation. The partner you call before a decision, not the vendor you call when something breaks."
Where We Work
Tri-Cities
Washington — Primary Market
Portland Metro
Oregon
Jackson Hole
Wyoming
Spokane
Washington
Idaho
Boise & Idaho Falls
Executive Advisory engagements are available remotely for organizations outside these markets.