From Gaslighting to Real Delivery: How Karl Franc Saved a Failing Project
When 9 months of promises produced zero delivery and a €2.5M project faced collapse, our Navigator team embedded immediately to transform crisis into controlled success.
9 Months of Broken Promises
A mid-sized European financial services company had been trapped in consulting hell for almost a year. Their digital transformation project, critical for regulatory compliance, was hemorrhaging budget with nothing to show for it.
The previous consulting firm delivered endless PowerPoints, impressive demos, and technical jargon. But when pressed for actual deployable code or working systems, they produced excuses, blamed the client's infrastructure, and demanded more time and budget.
With investor confidence eroding and regulatory deadlines looming, the CFO made the call: "Find someone who can actually deliver, or we're shutting this down."
Crisis Metrics
What Made This Different
This wasn't just another failed project, it was a company-threatening crisis with cascading business impact.
Regulatory Compliance Risk
New EU data regulations required system updates within 60 days. Failure meant €200K+ fines and potential license suspension.
Investor Confidence Crisis
Series B funding round at risk. Investors questioning management's ability to execute on digital transformation promises.
Technical Debt Explosion
Previous consultants had created a patchwork of incomplete solutions, conflicting architectures, and undocumented code.
Team Demoralization
Internal IT team had lost confidence in external partners. Trust needed to be rebuilt while delivering under extreme pressure.
Navigator Deployment: 48-Hour Turnaround
Our Navigator embedded immediately to assess, strategize, and deploy elite talent for rapid value delivery.
Hour 0-4: Rapid Assessment
Navigator conducted technical audit, stakeholder interviews, and codebase analysis. Identified 12 critical bottlenecks and 3 quick wins.
Hour 4-12: Strategic Clarity
Stripped away complexity, defined modular delivery phases, and established measurable milestones with business value tied to each.
Hour 12-24: Elite Team Assembly
Deployed senior DevOps engineer, compliance specialist, and full-stack developer—all with direct experience in EU financial services.
Hour 24-48: First Delivery
Fixed critical security vulnerability, restored backup systems, and delivered working compliance dashboard prototype.
Modular, Value-Driven Execution
Instead of another big-bang approach, we broke the project into weekly value-delivery cycles with clear business outcomes.
Stabilize & Secure
- ✓ Security vulnerabilities patched
- ✓ Backup systems restored
- ✓ Development pipeline established
- ✓ Compliance dashboard MVP
Build & Deploy
- ✓ Data processing pipeline
- ✓ API integration layer
- ✓ Monitoring & alerting
- ✓ Performance optimization
Certify & Launch
- ✓ Regulatory compliance verified
- ✓ Security audit passed
- ✓ Team training completed
- ✓ Documentation delivered
"In 6 weeks, Karl Franc delivered what the previous consultants couldn't achieve in 9 months. But more importantly, they restored our confidence in what's possible when you have the right people and the right approach."
From Crisis to Competitive Advantage
The project wasn't just rescued, it became a model for how the company approaches technology delivery.
Long-term Impact
Business Results:
- → Series B funding round completed successfully
- → Regulatory compliance maintained ongoing
- → New revenue streams enabled by platform
- → Customer confidence restored
Organizational Change:
- → Internal team upskilled and confident
- → New delivery methodology adopted company-wide
- → Navigator model extended to other projects
- → Trust in technology partnerships rebuilt
What Made the Difference
The critical factors that transformed a failing project into a competitive advantage.
Embedded Navigator Leadership
Having an experienced ex-CITO physically present, making decisions, and taking accountability changed everything. No more passing the buck.
Elite Talent, Not Warm Bodies
Senior professionals who'd solved similar problems before. No learning curves, no ramping up—immediate productivity from day one.
Modular Value Delivery
Weekly deliverables with clear business value. No more waiting months for big-bang releases that might or might not work.
Transparent Communication
Daily updates, honest assessments, and clear metrics. The client always knew exactly where things stood and why.
"Karl Franc didn't just fix our project, they taught us how to never get trapped like that again. The Navigator model is now how we approach every major technology initiative."
Don't Wait for Failure to Become Fatal
If your project is struggling, your team is demoralized, or your consultants are delivering more excuses than code, we can help. Our Navigator emergency response team can embed within 48 hours.
Emergency Response
Critical project at risk? Need immediate Navigator deployment? We mobilize within 48 hours for crisis situations.
Emergency Support →Prevention Strategy
Want to avoid crisis altogether? Let's discuss how Navigator leadership can guide your project to success from the start.
Book Consultation →No sales process. No lengthy proposals. Just proven leaders ready to solve your crisis.