How Two Founders on Different Continents Built a Consultancy From Scratch
Remora wasn’t built in a boardroom or backed by big investment. It started with two people, working in different countries, who saw the same gap in the market: most B2B marketing is either over-engineered or disconnected from business goals.
We’d met a few times in person while working Valsoft, but our real working rhythm developed remotely. It felt natural, like we’d been collaborating for years. We both came from hands-on roles, working directly with founders and operators to drive growth. That shared experience gave us a strong foundation, and it quickly became clear we had the right mix of skills to build something together.
“I wanted to work with people who cared about outcomes and not just deliverables,” says Zafar Shah, Remora’s co-founder. “The marketing world is full of fluff. We wanted to build something sharper, more useful and aimed at the Investment Management sector where we’ve been active for the past few years.”
A remote-first model from day one
Zafar is based in Montreal. I’m in Oxfordshire. The time zone difference could have been a barrier, but instead it’s given us a useful rhythm. One of us finishes up for the day while the other starts, which helps us keep momentum without working unsustainable hours!
We communicate clearly and consistently. Teams and Slack keep us aligned day-to-day. Daily video calls give us space to dig into strategy, client work, and new ideas. And because we don’t share a physical office, we’re intentional about how we plan and collaborate.
We’ve learned how each other thinks. We know when to lead, when to step back, and when to challenge. There’s no guesswork.
“Being remote forces you to build strong systems,” Zafar says. “It’s made us more focused, more structured, and more adaptable to how our clients work.”
Clear roles, shared mindset
We come at problems from different angles. Zafar focuses more on growth strategy, digital performance, and commercial thinking. I bring more focus on positioning, messaging, design, and brand development. Needless to say we collaborate across everything, but we don’t duplicate effort. That lets us move fast, stay lean, and deliver high-quality work without delay.
Over the years we’ve worked with early-stage SaaS founders, experienced operators, and established software businesses. Some come to us for sharper positioning. Others need help building a marketing engine that can scale. Others are preparing for change and need clarity before they commit. Our job is to bring structure, insight and results without overwhelming the process.
“We’re not here to just generate content or manage social calendars. We help businesses get clear on where they are, where they want to go, and how marketing can support that in a practical way.”
Using AI to stay lean without losing quality
The big question everyone keeps asking is how AI will affect our business. We’ve built AI into our operations to increase speed and reduce repetition. It supports research, drafting, content analysis, and documentation. But it doesn’t replace judgement. Every piece of client-facing work is reviewed, edited and shaped by us.
AI helps us stay responsive and efficient. Human oversight ensures accuracy, clarity and value. It allows us to take on more complex work without relying on a large, layered team.
A small, senior team
We’ve grown Remora deliberately and fast. Behind the scenes, we collaborate with a handful of experienced marketers, strategists and specialists. They support us on projects where specific expertise is needed, whether that’s product, storytelling, or commercial strategy.
Everyone we bring in shares our values: be clear, be useful, and stay human. Clients work directly with the people doing the work. No middle layers. No account management jargon. Just good people solving real problems.
Lessons from launching Remora
Working across borders has taught us to be intentional. Time zones don’t slow us down, but they do require structure. We’ve built flexible systems that adapt to different client styles and rhythms.
We’ve also learned the value of focus. We don’t try to be everything to everyone. Our work sits at the intersection of strategy, execution and growth. Whether we’re building a website, running a marketing audit, or refreshing a brand, we focus on delivering work that’s clear, actionable and aligned with business goals.
We are making deliberate choices along the way. We’ve stayed lean by design. We’ve kept the team small so we can stay close to the work. These choices help us deliver real value without distraction.
What comes next
Remora isn’t built for scale in the traditional sense. It’s built to stay focused. We want to keep working with thoughtful founders, operators and investors who value clarity, execution and results.
That might mean sharpening a brand that no longer reflects a company’s offer. It might mean building out a growth-ready website. It might mean helping a leadership team align on what their marketing team should actually be doing.
“We built Remora to stay ahead of the curve, using AI to move faster, human insight to go deeper, and a lean model to deliver real outcomes. The tools will keep evolving. So will we. That’s the only way to stay valuable and relevant in the rapidly evolving world.”
