About Us

Strategic Thinktank, Inc. is a Michigan-based business advisory firm founded in 1994 to help emerging and established small and mid-sized businesses grow with clarity, discipline, and access to capital. For more than three decades, we have worked alongside business owners, leadership teams, lenders, and ecosystem partners to strengthen the fundamentals that drive sustainable growth and successful financing outcomes.

At our core, we help businesses move from operating to operating with intention. Our work focuses on aligning strategy, financials, and execution so owners can confidently pursue working capital, equipment financing, expansion, and long-term growth. Through a combination of cohort-based learning and tailored one-on-one coaching, we translate lender expectations into clear, practical actions business owners can implement immediately.

This work is anchored in our proprietary Becoming Bankable® framework—a capital readiness approach designed to demystify how lenders evaluate risk and creditworthiness. We help owners strengthen financial performance, improve documentation, and present a compelling, well-supported lending case so funding conversations are productive, efficient, and aligned.

Our team of experienced consultants has a proven track record of supporting small and mid-sized businesses across industries, guiding them from early growth through multi-million-dollar operations. We are equally trusted by lenders and ecosystem partners who want better-prepared borrowers and smoother paths to approval.

 

Diverse small business team in meeting discussing growth strategy and business success practices

Who We Serve

We work with established small and mid-sized businesses, typically preparing to borrow for growth, working capital, equipment, or expansion.

Our clients include business owners and leadership teams across industries, as well as lenders, economic development organizations, and partner institutions seeking to improve client readiness and loan outcomes.

    What Makes Us Different?

    1. Lender’s-eye perspective
    We teach the 5 C’s of Credit, DSCR, and the financial metrics that drive lending decisions—then help clients apply them directly to their business.

    2. Hands-on deliverables
    Our work produces real outputs: financial narratives, checklists, templates, and lender-ready documents—not theory.

    3. Efficiency and clarity
    We focus on the few actions that materially improve approval odds and reduce friction for both borrowers and lenders.

    4. Flexible delivery
    We offer self-paced learning for flexibility, cohort-based programs for peer learning and momentum, and tailored 1:1 coaching for depth and speed. We also provide licensing options for banks, credit unions, and institutions seeking to scale capital readiness across their clients or members.

    5. Rooted in the ecosystem
    Based in Metro Detroit, we understand how business owners, lenders, and local partners work together to move deals across the finish line.

    Our Team

    Our Team

    Lola Aré

    President

    Our Team

    Denny Igun

    Vice President

    Our Team

    Kirstine Jean Ortega

    Marketing Automation Manager

    Our Team

    Suganya N

    Executive Support

    Features

    What We Do Best

    COHORT-BASED LEARNING

    Live/Online cohorts with tools to get lender ready 

    tailored 1:1 coACHing

    Personal guidance to refine cash flow, and lender-ready business plan

    capITAL READINESS STRATEGY

    Roadmap to strengthen credit, financials, lending story

    lENDER-READY BUSINESS PLANNING

    Plans and projections aligned to lender expectations 

    OPERATIONS AND GROWTH SYSTEMS

    Streamline processes and tools to boost margins

    PARTNERSHIPS AND LICENSING

    License our curriculum or co-deliver cohorts