Index · 01 — About

The People Who Make Your Numbers Make Sense.

Slate Harbor is a small Minneapolis data consultancy. We're the people you call when the spreadsheets stopped agreeing with each other and no one's quite sure which figure to trust. Our whole job is to fix that — calmly, in plain English.

Two Slate Harbor consultants reviewing a dashboard together at a desk

The Slate Harbor workspace overlooking the Minneapolis riverfront at dusk

How we started

Started Over A Spreadsheet Nobody Believed.

Slate Harbor began the way most of our projects do — with a company drowning in data it couldn't use. Five systems, three versions of last quarter's revenue, and a leadership team quietly guessing in meetings. We fixed it in a fortnight, and the relief on their faces told us there was a whole business in that feeling.

Since then we've stayed deliberately small. No account managers to route your questions through, no growth targets pushing us to sell you things you don't need. When you email us, you reach the person building your dashboards — the same two people who scoped the work in the first place.

We're based on North 1st Street, a short walk from the Mississippi. Most of our clients are mid-market teams across the Midwest who have real data and real decisions, but no room for a full data department. We're the department they borrow.

What we hold to

Four Habits We Won't Break.

01 · Plain first

Plain words over clever ones

If we can't explain a number in a sentence a board member would repeat, we haven't finished the job. No dashboards full of database field names, no jargon used to sound smart.

02 · Yours to keep

You own everything we make

The code, the dashboards, the documentation — all handed over and yours to run. No lock-in, no hostage data. Keep us on for support or wave us off; either is fine.

03 · Show it early

Something working, fast

You'll see a real, working first dashboard in about two weeks — not a slide deck promising one. We ship in stages so you're never waiting months to know we're on track.

04 · Straight answers

We'll tell you if it's not us

If your problem is smaller than a project, or someone else fits better, we'll say so on the first call. A free scoping call means a free honest answer — either way you leave with a plan.

The feeling we're after

You Should Walk Into The Room Calm, Not Cornered.

Most people don't come to us excited about data. They come slightly anxious — a board meeting looming, a figure they can't defend, a gut sense that the truth is somewhere in the systems if only they could find it. Our work is finished when that anxiety is gone.

“We don't want you impressed by the model. We want you sure of your numbers when it counts.”

What working with us feels like

From First Call To Handover.

A free, no-pressure scoping call

Tell us where your data lives and what decision it's failing to support. We listen, ask a handful of questions, and come back within one business day with a straight read on whether we can help.

We clean and connect the foundations

Before anything clever, we get your data tidy and flowing into one reliable place. This is the unglamorous part most consultancies skip — and the reason our dashboards actually stay accurate.

You see something real, in stages

A working first dashboard lands in about two weeks. You use it, you tell us what's confusing, we adjust. Nothing is built in a black box and revealed at the end.

We hand it over — and stay reachable

You get the code, the documentation, and a short walkthrough so your team can run it. After that, keep us on a light support arrangement or just call when something changes. Your choice, no strings.

Say hello

Book A Free Scoping Call.

Tell us a little about where your data lives today. We'll come back within one business day with next steps — and a straight answer on whether we're the right fit.

AvailabilityBy appointment — book a call

Phone(612) 338-2912

Emailcontact@slateharborcreative.com

Studio545 N 1st St Apt 117, Minneapolis, MN 55401

Point me to the harbor