About SVM
I’m Rick Malthaner and I am founder and principal consultant of SVM Consulting.
My mission is to leverage my experience and network to help technology companies and their partners sharpen vision, build smart go-to-market strategy, and scale with purpose.
A question I am often asked is: Where did your business name originate?
The name SVM is rooted in a lyric from the song “Mission” by Rush:
“A spirit with a vision
Is a dream with a mission.”
I believe spirit is the core energy that animates any business—its purpose, its authenticity, its heartbeat. Many companies talk about culture, but culture is downstream from spirit. Without the right foundational spirit from the founder or leadership team, culture has no soil to grow in.
But spirit alone is not enough. Spirit must be paired with vision. Vision is the lens that brings the future into focus—how a team will reach its goals, what it will become, and why the work matters. Without vision, effort is directionless; with it, every step becomes intentional.
Together, Spirit + Vision become the catalysts that transform aspiration into action—turning a dream into a Mission. That philosophy shaped the name SVM and continues to drive the work I do with every client.