Your idea doesn't need more time to think.
It needs 90 days
to get built.

Concept Catalyst is our high-touch, 1:1 idea build partnership where your idea goes from concept to built - in 90 days.
‍
Not planned. Not outlined. Built.
‍Then supported for 3 more months of troubleshooting, strategy, and decision support as you execute.
Start Your Idea Partnership
building your dream home

You're not just sitting on an idea.
You're sitting on impact that has an expiration date.

Maybe it's the business you've always wanted to build. Maybe it's a meaningful project you want to implement. Maybe it's the philanthropic initiative that could create real impact. Maybe it's the next chapter of your professional legacy.
Every season you stay in "not yet," someone else is building what you imagined.
Every month your idea stays in your head, the window for it to matter at its fullest potential gets smaller.

The cost of staying stuck isn't just time. It's the version of this idea that could have changed something - for you, for your family, for people you haven't even met yet.

Concept Catalyst is the 90-day, 1:1 idea build partnership where your idea finally gets what it's always needed: a real development process, a structured plan, and someone who stays in it with you - from the first hard question to the first real move.
Start Your Idea Partnership
woman editing a document on her laptopwoman editing a document on her laptop
The Critical Step Most Visionaries Skip (Or Stay Stuck In)

The gap between your vision and reality isn't filled by execution alone.

It's the idea development phase - the step that takes your big vision and breaks it down into strategic, executable steps that most people skip.
Skip it, and you're building without a blueprint.
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Rush it, and you spend the next year fixing structural problems that proper planning would have caught.

Get it right, and everything that comes after moves faster, cleaner, and with more impact.

People like you that have a great idea you're interested in pursuing typically end up in one of these three scenarios:

select an option:
Scenario 1: The Stalled Changemaker
Scenario 2: The Chronic Overthinker
Scenario 3: The Rushed Executor
You know the idea is real. You just haven't let yourself build it yet.
Imposter syndrome, the weight of "what if it doesn't work," the size of what it would actually take to execute - one of these (or all three) has kept you from giving your idea the space it deserves.
Meanwhile, the idea stays in your head. And every month it stays there, the cost of not moving compounds.

What's Keeping Your Idea Stuck:

Mindset Barriers
Not thinking the idea is strong enough. Overwhelm from the amount of planning that would be needed. Anxiety about feedback.
Resource Challenges
No structured process to build out the idea. No clear starting point. No one to sit in the hard parts with you.
Lack of Support
No accountability. No access to the kind of feedback that pushes the idea further rather than just validating what you already think.
The Real Cost
That idea that could fundamentally change something - for you, your family, your field, the world - is still waiting for you to make a move. And it's been waiting long enough.
You've been developing this idea for so long that the people around you have stopped asking about it.
You're not avoiding the idea. You're drowning in it. Every detail gets reconsidered. Every plan gets refined before it can be executed. Meanwhile, someone else is building the thing you've been perfecting - and they're going to bring it to reality first.

Spending too much time in idea development leads to:

Analysis Paralysis
Too many options. Fear of the wrong choice eventually becomes greater than having the courage to move forward and execute.
Diminishing Returns
Spending hours fixing little things that people would hardly notice, while the things that actually matter stay untouched.
Missed Opportunities
While you're in your endless cycle of researching and editing, someone else has launched something similar, or the need your idea was going to solve has shifted.
Mental Burnout
The weight of your unexecuted idea becomes heavier and heavier. The "never good enough" cycle doesn't protect your idea, it delays it.
You moved fast. You built something. Now you're spending all your time fixing what proper planning would have caught.
That excitement became urgency. Urgency became action. And now you're three months in, rebuilding the foundation you skipped, wondering why execution feels harder than it should. Idea development isn't slow - skipping it is.

Skipping idea development leads to:

Financial Hits
Higher costs from lack of planning. Unexpected expenses and budget overruns. Lost opportunities because the timing wasn't right.
Time Wasted
Constant backtracking to fix foundational issues. Longer timeline from flying by the seat of your pants with every move. Time lost from exploring the wrong things.
Impact Compromise
Missing elements that would increase idea depth and impact. Bad market fit. Inconsistent delivery because the foundation wasn't solid.
Emotional Toll
High stress levels and frustration. Burnout from the constant troubleshooting. Potentially damaged relationships. The gap between what you imagined and what you built is demoralizing - and it didn't have to be this wide.

Too little planning leads to chaos. Too much leads to paralysis.
No planning leads to impact unrealized.
Concept Catalyst gives you the structure to develop your idea with purpose - and 90 days to find that sweet spot between thoughtful and done.

Start Your Idea Partnership

What a properly developed idea actually gives you.

01 Clarity and Focus
The end goal is clear - and so are the details involved in getting there. No more spinning, no more scattered directions. You are equipped with one cohesive, high-impact path forward.
02 Minimized Risk, Maximum Impact
The development process surfaces potential roadblocks before they cost you. Your idea also has the room to expand, deepen, and reach further than you could see from where you started.
03 Seamless Execution
A step-by-step roadmap you can actually follow, and the confidence to navigate the decisions that will come up along the way, because you've already done the foundational thinking.
meet your idea partner, deanna

The reason I do this work started at a funeral.

I was walking through the graveyard and a thought hit me that I couldn't shake: How many ideas are buried here? How many people left this world with something still inside them?
A business they kept putting off. A movement they almost started. An idea that could have changed something - for them, for their family, for someone they never even met?

That thought never left me. And it became the reason I refuse to let people stay stuck in the gap between having an idea and actually doing something with it.
But I don't just study this work. I've spent my entire career living it - across boardrooms, startups, nonprofits, and everything in between. The through line has always been the same: take the idea that doesn't exist yet and make it real.
DeAnna McIntosh - Intrapreneurship, Creativity, Innovation ExpertDeAnna McIntosh - Intrapreneurship, Creativity, Innovation Expert
DeAnna McIntosh, Idea-to-Execution Strategist
Chico's - No Iron Linen
Managing a $117M department, challenged to revive the white no-iron dress shirt. Instead of reviving what existed, I asked a different question: what if we applied the treatment to the most wrinkled fabric imaginable, linen? No Iron Linen launched as a million-dollar test. First to market. Fourteen years later, it's still generating revenue.
Miami Bridal Show
Walked into a massive convention center bridal show and watched everyone look bored. Started asking "what if" - smaller venue, curated vendors, intentional experience. A year later: 25 vendors, 5 sponsors, 250+ attendees, hundreds of thousands of media impressions. Expanded to Jacksonville and Dallas the following year.
Diversify Retail®
Launched during the pandemic in response to the flood of retailer pledges aimed at Black-owned brands - a nonprofit designed to help those brands navigate wholesale partnerships and hold retailers accountable for actual change, not performative announcements.
Dolly Parton Acquisition
Designed, sourced, and merchandised the retail concept for a truck and travel stop. A year after launch, the entire venture was acquired by Dolly Parton and is now expanding nationally.
Office Depot - Operation Ignite
Led the initiative to bring local Austin small, independent brands into Office Depot stores for the first time in company history.
These are just a few examples.
I've managed billions of dollars in revenue at Fortune-ranking companies. And I've helped bootstrapped startups find their footing from scratch. I hold a graduate certificate in creativity and innovation and am currently pursuing a master's in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. I draw from 100+ creativity and brainstorming frameworks - and more importantly, from 20+ years of actually executing ideas across every industry, budget, and context you can imagine.
The ideas that feel impossible are usually just waiting for the right questions, the right pressure, and someone willing to sit in the mess with you until it becomes something real.
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That's what I'm here for.
Start Your Idea Partnership
The Partnership Structure

Your next 90 days, built around your idea - not a calendar.

One thing to be clear about upfront: this is a 1:1 partnership, not a "curriculum". The four phases below describe the arc of the work, but the pacing flexes to your idea.

What does not flex is the outcome: by the end of 90 days, your idea is built. Live. Launched. Activated. In real, tangible motion in the world.  Followed by 3 months of post-launch support to continue the momentum.
01
Phase 1 | Anchor

Clarify The Idea

Before anything gets built, we make sure we're building the right thing. We get comprehensive clarity on your idea - identifying what it actually is, what it's meant to do, who it's for, what problem it solves, why this is something you're uniquely positioned to build, and what shape it should take. We surface the decisions that need to be made first, so nothing downstream gets built on a shaky foundation.
Goal: Clarity on what the idea is and what we're building - before we build it.
02
Phase 2 | shape

Develop the Concept

Once the idea is clear, we develop what it needs to actually work. This is where the idea gets its architecture. Depending on the idea, this may include offer or program development, positioning, business model thinking, experience design, ecosystem mapping, backend planning, systems and workflow planning - identifying everything that needs to exist for this to be executed well.
Goal: A fully developed concept with a clear structure, a defined audience, and the depth to build from.
03
Phase 3 | Build

Build the Roadmap and Systems

The concept is developed. Now we build everything needed to execute it - together. This is the most hands-on phase of the partnership. Based on what your idea requires, we may be building your project roadmap, creating workflows and systems, setting up tools and trackers, building landing pages or site structure, mapping the customer or user journey, setting up the operational backend, preparing what is needed for a real launch. This isn't me handing you a to-do list. We are in the build together - working through the highest-leverage pieces that have to exist before your idea can go live.
Goal: Everything in place to launch - the roadmap, the systems, the infrastructure, and the momentum to move into execution with confidence.
04
Phase 4 | execute + navigate

Your Idea Goes Live. The Support Continues.

This is where the idea stops being just a plan. You execute - and the moment it launches, you move directly into the Navigate phase. There's no gap. No handoff. No "good luck from here." The same close partnership that built your idea stays with you for 3 additional months of async support as the idea continues to grow. Real-time troubleshooting when things don't go as planned. Strategy as new decisions come up. Decision support when you're not sure what to do next. I stay in your corner through the part that most partnerships abandon you for - the messy, real, keep-it-moving work of post-launch.
Goal: By the end of 90 days, your idea is live, launched, activated, or in clear tangible motion - And supported for 3 months after.
inside the partnership

Direct access.
Real working relationship.
24-hour response time.

Our partnership lives inside a private async idea space. This is where all the thinking, building, and decision-making happens. Everything is documented, accessible, and in one place. You reach me via text, voice, or video.  I respond within 24 hours.
Here's how I show up for you:
1:1 Asynchronous Support
Full 24-hour response time across the entire 90 days - an actual 1:1 working relationship that moves at the pace your idea requires.
Strategic & Creative Thinking Partner
Thinking through the big picture and the sequencing of how to get there - what to build, what to defer, and in what order.
Comprehensive Reviews and Feedback
On your concept, your plan, your work-in-progress as you build - delivered via video, audio, or text, depending on what the moment calls for.
Whiteboarding and Brainstorming
Working through what's stuck, drawing from 100+ creativity and brainstorming frameworks to push your thinking further than you'd go alone.
Live Calls at Key Milestones
A kickoff call before we dive in, plus milestone calls during the build phase to ground the work, make critical decisions, and keep the project moving.

Think of it as part creativity lab, part strategy bootcamp, and part permission slip to finally take your idea seriously. The structure is the floor, not the ceiling. If I see partners needing something - a coworking session, a group workshop, an extra resource - I build it.

Start Your Idea Partnership
woman making a diagram in a notebook
What "Built" Looks Like at 90 Days

No two ideas are identical, so no two partnerships look exactly the same.
But the result is always the same - the idea is no longer trapped in raw form.

A fully developed concept
Clear, structured, pressure tested, and built on a solid foundation
Key setup work completed
The systems, workflows, tools, and infrastructure the idea needs to function in the real world
Launch pieces underway or complete
Depending on the nature of the idea - it's live, launched, activated, or in clear tangible motion

Decisions made
The key choices that would have kept you spinning are behind you, not ahead of you
Real traction started
Not a folder full of plans, a build already moving in the world

Then - 3 More Months Ahead Of You

After the 90-day build phase, you continue with 3 additional months of async support. Not to finish what should have been built in the first 90 days, but because real execution keeps moving, and you shouldn't be left to figure it out alone the minute momentum starts.

The next 3 months are for troubleshooting, decision support, implementation questions, and continued guidance.

start your idea partnership

In Their Words

Chizi U.
Tech Founder
“DeAnna's refining of our pitch deck and developing of our ability to speak clearly on the impact of our solution helped us raise $120K shortly afterwards. The depth and breadth of her knowledge shocked us a few times, and to back it up she was able to provide targeted connections to individuals within her network. Our institutional investors made a pointed remark on her involvement with us; it strengthened their investment rationale in our company.”
Kali G.
Wellness Retail Business Owner
“DeAnna is a genius at creating and sharing the MOST useful documents that have completely re-defined how I manage the business day-to-day and make all decisions. In working with DeAnna, we have not only set up a solid foundation for operating our business, but we have seen double-digit sales growth and most importantly, as the founder and CEO, I now have that Billion-dollar brand mindset when making any and all decisions related to the business.”
Stephanie H.
Career Development Coach
“Where can I start? DeAnna and her team are incredible.  They are responsive, kind, knowledgeable. They worked with me through my indecision. This was my first re-brand, and at many points, I didn't know what I wanted to how to communicate it.  This may sound strange, but I believe they saw my brand clearer than I did. I am beyond happy with my website and brand guide, but even more so with the experience. Truly grateful I invested!”

What This Is. What It Isn't.

Concept Catalyst is a carefully designed container built around your specific idea. Being honest about what it includes - and what it doesn't - is part of how the partnership works.

This Is:

  1. A fully personalized 1:1 partnership built entirely around your specific idea
  2. A thinking partner who pushes your concept further than you'd get alone
  3. A structured process for developing, planning, and executing your idea
  4. Async-first so it fits your life - not the other way around
  5. Honest feedback, hard questions, and support that stays with you through execution
  6. A real working relationship - not a program you complete in isolation
Go From Idea to Built in 90 days
Start Your Idea Partnership

This Isn't:

  1. A course or a curriculum with modules to check off
  2. Group coaching where you share attention with a room full of people
  3. Someone telling you what your idea should be or become
  4. A done-for-you service - this is done-with-you. I'm actively in the build alongside you, not advising from a distance
  5. Industry-specific consulting - you're the expert in your field. I'm the expert on this process
  6. The right fit if you don't yet have a clear idea - start with Flawless Clarity first →

“Having DeAnna work on your next project is an excellent investment and you will not regret it.”

DeAnna conceptualized and brought to life one of the most beautiful events I've ever seen.  She is truly talented and detailed oriented in every definition of the word.  She's meticulous to a fault; making sure every single obstacle that may arise has an effective solution.  Aside from having a keen fashion sense and strong marketing and analytical skills, DeAnna is extremely personable and a pleasure to work with.  She demonstrates a great deal of professionalism, empathy, and creativity.
jeke r.
From A Partner
start your idea partnership

Before we officially begin, you'll get a real feel for how we will work together.

01 access the idea space

Click the button below to enter our private idea space - the same platform we'd be working inside together for the full partnership. This is your first look at how we'd collaborate, before anything is official.

Launch Our Private Idea Space
02 introduce yourself and your idea

Inside, record a short video or send a voice memo introducing yourself and your idea - what it is, why it matters to you, and what you're hoping to build in our first 90 days together. No script, no pressure.

03 i respond back with your 90-day idea roadmap

I personally review your idea to see if it's something I'd be great at supporting and bringing to life. I'll respond back via video so you can see how I think, how I engage with your idea, and what it actually feels like to have me in your corner - because this step is also about us making sure we vibe before anything is official.

If it's a mutual fit, I'll share your 90-day idea roadmap, partnership agreement, and invoice all inside the same space we'd be working together in. So by the time you sign, you've already experienced the partnership firsthand.

If the timing isn't right for us to work together, I'll let you know and give you next steps to keep your idea moving forward.
Launch Our Private Idea Space To Get Started
go from idea to built in 90 days
common questions

Everything you need to decide with confidence.

Do I need to have my idea fully figured out before I begin?
No - but you need to have an idea. You'll introduce yourself and your concept via video or voice memo before we begin. If you can speak to what it is and why it matters, you're ready. If you're still figuring out which idea to pursue, or haven't developed one clearly yet, Flawless Clarity is the right starting point. It's designed to get you to exactly this place.
Is this only for certain industries?
No and here's why: you're the expert on your industry. I'm not trying to be. What I bring is expertise in developing an idea into something tangible and executable - the brainstorming, the frameworks, the techniques to deepen and stress-test your concept, and the guidance on how to bring it to life. That works regardless of what you're building or what field you're in.
What does "asynchronous" actually mean for how we work?
Everything lives in our private idea space. You share updates, questions, and work-in-progress via video, audio, or text - whatever works best for you in the moment. I respond within 24 hours with feedback, frameworks, and next steps. No scheduling required for day-to-day work. You move when you can, and I meet you there.
How much time will this take each week?
Plan for 5-7 hours per week of focused work. The more you put in, the more developed your concept and plan will be at the end. The async format means those hours are yours to allocate. They don't need to be consecutive or scheduled.
Why do you only work with a limited number of partners at a time?
Because this is a real, hands-on partnership, not a program. Limited number of partners means you get genuine attention, not a slot in a queue. I can push your thinking, notice patterns, and build something for you myself when I see a need. That's only possible at a small partner size.
Will I interact with other partners you're working with?
Your 90 days are 1:1 and entirely individualized. This is not a group program. The only time you'd be in the same space as another partner is if I add something optional, like a coworking session or open discussion. Those are additions, never the foundation, and always optional.
What happens after the 90 days?
The engagement doesn't end at 90 days - it transitions. After the 90-day build phase, you continue with 3 additional months of async support. This isn't extra time to finish what should have been built in the first 90 days. It's there because real execution keeps moving, and new questions, decisions, and troubleshooting moments come up as the idea takes root in the real world. You're not dropped to figure it out on your own the minute momentum starts.
Is this done-for-you or done-with-you?
Done-with-you. This is a collaborative, hands-on build partnership - not a service where you hand things off and I produce deliverables. I work closely with you inside the build, which means I can help shape, organize, structure, and move things forward alongside you. But the work is anchored to your vision, your decisions, and your execution. What I bring is the strategic thinking, the frameworks, the hard questions, and the hands-on support to make sure the right things actually get done.
Can you help with systems, tools, or backend setup?
Yes - when that's part of the highest-leverage work needed to move the idea forward. Concept Catalyst is intentionally hands-on, and I'm comfortable working inside a wide range of platforms depending on what the build requires. That may include Airtable, Webflow, Showit, WordPress, Squarespace, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Dubsado, HoneyBook, Notion, ClickUp, Asana, Trello, Zapier, Calendly, Stripe, Shopify, Substack, and countless other tools. This partnership is centered on the highest-leverage work - so it's not unlimited execution for every task the project could ever require, but if getting into the backend is what moves the idea forward, I go there.
go from idea to built in 90 days
Concept Catalyst is your 90-day bridge from "What if" to "What is."
Every great innovation, every life-changing project, every powerful transformation started exactly where you are right now.
The difference between dreaming and doing isn't having all the answers – it's having the right process and the right person in your corner.
Your idea has waited long enough.
start your idea partnership
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