Tracey Shirtcliff, Founder at SCOPE: Solving The ‘Pricing Problem’ For Businesses

Tell us about SCOPE

 

At SCOPE Better, we’ve built a Pricing Platform for professional services businesses. We help these companies to solve what we call ‘The Pricing Problem’ by giving them complete control and visibility over their pricing.

 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company? 

 

I’ve worked in tech and software for over 20 years, solving problems for professional services businesses. 

The software company I previously founded helped businesses manage people, resources, and project processes more effectively. During that time, I saw another big problem that needed to be solved: the way these companies priced for their services. 

At best, it was random—more often, it was downright chaotic.

Firstly, there was a lot of inconsistency – with different people in the business doing it differently, getting different outcomes. 

There was a lot of complexity and different pricing methodologies being used at the same time. One business alone could be pricing for retainers, stand-alone projects,  time and materials, fixed fees, outputs and value.  

They also had a whole bunch of scattered data , with all their pricing done manually, often in spreadsheets. This led to them also having a whole bunch of Blind spots, they had lots of processes yet not much learning for success.

We therefore set out to solve this – and coined the phrase – The pricing problem.

 

 

What is your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

 

I’d say ask lots of questions, be inquisitive and in the words of Winston Churchill- “never, never, never give up.” 

Grit is the way to win, and belief is 90% of the challenge.

 

What most excites you about SCOPE?

 

We are now in a world of AI and from this perspective some ways of pricing are simply no longer fit for purpose. 

Take time and materials pricing, it’s a ticking time bomb—what happens when AI slashes billable hours by 40%? To stay profitable, businesses need smarter pricing strategies.

 

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years? 

 

We have been organically grown and bootstrapped. 

We took investment with Fuel ventures 18 months ago and we now have a partner now to sound off, one who also brings feedback and encouragement to our growth, not just money.  Plus, they are a fun team and smart too!

 

What can we hope to see from SCOPE in the future?

 

Our vision is simple: To be the leading platform that helps professional services businesses succeed through better pricing.

Pricing determines profit after all!