He Used to Guide the Strategy, Now He Owns It
Jake Sherman used to help the world’s biggest companies figure out what to build next.
For nearly a decade, he worked in innovation consulting—talking to customers, gathering insights, and helping major brands in industries like pharma, manufacturing, and food figure out what products and services to develop.
“I spent a year and a half working with a steel company in Mexico,” he says. “Learned everything I could about how steel is made. Then moved on to an over-the-counter pharma company. The projects were always changing.”
He wasn’t just managing projects. He was publishing books on innovation. Leading research. Sitting across from C-suite executives. Helping shape long-term growth strategies. And through it all, one thing kept nagging him:
Too many big decisions were being made on gut instinct.
“I wanted to dive deeper into the research that should inform those decisions,” Jake says. “You’d be surprised how often people just go with their gut.”
That realization led to a big shift. Jake left the firm, gave up his partner title, and joined a market research company to hone his skills.
“I knew I needed to level up,” he says. “I wanted to get really good at analyzing data, doing research, learning from customers at a higher level.”
He got that and more—immersing himself in a research team with deep expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods. But the structure didn’t fit. The team was mostly in San Diego. Jake was in Chicago. And remote work, once exciting, started to feel isolating.
“I realized I need more in-person engagement,” he says. “That kind of distance just doesn’t work for me.”
The timing lined up with something else: an itch he’d had for years. A business of his own.
He’d already filed the LLC. He’d started consulting on the side. And even though his wife was four months pregnant with their first child, he made the call.
“I thought about playing it safe,” Jake says. “But this is what I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
He launched Zero Point Strategy—a research-driven consultancy focused on helping agencies and founders make smarter, more customer-aligned decisions.
At first, he tried to offer everything: innovation strategy, growth planning, brand positioning, customer insights. But after a few conversations—and a few false starts—he realized the same thing he used to tell his clients:
Focus wins.
So he narrowed in.
Today, Jake works with two main groups:
Brands who want to build new products rooted in customer needs.
Boutique agencies that want to make their creative work smarter and more resonant.
“They’re already doing great work,” Jake says. “But they don’t always have the bandwidth or expertise to layer in real customer insight. That’s where I come in.”
It’s not just about delivering a deck. It’s about helping his partners build confidence in their decisions—so they don’t waste time building something nobody wants.
He’s also publishing weekly content. Writing with clarity. Putting himself out there in a way he never had to before.
“I’ve written a couple books,” he says. “But social content? That’s new for me. Now I’m writing every week, sharing what I know. And it’s been fun.”
He’s not chasing headcount or flash. He’s building depth—one project, one relationship, one insight at a time.
And while he’s helped Fortune 500s plan for the future, this chapter is different. It’s personal. It’s bootstrapped. And it’s his.
“I get to guide the ship,” Jake says. “Choose who I work with. Decide how we grow. It’s not easy—but it’s mine.”
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