Every page on our site ends with the same call to action: book a 30-minute discovery call. People sometimes ask what actually happens on that call — what we expect, what we ask, and whether it's a sales pitch in disguise.
It isn't, and the structure is open enough that we'll write it down here. Treat this as the format for any first conversation with us.
First five minutes — listening
We don't open with a deck. The call starts with a one-line invitation: tell us where you are. We try not to interrupt for the first five minutes. The point isn't the answer to a question we asked — it's how you frame your own situation when nobody's prompting you.
Middle fifteen — questions
We ask three or four. The exact questions vary by what you've told us, but they tend to be in this shape: what's the next decision that's expensive to reverse, what's the smallest thing that would unblock you in the next 30 days, and what would convince you we weren't a fit. The third one is the most important. It's the question that tells us whether you've thought hard about who's wrong for you.
Last ten — a sketch
If we think we can help, we'll sketch what an engagement might look like. Model (Advisory, Build, or Run), shape (one senior part-time, or a small squad), and rough duration. We'll tell you what we think the first decision worth spending money on is. We won't quote a price on the call — that comes after a one-page scope, in writing.
What you leave with — even if it's a no
Three things, regardless of where the conversation ends. A short written summary of what we heard. Our honest read on the next decision worth making. And, if we're not the right fit, the names of one or two people we'd point you to instead. Founders who've taken those names back report that they were the most useful part of the call.
What we expect from you
Show up on time. Tell us what's actually broken, including the parts you wish weren't true. Skip the deck. We don't need it, and a 30-minute call doesn't accommodate one.
That's the whole format. Most of the founders we end up working with have been on at least one of these calls before they signed anything. Some of the founders we don't work with became friends. Both are good outcomes.