Groundwork · Discovery
Groundwork is paid discovery, and it is where every engagement starts. Before anyone commits to an outcome, we find the right one: where to focus, what it is worth, the data and access it needs, and who on your team will own it. You leave with specific, scoped opportunities and the projected value of each, whether or not we build anything together.
Bring the part of the business you want AI to move. In 30 minutes, we map the first opportunities worth inspecting and how Groundwork would scope them.
Why it comes first
We underwrite outcomes, which means we only commit to a result after we have seen the ground truth. Groundwork is how we get there: the paid discovery that turns a vague ambition into specific, fundable opportunities with the value of each projected.
01/Opportunities
We draft specific, fundable opportunities and project the value of each: hours saved, revenue unlocked, or cost and risk avoided. The list is yours to keep, act on with us, or take elsewhere.
02/Access
We confirm, system by system, what access actually exists today and what an outcome would require. No outcome gets underwritten on access we have not inspected.
03/Alignment
We agree on the sponsor who funds the work, the verifier who confirms success, and the internal owner who will steward the capability. The right people are named before anyone commits.
What we bill
The work that costs you money is the work you can see on a calendar. Everything we do on our own time to make those sessions productive is on us, so your spend stays predictable.
Bucket one
Working sessions, interviews, and meetings where we are in the room with you. At most two of us are billable in any single meeting, so the cost of a conversation is always predictable.
Bucket two
Security reviews, vendor onboarding, NDAs, and the paperwork your organization requires before access is granted. Necessary work, billed transparently at the same hourly basis.
Never billed
We never charge for our own-time work. That keeps your spend predictable and the incentives pointed at finding the right outcome, not running up hours.
How billing works
We bill hourly, and only for live time and compliance. Async analysis and prototyping is never billed. The cap is set up front, so you always know the ceiling before any work begins. Groundwork begins with a one-time activation to confirm commitment.
The model
Billed hourly for two things only: live time in meetings with your team and the compliance work your organization requires. Our async analysis and prototyping is never billed. At most two of us are billable in any single meeting, so the cost of a conversation is always predictable.
The cap
A hard monthly cap, scaled to your organization and agreed up front. That is the most you can be billed in any single month, regardless of how much work happens. No retainer, no minimum, and no charge for our own-time work. Invoiced at month-end, NET 15.
Sized to your organization
Groundwork is tiered for small business, mid-market, and enterprise. We set your monthly cap with you up front, scaled to your organization.
One-time activation
Groundwork begins with a one-time activation to confirm commitment, so both sides start with a real stake in finding the right outcome.
Cadence
Discovery drifts when the sponsor goes quiet. A recurring monthly sync, billed as live time, keeps the work pointed at a fundable outcome and the decision-maker in the loop. It counts toward the monthly cap like any other meeting, so it never adds a surprise to the invoice.
The activation gate
Before an outcome gets underwritten, four roles have to be named. A real bottleneck, verified data access, and locked success criteria all have to be in place. Groundwork is the work that gets you there.
01
The person who owns the business need and funds the work. Groundwork confirms the sponsor is real and engaged before an outcome is scoped.
02
The client-side verifier who will confirm the outcome against evidence at the close date. Naming them early keeps success defined by your team, not ours.
03
The internal person who will steward the repository, workflow, or method after handoff. Their tacit expertise shapes what we build.
04
The single owner who keeps the outcome moving day to day. Groundwork makes sure there is one, so accountability never diffuses across a committee.
Locked success criteria
The gate also requires one to three success criteria, agreed before any build begins. Groundwork is where we inspect the data so those criteria match operational reality rather than wishful thinking.
See how a Quick Win in a Box worksWhat you keep
Discovery is not a gate you pay to pass. It is a deliverable. Everything below is yours to act on with us, take to another team, or sit on until the timing is right.
A concrete list of fundable outcomes, each with the value it is expected to create. Yours to act on with us or on your own.
A system-by-system record of what access exists and what an outcome would need. Useful well beyond any single engagement.
Agreement on the sponsor, the verifier, and the internal owner. The hardest part of any AI initiative, settled before the build.
Sometimes the most valuable result is a confident no: an honest read on whether an outcome is worth underwriting yet.
FAQ
Groundwork is paid AI discovery, and it is where every engagement starts. Before anyone commits to an outcome, we find the right one: where to focus, what it is worth, the data and access it needs, and who on your team will own it. You leave with scoped opportunities, a verified data-access map, and internal alignment, whether or not we build anything together.
Groundwork begins with a one-time activation to confirm commitment, then is billed hourly, and only for two things: live time in meetings with your team and the compliance work your organization requires. Async analysis, data mapping, throwaway prototypes, and write-ups are never billed. At most two of us are billable in any meeting. You are invoiced at month-end, NET 15.
There is a hard monthly cap, scaled to your organization and set up front, so you always know the ceiling before any work begins. Groundwork is tiered for small business, mid-market, and enterprise, and we set your cap with you up front. That is the most you can be billed in any single month. There is no retainer and no minimum, so in a quiet month you are billed only for the live time and compliance work that actually happened.
Everything Groundwork produces: a list of scoped opportunities with the projected value of each, a verified data-access map, internal alignment on who owns the work, and a clear go/no-go. You keep all of it whether or not we go on to build anything together.
When Groundwork has surfaced a specific, high-value outcome and we have cleared the activation gate, that outcome can be scoped as a Quick Win in a Box and underwritten. There is no obligation to proceed. The discovery stands on its own.
Yes. A standing monthly sync keeps the sponsor close and the work pointed at a fundable outcome. It is billed as live time and counts toward the monthly cap like any other meeting.
Keep going
Scope a surfaced outcome as a value-based Quick Win, or scale outcomes across a fund's portfolio.
We scope a high-value outcome and underwrite it. A verified business result and the custom software you keep.
Value-based
Portfolio-wide AI value creation for funds where transformation is core to the thesis.
Custom
Not sure which fits?
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