Blue Start Incubator

Your expertise, on your terms.

Blue Start is Vibrant Blue's incubator for experienced professionals moving into independent consulting, providing the contracts, coaching, professional profile, and client exposure a new practice needs. Where your practice goes from there is up to you.

Start the conversation What Blue Start provides

Curious how it works before reaching out?

Read the Professionals FAQ How joining works
Is this you?

The professionals Blue Start is built for.

Deep experience, ready for autonomy

You've built real expertise and want to apply it on your own terms, not inside someone else's org chart.

Curious, but unsure about going solo

Independent consulting appeals to you, but the practical mechanics of doing it alone feel like the real barrier.

Self-directed and professional

You want to build something that's yours rather than be handed work indefinitely, and you take how you represent yourself and others seriously.

An expert in your field, whatever it is

Energy, infrastructure, PMO, technology, and operations are where Vibrant Blue started, but any deep skillset is welcome.

Built from experience

Built by someone who made the leap.

Andrew Johnson started Vibrant Blue in 2018 as a side venture while still working full time. There was no model for what an independent practice looked like, so he built one along the way: the contracts, the professional infrastructure, and all the parts of running a practice that have nothing to do with expertise but decide whether it lasts.

Blue Start packages that experience, because the move from employee to independent consultant is manageable when you aren't doing it completely alone.

How it works

What Blue Start provides.

Blue Start isn't a staffing agency, a franchise, or a corporate umbrella. It's infrastructure and support, plus exposure to Vibrant Blue clients looking for exactly this kind of professional.

Blue Start provides

  • A professional profile and web presence
  • Contract and business-side infrastructure, so you're not building it from scratch
  • Access to a peer network of other independent professionals
  • Business coaching through Second Star Advisory, an independent coaching firm
  • Direct guidance from someone who's made this exact transition
  • Warm introductions to Vibrant Blue client opportunities, if and when you want them

You bring

  • Your expertise and reputation
  • Self-directed opportunity development
  • A commitment to professionalism
  • A signed contractor agreement
  • A professional liability insurance quote, or proof you can obtain coverage

Active insurance coverage is required before any Statement of Work is issued or any work begins.

Get in touch

No commitment, no obligation.

If you're an experienced professional curious about independent consulting and what Blue Start might offer, a conversation is the right first step.

Start the conversation