The Challenge

Portfolio Xpressway (PXW) had built its reputation on deep expertise in custodied assets and identified a massive opportunity to expand into private assets, achieving "true aggregation" that few competitors could offer. But with the daily demands of supporting live clients, there was no dedicated time for the deep, strategic work the expansion required. Progress happened in small windows, and as COO Natalie Wallace put it, "If you're doing it for a couple hours a week, you're always stuck on the surface." They needed a way to bring the right stakeholders together at the right time to move this critical new feature from concept to reality. And they needed to do it fast.

How the Accelerator Sprint Worked

Immersive Focus: The sprint cleared calendars for structured sessions, giving the team dedicated space to grapple with the true complexity of the private asset challenge. Instead of shallow, incremental progress, the format forced depth. "At the end of a session, you really wrap things up; you feel like you've thought it all through."

Right People, Right Time: The process brought a cross-functional group, including key decision-makers, into every step, from problem framing to sketching solutions. By having the right stakeholders engaged at exactly the moment their input mattered, the sprint built shared understanding and conviction that carried well beyond the room.

Rapid Prototyping & Real Testing: In days, abstract ideas became a high-fidelity prototype that was put in front of real target users for unfiltered feedback. "Without the Basis Accelerator Sprint, we just wouldn't have the scale or systems ourselves to solicit that amount of quality feedback so quickly."

The Outcome

PXW walked away with a validated design, organizational conviction, and a de-risked roadmap. Stakeholders who participated could explain exactly why the team chose this approach, and the three alternatives they considered and rejected. That depth of understanding turned internal friction into momentum and led to a full-scale resource commitment and the successful launch of their new private asset platform.