Consulting for agency leaders ready for what’s next.
We help agencies grow with purpose.
Circle of Kin was founded on a belief: that creative businesses can evolve, thrive, and even prepare for acquisition—without losing their identity and what makes them great along the way.
We bring decades of combined experience leading, scaling, and advising agencies through complex transitions. Whether you’re stabilizing after a growth spurt, preparing for a sale, or building toward long-term health, we offer the structure and strategy to support your next chapter. Our work is grounded in intentionality—we help you move forward with strategic clarity, aligned leadership, and operational systems that fit your business today and tomorrow.
Together, we’ve helped build, scale, and sell agencies. And we believe it can be done without sacrificing what makes them great.
Ashley is an accomplished executive with a deep track record of growing and scaling creative and digital agencies.
As one of the earliest employees and a longtime partner at BASIC®, she played a key role in growing the renowned experience design agency from $1.5M to $42M over 13 years—guiding the business through each stage of growth and evolving the operational model along the way. With expertise in operations, delivery, and organizational design, Ashley brings structure to growth and clarity to complexity. She’s passionate about building operational infrastructure that supports scale without overprocessing—creating just enough structure to enable great work without getting in the way. Whether stabilizing an agency in transition or preparing it for growth or sale, she brings strategic, pragmatic leadership grounded in empathy, alignment, and results.
Alisa is a veteran strategic CFO who brings strategic insight, financial clarity, and operational efficiency to growth-stage agencies.
She built her financial, M&A, and operational chops at larger agencies including Sapient, where she led the acquisition of 12 companies, and DEPT, where she served as CFO/COO for the Americas overseeing six acquisitions and expansion into Latin America. She brings that enterprise-level experience to growing independent agencies—applying her deep understanding of what buyers look for to help position clients for successful exits. As a fractional CFO, she’s guided two agencies through sales to private equity. She helps founders and executive teams make better decisions, build sustainable financial infrastructure, and prepare for M&A exit with a pragmatic approach that’s tailored to the agency’s stage.
Courtney is a finance and accounting leader with 15+ years of experience in helping clients set up and manage their financial accounting for scale.
A former colleague of both Ashley and Alisa at BASIC®, she has a deep understanding of how strong financial operations support healthy, scalable businesses. Courtney specializes in building foundational financial systems, managing day-to-day accounting, and providing clear, accurate reporting that business leaders can trust. Her services include Financial Controller support, bookkeeping, accounting systems setup, and ongoing operational finance guidance.
We build the systems for scale—and the strategy to sustain it.
Our consulting services are designed to meet you where you are—building on your current stage of growth while aligning with your future ambitions. Our work helps agency founders operate with confidence—streamlining what’s inefficient, solving what’s unclear, and reinforcing what already works.
Extended Network of Kin
One of our greatest strengths is our ability to quickly bring in the right expert at the right time. Through our trusted network of vetted consultants, we can expand your team with specialized support—whether it’s for a one-off special project or a focused area of need. From finance and HR to sales ops and executive coaching, we pair each client with the right resource to move the business forward.
Human Resources & People Operations
Sales & Marketing Operations
Executive Coaching & Team Development
DEI & Management Training
Engagement Types
Flexible support, real results.
We tailor our approach to meet you where you are—and take you where you want to go.
Fractional Leadership – Senior-level COO/CFO support (10–20 hours/week)
Special Projects – Targeted initiatives like org design, turnaround planning, or M&A readiness
Diagnostic Assessments – Deep dives into operations and finance to uncover gaps and opportunities to deliver a strategic analysis and project roadmap.
Interim Leadership – Senior-level COO/CFO support to provide stability and continuity while you search for and onboard a permanent leader.
Let’s make your business work better—together.
We’d love to hear how we might be able to support you.