Thoughtcraft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
Garanzuay Consulting is an advisory and implementation firm based in Dublin, Ireland. It serves transmission system operators, utilities, energy market operators and their participants across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Its work covers power system operations, electricity market transformation, energy trading and technology implementation. Founder and Managing Director Severin Garanzuay had grown the firm through referrals and relationships. In September 2024, TRC Companies acquired the firm to anchor its growth in Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Thoughtcraft?
Garanzuay Consulting had a strong set of services and a founder who could explain complex problems clearly for his clients. He couldn’t do the same for his own firm. In his words, Severin Garanzuay said the message “wasn’t specific enough to show my value,” and it “didn’t sufficiently differentiate me from anybody else” offering similar services. Sales depended on word of mouth. "That was a real problem for me in driving my business to get more work and to grow,” Garanzuay said. With regulations and client needs changing across the energy market, the firm needed a message that would explain its value to new buyers and support growth.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Thoughtcraft worked with Severin to understand the firm’s capabilities, its clients and the forces reshaping the electricity market. Together they identified the firm’s unique value and built it into a single, consistent message. The work was set up as clear, step-by-step instructions, so Severin could fit it around client delivery.

Deliverables:
• Brand Message Blueprint: goals and objectives, brand story, brand message script, elevator pitch, core purpose and vision.
• Positioning: a core idea built on helping clients “thrive in the zero-carbon economy,” along with the problems, stakes and outcomes that matter to energy market participants.
• Website copy: a full, ready-for-design draft for the firm’s new website, coordinated with the web design team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

• New staff: within nine months of launching its new message, the firm added seven full-time staff to take on the new business.

• Acquisition offers: the firm received two acquisition offers over the next 12 months.

• Acquisition: TRC Companies acquired the firm in September 2024, about 19 months after the work began (TRC).

• Founder’s view: “Working with you was the first critical step to achieving our goal of being acquired by a larger firm.” (Severin Garanzuay)

• Message still in use: In TRC’s acquisition announcement, Severin described the shared commitment to “helping our clients thrive in the zero-carbon economy” and said, “Together we help clients manage change, stay compliant and profitable, no matter how often mandates change” (TRC). Both lines come from the assets created by Thoughtcraft.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Thoughtcraft's project management was effective, efficient, and focused on the important aspects of the work. Timely completion of all work and convenient interactions to work through and approve the deliverables. 

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

How Thoughtcraft was able to take a complex and chaotic message and distill it into a clear, concise, and powerful message to the world. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Thoughtcraft could have done differently?

None - we enjoyed a terrific experience with Thoughtcraft.  It was an incredibly successful engagement - just what we needed!