Think in Systems. Work Upstream.
We help organizations see the patterns beneath the problems—how structures, incentives, and relationships interact—and act from that understanding.
Upstream Studio
We are the consulting and advisory arm of Kaleidoscope Ventures, partnering with companies, nonprofits, and leaders who want to move beyond reactive fixes toward systemic strategies that generate regenerative outcomes.
Our work builds the leadership capacity to navigate complexity, align around shared purpose, and create conditions for long-term health.
What We Do
Our work centers on developing the capacity to see, think, and act systemically so that organizations can evolve with coherence and integrity. We focus on three interconnected domains:
Leadership and Governance Development
We help leaders and boards expand from managing complexity to cultivating coherence. Through coaching, facilitation, and strategic design, we guide leadership teams to:
Build systemic awareness and shared language
Align governance with living systems principles
Foster collective leadership and cultures of learning
The result is an organization that sees itself as a living system—adaptive, relational, and guided by purpose.
Regenerative Finance and Capital Design
We help organizations align financial flows with systemic health and long-term value creation. Our work includes:
Designing regenerative finance frameworks and capital strategies
Integrating ecological and social metrics into portfolio decision-making
Supporting investors, foundations, and corporate teams to act systemically across their capital stack
We help organizations align financial flows with systemic health and long-term value creation. Our work includes:
Systems Innovation and Strategy Alignment
We help organizations design innovation that makes sense in context, rooted in how systems actually change. Our approach connects ideas across silos, aligns experimentation with strategy, and strengthens the feedback loops that sustain progress over time. This leads to innovation that is not just creative, but consequential.
How We Work
Our practice integrates systems thinking, regenerative design, and strategic facilitation to help organizations work at the level of cause, not symptom.
Each engagement is a partnership in inquiry and practice, grounded in:
Whole-system mapping to reveal interdependencies and leverage points
Collaborative design to align leadership, structure, and action
Adaptive learning that embeds systems intelligence into daily work
By working upstream where the most effective interventions begin, we help organizations cultivate the conditions for regeneration to emerge naturally.
Why It Matters
The challenges of our time—climate, inequality, governance—are systemic. Yet most organizations are structured to address symptoms, not sources.
Upstream Studio exists to help leaders make the shift: from linear problem-solving to systemic stewardship; from short-term fixes to long-term health.
Let’s Begin
If your organization is ready to see the whole system and act from it, we’d love to explore what working upstream could look like for you.
ReDesign: The Podcast
ReDesign is the podcast about and for people who are reimagining our future. Listen in as our host Carrie Norton sparks meaningful conversations with leaders from a variety of fields—all with the shared goal of transforming systems to manifest the regenerative economy.
New Episodes Coming Soon!