How it works.
Most marketing engagements start with the agency deciding what you need. This one starts with a paid diagnostic that finds out. Here's how the model works, in three steps, in order.
The audit.
The audit is the first and only commitment you make before anything else is decided.
It runs in five working days, starting with one founder interview. We do the rest: figure out who you should be selling to, what you should say and why it's different, and where you should be showing up to find customers. You'll see those written up using the shorthand we use internally, ICP, positioning, GTM, in the breakdown on the right.
What comes back tells you where your foundations stand, what's broken, what's solid, and what to build first. A paid recommendation. Not a proposal. Not a scope for a retainer you're already being sold.
5 working days
- •1 founder interview
- •Competitor scan + search demand pull
- •Teardown of existing website and materials
A strategic baseline note covering ICP hypothesis, positioning, narrative, voice and messaging, and GTM approach, plus a build recommendation and a presentation session
5 working days
- •1 founder interview + up to 5 customer interviews
- •Competitor scan + search demand pull
- •Teardown of existing website and materials
A full audit document covering ICP, positioning, narrative, voice and messaging, GTM, and sales practices, plus a build recommendation and a presentation session
Single two-week co-built sprint
- •ICP definition
- •Positioning hypothesis
- •GTM hypothesis
- •Voice note
- •Messaging starter
- •Website brief and build
- •Content starter pack
Separate deliverables, scoped by the audit
- •ICP definition and validation
- •Market research and competitor analysis
- •Positioning and narrative
- •GTM motion design (if needed)
- •Voice note
- •Messaging architecture
- •Website messaging brief
- •Sales enablement materials
The foundations.
The audit gives you the recommendation. The foundations build it.
Positioning before messaging. ICP before content. GTM before subscription. Know who you're selling to and what makes you different before you write anything, and know where you'll actually find customers before you spend on getting in front of them.
A couple of the terms on the left, spelled out: a voice note is a short reference for how you should sound in writing, tone, words to avoid, examples in your own words. A messaging starter (or, at scaleup tier, a full messaging architecture) turns positioning into the actual lines you use on the site, in sales, and in content. The website and content pieces come last, once the words underneath them are locked.
At startup tier, everything on the left is built together with you, across two weeks of working sessions, not handed over afterward as a stack of documents.
At scaleup tier, each deliverable on the left is scoped and sequenced by the audit, then built and delivered on its own timeline, not bundled into a single sprint.
The subscription.
This is the part most agencies sell you first.
Here, it runs last. Once foundations hold, the subscription runs the engine: we keep publishing content, make sure people can find you on Google and in AI answers like ChatGPT, keep an eye on competitors, and send you a plain update on what's working every month. It starts only once foundations are built, never in parallel while content is already publishing on positioning that hasn't been tested.
A senior marketer runs strategy, tone of voice, and every judgment call on your account, approving what ships, resolving anything ambiguous. AI agents handle production: drafting, research, monitoring, content cuts, battlecard updates. A monthly update arrives in your inbox: performance, decisions, what's coming next.
Minimum 3 months · organic only, no paid media at this tier
- •Content and social (4–6 posts/week + 1 long-form/month)
- •SEO basics: on-page, meta, internal linking
- •Competitor monitoring
- •Monthly strategy update
Minimum 6 months
- •Content and social
- •SEO and AI-search discoverability
- •Competitor monitoring
- •Marketing ops
- •Monthly strategy update
Paid media module, priced separately
Why the order matters.
Most marketing engagements skip the diagnostic and start execution. Content publishes before the ICP is defined. The website is built before positioning is locked. Paid acquisition runs before the message is tested. The result is a lot of marketing activity that doesn't compound, because the foundation it's built on isn't solid.
The three-step model exists to stop that from happening.
The audit finds the gaps. The foundations fill them. The subscription runs on top of something that was built right.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the whole process take?+
The audit runs in five working days. At startup tier, the Foundations Sprint runs for two weeks after. The subscription starts from there, minimum three months. The full path from first conversation to live subscription is roughly three to four weeks.
Do I have to go through all three steps?+
The audit is required before anything else is agreed. The foundations step depends on what the audit recommends, some clients have solid foundations and move to subscription sooner, though this is uncommon at early stage. The subscription requires foundations to be in place.
What happens during the founder interview?+
It's a structured conversation covering: who your customers are, what they say when they describe the problem you solve, how you explain what you do and to whom, what's working in your sales motion, and what you've tried in marketing. The interview is recorded with your permission and becomes a primary input for the audit.
What do I get at the end of the audit?+
A strategic baseline note covering current state across each dimension and the gaps that matter most. A build recommendation: what to build first, whether that's the Foundations Sprint at startup tier or the scaleup build path. A presentation session where we walk through findings together.
Can I run just the audit without committing to anything after?+
Yes. The audit is a complete, self-contained deliverable. What comes back has value on its own, you could take the recommendation and build the foundations yourself, or use it to brief another agency. Most clients continue because the scope is clear, not because they're locked in.