1The firm
What is Special Projects?
Special Projects is a founder-led European consulting firm headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It combines senior advice with hands-on execution to help companies, investors, institutions and high-profile individuals make better decisions, strengthen their market positions and navigate consequential moments.
Who founded Special Projects?
Special Projects was founded in Basel in 2023 by Simon Strand, a Swedish adviser whose work has spanned listed and private companies, investment firms and institutions in Europe and beyond (primarily Switzerland, the Nordics, and the UK).
Why is it called Special Projects?
Some of the most important business problems sit between established functions: a new market, a transaction, a strategic partnership or a threat to reputation. They call for joined-up judgement and execution rather than a standard service package. That is the work the firm was built to do.
Where is Special Projects based, and where does it work?
The firm is based in Basel and works across Europe, particularly Switzerland, the Nordics, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Who designed and developed the Special Projects website?
We developed our website and brand identity in-house, with support from an affiliated designer.
2Services and clients
What does Special Projects do?
Our work spans three connected areas: advantage, perception and judgement. We help clients understand markets and stakeholders, decide where they can win, build stronger positions and make those positions understood. Assignments may involve research, market intelligence, concept development, investor relations, strategic partnerships, media engagement and reputational risk management.
When should a company engage Special Projects?
Typically when a decision or development has implications beyond one department. Examples include entering a market, reshaping a business or brand position, preparing for a fundraising or listing, launching a major initiative, changing leadership or responding to scrutiny. We also work on longer-term questions of growth, value creation and stakeholder confidence.
Which industries does Special Projects work in?
Our principal sectors are financial services, private markets and investments, artificial intelligence, industrial technology, media, culture and sports, urban development and brain health. We also consider assignments in other sectors where our experience and approach are relevant.
Who are Special Projects’ clients?
We work with global enterprises, growth companies, investors and capital owners, institutions and foundations, high-profile individuals, and fellow advisers and partners. Our clients include listed businesses, regulated financial institutions and private-market investors.
Can Special Projects help with market entry and growth strategy?
Yes. We help clients assess where they can win, which customers and markets to prioritise, how to differentiate and what will make a proposition credible. Depending on the brief, this can extend from market intelligence and positioning to partnerships and early market activation.
Does Special Projects advise on investor relations and capital markets?
Yes. We work on equity stories, investor positioning and stakeholder engagement around fundraising, listings, transactions and ownership changes. We connect the commercial case with how a business is understood by investors, while working alongside the client’s financial, legal and other specialist advisers.
Does Special Projects provide media relations and crisis management?
Yes. Media relations, reputational risk and crisis preparedness form part of our work, either within a broader assignment or as a focused engagement. We support planning, messaging and external engagement. Unless specifically agreed in writing, we do not act as a client’s spokesperson or representative.
How is Special Projects different from a strategy consultancy or communications agency?
A communications challenge may require a change in the underlying proposition. A sound strategy may need direct engagement with customers, investors or other stakeholders to work. Our model is deliberately small, senior-led and designed to complement a client’s existing capabilities rather than add another layer of process.
What types of engagements does Special Projects take on for Swiss companies?
For Swiss companies, we focus on international assignments—such as entering new markets, strengthening positioning abroad and engaging investors or other stakeholders across borders. We generally do not take on work focused exclusively on the Swiss domestic market.
How does Special Projects help companies identify where they can win?
We help companies identify and pursue opportunities for growth through market research, competitive analysis and direct engagement with customers and other stakeholders. This can involve entering new markets, developing new business lines, refining a commercial proposition or identifying competitive advantages that have yet to be fully realised. Our work combines strategic analysis with practical steps to test and act on the findings.
How does Special Projects support investor relations, fundraising and IPO preparations?
We help listed and private companies strengthen how investors understand and value their businesses. Assignments can include developing an equity story, analysing valuation drivers and comparable companies, refining investor materials, identifying relevant investor audiences and preparing management for market engagement. The objective is to align the investment case with the underlying business and the evidence supporting it.
How does Special Projects help companies build market demand and credibility?
We work on both sides of the equation: strengthening what makes a company competitive and improving how that value is understood by customers, investors and other stakeholders. Depending on the assignment, this can involve market positioning, customer research, strategic partnerships, media relations, thought leadership and other forms of external engagement. The emphasis is on building a stronger market position, not simply increasing visibility.
Can Special Projects help develop and launch new strategic initiatives?
Yes. We work with clients from early feasibility and concept development through to market positioning, stakeholder engagement and launch execution. This can include assessing commercial opportunities, developing the business case, identifying partners, testing propositions and managing external communications. We often combine strategic advice with hands-on delivery, rather than treating implementation as a separate exercise.
What are the typical deliverables of a Special Projects engagement?
Deliverables depend on the assignment and can include market assessments, strategic recommendations, positioning frameworks, investment narratives, stakeholder maps, partnership strategies, launch plans and communications materials. Some engagements also involve direct execution, such as investor and media engagement, partnership development or managing a market-facing initiative. We define the outputs and intended outcomes together with the client at the outset.
Does Special Projects conduct investor perception studies?
Yes. We interview current and prospective investors, analysts and other market participants to establish how a company is understood, where the equity story is not landing and what would change the view—typically ahead of results, a capital markets day, a listing or after a shift in sentiment. The findings feed into investor materials, management preparation and investor targeting. Interviews are conducted within the client’s disclosure procedures.
Can Special Projects support a newly appointed CEO or CMO?
Yes. The first months in a new role are when the agenda is set and when the board, the organisation, investors and the market form their view of it. We help new leaders read the situation they have inherited, define the agenda and the few messages that carry it, and prepare for the first external moments—results, investor meetings, interviews. We have also supported boards and owners in onboarding, and occasionally recruiting, senior leaders.
Does Special Projects take on rebranding and repositioning?
Yes, when the brand question is a business question: a change of strategy, ownership, market or leadership that the current position no longer reflects. We work from the commercial logic to the position and narrative, and to the sequence in which customers, employees, investors and media hear about it. Visual identity and production are handled with the client’s design agency or one we help select.
Can a company from outside Switzerland work with Special Projects to establish itself in Switzerland?
Yes. Switzerland is one of our principal markets and Basel is where we are based. We help Nordic, German, British and other international companies assess the Swiss market, position themselves with Swiss customers, partners, investors and media, and understand how decisions are taken here. Where a Swiss presence, listing or partnership is being considered, we work alongside the client’s legal, tax and financial advisers.
3Working together
How does an engagement start?
We begin with a conversation about the situation and the outcome that matters. We then agree the scope, responsibilities, timing, deliverables and fee model in writing. Where the problem needs defining first, an initial diagnostic can be agreed as a separate phase.
How does Special Projects charge for its work?
We use three main models: fixed fees for defined projects, retainers for ongoing advice and execution, and time-based engagements. The model and pricing are agreed for each assignment, normally in Swiss francs or euros. We are open to discussing outcome-based structures where appropriate, but do not guarantee specific results.
How long does an engagement last?
Some focused assignments run for a few weeks. Broader positioning, growth and investor-related work can extend over several months or longer. Duration, milestones and termination arrangements are agreed in the project terms. The general terms provide for one month’s written notice unless otherwise agreed, with separate payment provisions for fixed-scope projects.
Who will work on the assignment?
Unless otherwise agreed, assignments are led by the firm’s founder. We bring in team members or specialists when their expertise is needed and discuss material changes in team composition with the client. The engagement is contracted with Special Projects GmbH.
Can Special Projects work alongside our existing advisers and teams?
Yes. We regularly work with internal leadership, strategy, investor relations and communications teams, and alongside external agencies, banks, lawyers and specialist advisers. We agree roles and decision-making responsibilities at the outset to avoid duplicated work.
How does Special Projects manage conflicts of interest?
We screen potential engagements for conflicts before accepting them and decline work that would compromise an existing client relationship. Where a matter involves several parties, the client, roles and confidentiality boundaries need to be clear from the outset.
How are confidentiality and procurement requirements handled?
Client confidentiality is covered by our general terms and can be supplemented by an NDA. We also discuss information security, data-processing and supplier requirements during onboarding, including additional agreements where needed. The precise arrangements are agreed for each engagement.
Can Special Projects work with inside information?
Yes, subject to the client’s applicable insider-list, market-abuse and disclosure procedures. We agree the relevant access and information-handling arrangements before receiving sensitive material, and do not use confidential or inside information for external outreach.
Does Special Projects use AI tools in client work?
Yes, where they improve the quality or efficiency of the work and are appropriate for the information involved. Use is subject to confidentiality safeguards, human review and any client-specific restrictions agreed for the assignment.
What rights do clients receive to deliverables?
Upon full payment, clients receive a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive licence to use the deliverables for the agreed purposes, unless the project agreement provides otherwise. Special Projects retains its proprietary methodologies, tools and templates. The standard terms include an initial version and up to two revision rounds for each deliverable.
How does Special Projects differ from a traditional communications agency?
We are staunch believers in fundamentals. It follows that we do not work purely with communications, but within mandates that also encompass business and product development. We approach communications as part of a wider commercial and strategic picture. Our work can begin with understanding a market, identifying growth opportunities, strengthening an investment case or resolving a strategic challenge—not necessarily with a communications brief. We also provide media relations and hands-on execution, but the starting point is what the client needs to achieve.
Can Special Projects work alongside an investment bank?
Yes. We can complement investment banks by strengthening the commercial and strategic foundations of a company's investment case, developing its market positioning and engaging relevant stakeholders. This can involve valuation analysis, equity storytelling, investor relations and preparing for major transactions. We work alongside appointed financial advisers rather than replacing their transaction execution or regulated advisory responsibilities.
Can Special Projects work alongside a strategy consulting firm?
Yes. We can complement a wider strategy assignment by bringing an independent perspective on markets, customers, investors and other external stakeholders. Our involvement might include testing strategic assumptions, developing market positioning, building partnerships or implementing selected recommendations. We also take on standalone strategy assignments, but generally not large-scale operational transformations, cost-reduction programmes or organisational restructuring that require extensive consulting teams.
Can Special Projects work alongside a law firm?
Yes. We work with legal advisers on matters where commercial interests, reputation and stakeholder expectations intersect. This may involve transactions, disputes, regulatory developments or other sensitive situations. We focus on the strategic and external dimensions of the assignment, while legal counsel remains responsible for legal advice and applicable disclosure requirements.
Can Special Projects work alongside an existing PR or communications agency?
Yes. We can take responsibility for a specific strategic or market-facing workstream while an existing agency continues its broader mandate. This might involve investor relations, international media engagement, market positioning or a particularly sensitive initiative. We aim to work within the client's existing advisory structure, with responsibilities clearly defined.
How quickly can Special Projects start?
Focused assignments can usually begin within days of agreeing terms, and faster when a situation is time-critical—an approach, a leak, a sudden leadership change. Broader positioning, growth and investor-related work starts after a short scoping phase. Because the firm is deliberately small, we take on a new assignment only when it can have senior attention from the first day.
Can we start with a short diagnostic before committing to a larger assignment?
Yes. Where the problem still needs defining, we can agree an initial diagnostic as a separate, fixed-fee phase: a structured read of the situation, the options and what would need to be true for each to work. It ends with a recommendation and, where useful, a proposal for the next phase. Clients are free to take the findings forward on their own or with other advisers.
What does an engagement typically cost?
Fees are agreed for each assignment and depend on the decision at stake, the scope and the time involved. Most work is priced per project or per month: defined projects as a fixed fee, ongoing advice and execution as a retainer. What clients save comes from the quality of the advice and the size of the team: assignments are staffed by the few people who do the thinking and the work, rather than the larger teams comparable work often requires elsewhere, so the fee buys judgement rather than headcount.
Where work is billed by time, senior advice is charged at CHF 400-600 per hour, excluding VAT, with research, analysis and production at lower rates. Data, technology and third-party costs are agreed and itemised separately. As more of the analysis runs through data and AI systems rather than hours, these form a growing share of an assignment’s cost. The fee basis is agreed in writing before work begins. Where an assignment is billed by time or kept deliberately open, we provide an estimate, agree a ceiling or review point where the client wants one and report time and costs as the work proceeds, so costs are never a surprise. An initial diagnostic, scoped and priced as a phase of its own, is the lowest-commitment way to start.
How many clients does Special Projects work with at a time?
A small number at any one time. We limit the firm’s size and the number of concurrent assignments so that each receives senior attention throughout, rather than at the kick-off and the final presentation. This is also why we sometimes decline or defer work. When capacity is tight we say so early and propose a start date or another route.
What happens if the person leading our assignment is unavailable?
Continuity is part of the project terms. Work is documented as it proceeds so that an agreed team member or specialist can step in, and any material change in who does the work is discussed with the client in advance. For time-critical assignments we can agree named back-up and escalation contacts at the outset.
Does Special Projects take commissions, referral fees or equity in clients?
No. We are paid by our clients alone, under the fee model agreed for each assignment. We do not take commissions or referral fees from banks, agencies or other advisers we recommend. Where an outcome-linked element is agreed, it is set out in the project terms. Our advice does not depend on any transaction going ahead.
Who owns the relationships built during an engagement?
The client. Investor, media and partner contacts developed during an assignment are built in the client’s name and handed over with the working documentation, so that the work continues without us. Where it helps, we introduce clients directly to the people they need to know. Unless agreed in writing, we do not act as spokesperson or as the client’s standing point of contact.
How does Special Projects measure whether an engagement has worked?
Against the outcome agreed at the outset. Depending on the assignment, that may be a decision taken and acted on, a market entered, a change in how investors understand and value the business, the quality of coverage or a risk contained. We define the measures with the client before work begins and review them at the close. We do not guarantee specific results, and our terms say so.
4Founder
What is Simon Strand’s background?
Simon Strand began his career at Prime in Stockholm, now part of Weber Shandwick, during a period when Prime became the world’s most awarded PR agency at Cannes Lions. He later co-founded 500 Stockholm, a communications consultancy, and was involved in two other ventures spanning executive search and creative IP development.
His experience spans corporate affairs, commercial positioning, investor and stakeholder relations, business development and media relations. He has worked with leading private markets investors, technology-led banks, deep tech firms and international brands including Lufthansa, Audi, adidas and McDonald’s.
He is a recurring mentor to MBA students at Stanford Graduate School of Business, co-led the Stockholm School of Economics initiative Sweden Through the Crisis and is a contributor to Fast Company. In 2015, he was ranked 11th on Nyheter24’s list of Sweden’s 100 most powerful young people, above several of Sweden’s best-known figures in politics, entertainment and business.
5References and contact
Can we see client references or case studies?
Much of our work is confidential, so we do not publish detailed client case studies as a matter of course. We can discuss relevant experience and, where a client agrees, arrange a reference. Selected testimonials and our own writing are available on the website.
How can I contact Special Projects?
You can reach us by email or through the contact page.
Does Special Projects respond to press enquiries?
Yes. Journalists may contact us about the firm and the markets in which we work. We do not comment on confidential client matters or confirm engagements without permission.