Business Development · Startup Coaching · Copenhagen

Stop pitching
your features.
Start selling
your future.

Most founders know their product cold. What trips them up is the commercial story. That's the work we do together: the precise framing that makes investors, customers, and partners understand why this, why you, why now.

*Based on teams coached closely through the Innofounder application and jury process, vs. ~21% national acceptance rate.

400+
Startups coached
€10M+
Raised by clients
~85%
Innofounder wins*
"
"This pitch deck has helped me win every pitch competition I've entered."
Anna Danielak, PERFI Technologies
Direct Commercial Copenhagen Evidence-first
Business Development✦ Startup Coaching✦ Pitch Training✦ AI Integration✦ Accelerator Programs✦ Growth Strategy✦ Investor Narratives✦ Value Proposition Design✦ Business Development✦ Startup Coaching✦ Pitch Training✦ AI Integration✦ Accelerator Programs✦ Growth Strategy✦ Investor Narratives✦ Value Proposition Design✦
Where we work together

The gaps don't fix
themselves. We find them first.

No generic advice. No motivational frameworks. We get into your business, locate the commercial logic that's missing, and build from there.

🎯

Business Model Clarity

Most founders are too close to their idea to see its weaknesses. Together we find the gaps in your business model, value proposition, and commercial logic, and fix them before an investor does it for you.

Lean Canvas · Value Props · Go-to-Market
📈

Growth Strategy

From beachhead market to scale, we build the strategic roadmap that makes investors nod. Not a 40-page document. A clear, defensible argument for why your company wins from here.

Strategy · Market Entry · Scaling
🚀

Accelerator & Program Design

We help universities, corporates, and innovation hubs build programs that actually produce fundable companies, not just educated founders. The difference is in the design.

ITU NextGen · GreenUP · CSE GoGrow
🤖

AI as a Founder Tool

We build custom AI workflows for every stage of the startup process, from hypothesis testing to pitch preparation. AI as a thinking partner, not a shortcut to mediocre content.

Startup Advisor Pro · Workflows · AI coaching
🎤

Pitch Coaching with PitchPerfect

When a founder needs to win a room, not just explain a business, we work with Lisbeth Holdt Jørgensen at PitchPerfect.nu. Business content, narrative structure, and TEDx-level performance training. The only offering in Denmark combining all three.

See the full offering at pitchperfect.nu →

"Christian helped us sharpen our value proposition and urged us to strive for perfection, challenging us on our strategic view. This enabled us to be ultra sharp on investor days."

Søren Wistisen, Fuelvision

How we work

Into the work.
Fully.

01

Find the commercial truth

Before anything else, we need to understand your business at the level an investor would. That means questioning assumptions, finding the gaps, and identifying what's actually driving, or blocking, value creation.

02

Build the argument

Once the logic is solid, we translate it into the most effective format for your context: pitch, deck, canvas, strategy doc, or conversation. The goal is always the same. Make the case feel inevitable.

03

Make it yours

I'll tell you when something isn't working. When you're onto something real, you'll know that too. The kind of engagement that leaves you sharper, clearer, and confident in your own thinking.

04

Prepare for the room

Strategy without delivery is just a document. We stress-test your argument against the hardest questions, build your investor Q&A, and make sure you're ready for the moments that matter.

"He can be tough and demanding, but he is only there to make you better and stronger. You don't get that from back-patting."

Jesper Sørensen, REXCON System
Direct Commercial Evidence-first No jargon Genuinely engaged High standard Copenhagen-based Nordic & international
Christian Marcus — Above Average

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Background

Where I learned
to think like this.

I've spent 25 years inside startups, accelerators, and innovation programs. At Tesla, the standard was absolute. At SingularityU Nordic, the frameworks were exponential. At ITU NextGen, where I work as Senior Business Development Manager, I see founders at every stage of the journey, from raw idea to first close.

Communication training with coaches from the TED Talk world and performance experts from The Walt Disney Company, during time in San Francisco, shaped how I work with founders in the room. Not the content alone. The delivery, the presence, the ability to hold a room when the stakes are high.

What I bring into the work we do together is a set of patterns, a high standard, and a genuine belief that most founders are closer to fundable than they think. The work is finding out why, and closing the gap.

Tesla
Commercial operations and performance in one of the world's most demanding innovation environments.
SingularityU Nordic
Exponential technology frameworks and coaching applied to founders and corporate innovators.
ITU NextGen
Senior Business Development Manager. Building and running the startup hub that produces ITU's most fundable founders.
Communication Training, San Francisco
Trained by coaches from the TED Talk world and performance experts from The Walt Disney Company. Methods applied directly to founder coaching.
AI Tool
Startup Advisor Pro

25 years of frameworks.
Available to you 24/7.

A custom GPT built on 25 years of startup coaching, accelerator frameworks, and investor logic. It won't replace a session together, but it's a serious tool for founders who need a demanding thinking partner at any hour.

Value proposition design
Builds tailored value props based on your specific customer, problem, and context.
Business model stress-testing
Challenges your assumptions using Lean Canvas logic and real investor questions.
Go-to-market strategy
Maps your beachhead, channels, and early-stage acquisition logic.
Note: It's a powerful tool, but it's not the same as working together directly. For 24-hour turnaround feedback on your pitch, deck, or investor materials, get in touch.
Try Startup Advisor Pro →
Startup Advisor Pro · Christian Marcus GPT
Our solution is an AI platform for supply chain optimization.
That's a category, not a value proposition. Who specifically loses money when their supply chain breaks, and how much? Start there.
Mid-size manufacturers. They lose maybe €50K per incident from downtime.
Better. Now: how often does this happen per year? And are they currently solving it, or just absorbing the cost? That answer changes your entire go-to-market.
Maybe 3–4x a year. They just absorb it.
Then your value prop isn't "AI platform." It's: eliminate €150–200K in annual downtime losses for mid-size manufacturers, before the incident happens. That's a pitch. Start with that.
Client voices

Founders who've
been in the room.

Work with us

Choose your
engagement.

Whether you need a focused session or a full program, the work is the same: find the commercial truth and build from there.

For Founders
Single Session
€500 / session
A focused two-hour session. We diagnose what's not working, whether that's the business model, value proposition, narrative, or all three, and fix it.
  • 2-hour 1:1 session
  • Business model review
  • Value proposition sharpening
  • Written summary of actions
  • 24hr email follow-up
Book a session
For Accelerators
Program Design
Custom pricing
Build or upgrade your accelerator program. We design and deliver startup programs for universities, corporates, and innovation hubs across Denmark and internationally.
  • Program design & curriculum
  • Coach and facilitator delivery
  • Custom for your cohort
  • Workshop series or full program
  • Ongoing advisor relationship
Let's talk
The name

Above Average is a Danish pun.
In a culture that calls excellent things "not bad,"
above average is actually high praise.

The work we do together aims there. Quietly.

Get in touch

Your next move
starts here.

Tell me where you are and what you're trying to crack. I'll tell you if we can work on it together, and if not, I'll point you to someone who can.

📞
Phone
+45 61 69 10 85
📍
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark

Tell me what you’re building and where you need help.

Email Christian →

Or write directly to christian@aboveaverage.one.