Case Study: From “White-Label Devs” to Strategic Partner Positioning
Most dev shops don’t struggle because they can’t build.
They struggle because they can’t explain what they do in a way the right agency partners recognize fast.
That was the bottleneck for Pavlo’s team.
They had years of experience, a real track record, and strong delivery — but they still couldn’t consistently attract the right kind of agency relationships.
Not because the work wasn’t good.
Because the narrative wasn’t clear.
The bottleneck
Before we started partnering, Pavlo described the problem like this:
“The biggest challenge was a lack of clarity — both in how we defined what we do, and who we do it for.”
From the outside, it looked like a marketing issue.
But underneath, it showed up everywhere:
Positioning was vague and messaging was too broad
Internally, the team wasn’t aligned on what made them different
They were trying to serve everyone — so they weren’t resonating deeply with anyone
Sales and scoping had friction baked in
Hiring decisions were reactive
The business was building with skill… but without intention
This is the “confusing in-between” phase: real expertise, real capability — but no clean story the market can repeat.
What changed first
The first shift wasn’t “better copy.”
It was creating a weekly space to work on the business instead of just in it.
Pavlo put it perfectly:
“The weekly calls weren’t just strategy sessions — they became a system of accountability, reflection, and momentum.”
That matters because founders don’t just need ideas — they need decision velocity.
“Working with Omari felt like having a co-pilot who could help me see blind spots, pressure-test assumptions, and validate hundreds of micro-decisions that I previously had to make alone.”
That’s the hidden tax in agency life: even when you’re capable, making 200 micro-decisions a week alone will slow you down.
The insight that unlocked the narrative
One of the most practical breakthroughs was realizing their Shopify and Squarespace work looked interchangeable on paper — but wasn’t interchangeable in real life.
Pavlo had even considered splitting the business into separate brands for each platform.
Instead, we zoomed out and found the unifying value they deliver across everything:
“We help our clients make more money.”
Simple. Specific. Useful.
Not a slogan — a positioning anchor.
Because when you lead with outcomes, you stop competing as “devs” and start showing up as a growth partner.
The transformation
Before: “White-label devs” executing what agencies requested.
After: High-impact agency partners — the kind of partner that doesn’t just execute, but thinks strategically, asks the right questions, and becomes an extension of the client’s team.
Pavlo summed it up like this:
“We’re not ‘just’ developers. We’re strategic partners that drive growth.”
Once that belief was true internally, everything else got easier:
Positioning and messaging
ICP clarity (who they’re best for)
Service structure across platforms
Internal organization and team alignment
Pricing logic and boundaries
If you’re a dev shop in the same “in-between”
If any of these are true, you’re probably in the same spot Pavlo was:
You’re getting work, but it’s not consistently the right work
You feel like you have to explain what you do from scratch every time
Your messaging is broad because you don’t want to exclude anyone
Scoping feels heavier than it should
You’ve thought about splitting your offers into multiple brands because things feel misaligned
This isn’t a hustle problem.
It’s a clarity problem.
And clarity isn’t a vibe — it’s decisions.
Want help with this?
If you’re booked, capable, and still capped because your positioning is fuzzy (or your partnerships aren’t clean), that’s exactly what I work on inside my coaching containers.
