Jul. 22--Within months of starting up in 2007, Focus Pittsburgh Consulting Group already boasted such big-name clients as Wachovia, Charles Schwab Bank and American Express, and was managing staff consolidation in the merger of Mellon Financial Corp. with the Bank of New York.

But when the economy took a nose dive last year, the consulting group -- just like the financial institutions it served -- slipped, too. Large corporations looking to save money began pulling back on hiring consultants for project management services, and Focus Pittsburgh co-founders Bob Grayson and Dennis Geary faced a bleak future.

It's a classic case of the very real impact the recession has had on business owners; but in this instance, the partners, who have years of experience in banking and consulting, found opportunity in the midst of impediment.

"Instead of just throwing up our hands and giving up, we asked, 'What part of the market has opened up?'" said Mr. Geary.

What they found was the recession had produced a large number of laid-off executives -- highly trained and experienced workers from large corporations -- who were now looking to start their own companies.

"There were former CEOs with great new business ideas, and we wanted to help them clean up their ideas," said Mr. Geary.

Focus Pittsburgh gradually made changes to its business model to cater to this growing population, beginning by adding startup consulting to its list of services eight months ago.

Then, as clients moved forward in their startups, the company advanced as well. It offered to help structure the new companies, get legal work done, secure funding from venture capitalists and angel fund investors, and build operations -- marketing, creating brand recognition, setting up a Web site, reviewing job applications and even conducting interviews.

"Basically, every time something came up, we said, 'OK, let's figure out how to get this done." And that adds another service to your menu," said Mr. Geary.

It wasn't until Focus Pittsburgh took clients through the entire process that the partners looked back and realized they had completely reoriented themselves and in the process had made the consulting firm viable in the recession.

Now, startup consulting isn't the postscript but the focus of the firm's services.

Today, all of the consulting group's clients are small businesses: 60 percent are newly formed and the rest are recently displaced employees looking to start their own companies. Mr. Geary said he expected this ratio to reverse in the next year.