Most of what goes wrong in a long engagement is set in place during these few weeks, which is why we treat them as a real chapter with a real ending rather than as paperwork.
It starts with an argument.
The first substantive thing you receive from us is not a proposal. It is a Thesis—one page arguing why this partnership should exist, written as a claim that can be wrong, delivered in person and offered up to be debated rather than approved. We do it in that order deliberately. A proposal that arrives before an argument is a price list, and a price list invites you to compare line items with someone else’s line items rather than to decide whether the underlying bet is right. If the thesis is wrong, no amount of well-priced work fixes it. If it is right, the proposal is just the math of executing it. It also does something for us. A business we cannot write a falsifiable claim about is a business we cannot be measured inside, and that is worth discovering before either of us starts anything.What happens
1
Discovery
A recorded working conversation with whoever carries revenue accountability. Where your customers actually come from, what your close rate is, what has gone cold and why. Alongside it we look hard at what you already have—your site, your messaging, your public presence, and whatever measurement exists.
2
The thesis
Drafted from that conversation within a few days and delivered live as the second conversation. You get this whether or not you go on to work with us.
3
Proposal
Written only once the thesis is agreed, and it prices the bet the thesis names. If the proposal contains work the thesis does not argue for, one of the two documents is wrong and we would rather find that now. Where we think a chapter should wait, the proposal says so and says why.
4
Provisioning
Once approved, we set up the shared places the work will live: your document folder, your project management setup, your analytics dashboard, and access to whichever publishing platforms your plan calls for.
5
Kickoff
A recorded working session with you and whoever else needs to be in the room. Part introduction, part the first real conversation of Chapter 1. This is where the messaging work actually starts, so it is worth protecting 90 minutes for it.
What we ask of you
Three things, and they are all front-loaded on purpose. The revenue owner’s genuine attention, twice—once for discovery and once for the thesis conversation. Not delegated. Nobody but that person can answer a question about close rate or pipeline, and a thesis written without those answers is fiction. Access to what already exists—the old messaging deck, the sales emails that work, the analytics account. We would rather see the unflattering version than a curated one, because the gap between the two is usually where we find the useful insight. One named person who can make a decision. Not a committee. Approval by committee is the single most reliable way to turn a four-week piece into a four-month one.What ends the Prologue
An approved partnership and a completed kickoff. At that moment you have an agreed thesis, tools provisioned, folders shared, projects open, and a recording from which Chapter 1 will be built.Next: Chapter 1—Story
The founder’s conviction, surfaced and shaped into language a market can carry.