How we work, and what it costs.

Fixed fees. Defined scope. Every instrument tied to a decision. No hourly billing, because hourly rewards the wrong thing.

Where3–4 weeks

Operating Diagnostic

Where does this company need to go, and what is actually in the way? We interview you and your leadership team, anchored on a three-year picture. Everyone on the leadership team completes the Predictive Index Behavioral and Cognitive assessments; you and your top two seats complete TTI TriMetrix EQ. We read the real artifacts: P&L, pipeline, SOPs or their absence, meeting notes, customer feedback.

You get: the Diagnostic Note. Symptoms, root causes, a behavioral map of the team, and two or three targeted experiments. Short enough to read in one sitting.

Why1–2 sessions

Alignment

The leadership team sees itself. We show the gap between what the strategy requires and what the team is wired to do, then have the conversation about who owns what. Engagements fail when this step is skipped: founders agree to a plan, then unconsciously fight it because it was designed against their grain.

You get: an accountability chart everyone has agreed to, and a founder who knows which parts of the plan will be hard for them personally.

Build90 days

Operating System Install

We build only the modules the Diagnostic called for. Each one starts from a template we've refined across 30 engagements, so we spend the time on your specifics, not on blank pages.

Operating cadence and scorecard
Accountability chart and seat design with PI Job Targets
Core process documentation (target: 80% of recurring workflows)
Financial operating model and investor reporting
Hiring system with structured interviews and rubrics
Pricing and revenue model
Technology and AI leverage

You get: installed systems your team runs. Documents, templates, and rhythms that stay when we leave.

Run6–12 months

Operating Partner

We sit in your leadership cadence, coach you against your profile, review the scorecard, run hiring for key seats, and take on the next build. This is what founders usually want to buy first. We do it after a Diagnostic so the scope is defined and the price is a retainer, not a meter.

You get: a second operator in the room who already knows the system, because they built it.

Pricing

Ranges below; the exact fee is set from the Diagnostic scope. Minimum terms on retainers. No hourly.

Founder Operating Review

From $3,000 fixed fee

Half day, in person or remote

TTI TriMetrix EQ for the founder
Operating audit against a 40-point checklist
Three changes for this quarter, in writing
Credited toward a Diagnostic if you continue

Book a review

Operating Diagnostic

$12,000–$20,000 fixed fee

3–4 weeks · PI for the full leadership team included

Leadership interviews and artifact review
Behavioral and cognitive map of the team
The Diagnostic Note
Alignment session

Operating System Build

$35,000–$75,000 fixed fee

90 days · scoped from the Diagnostic

Only the modules you need
Templates, rhythms, and documentation installed
Your team trained to run them

Operating Partner

$6,000–$12,000 per month

6- or 12-month minimum

Seat in the leadership cadence
Founder coaching against profile
Key Seat Search available as an add-on ($10,000–$20,000 per hire)

Every instrument answers a decision.

An assessment attached to no decision is noise. Here is what each one is for.

Instrument	Decision it informs	Phase
PI Behavioral Assessment	Seat fit, founder self-awareness, why "the team feels different"	Where, Why, Run
PI Cognitive Assessment	Learning agility for zero-to-one hires; time to productivity	Build
PI Job Targets	Define the seat before filling it; calibrate interviews	Build
TTI TriMetrix EQ	Founder drivers and decision style; pricing and delegation design	Where, Run
TTI TriMetrix HD	Final-stage executive candidates, alongside PI	Build

How we compare

	The Outstanding Company	Fractional COO	Systems implementer	Assessment partner
Installs an operating system you keep	Yes	Leaves with it	Yes, one fixed system	No
Reads the people with validated instruments	Yes	Gut feel	Assumes right seats	Yes
Fills the key seats	Yes	Sometimes	No	No
Time to first installed result	90 days	Varies	18–24 months	Report only
Pricing	Fixed fee	Hourly or monthly	Per session	Per report

Questions founders ask

Do we have to start with the Review or the Diagnostic?

Yes. Founders often want to buy the retainer first. We don't sell it that way, because a retainer without a diagnosis becomes hourly work with a different name. The Review takes half a day and is credited toward the Diagnostic.

We already run on EOS or a similar system. Is this still useful?

Often more so. You have a cadence and an accountability chart. What you usually don't have is data on whether the people in the seats are right for the next stage. We complement your system; we don't replace it.

Will you tell us if it isn't a fit?

Yes, at the Review. Some companies need a full-time COO, a fundraise, or a different problem solved first. We'll say so and point you somewhere useful.

Do you work outside the Southeast?

Yes. We're based in Charleston and work in person across the Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Savannah corridor. Everything else runs remote with one or two on-site visits per phase.

Who does the work?

Natalie leads every engagement. Specialist contractors handle specific build modules (financial modeling, process documentation) under her direction. You never get handed off.

Start with a half-day Founder Operating Review.

You get a behavioral read of how you make decisions, an audit of how the company runs, and the three changes that would make the biggest difference this quarter. If we're a fit for more, we'll tell you. If we're not, you still leave with a plan.

Book a Founder Operating Review

Fixed fee. Scheduled within two weeks. No retainer required.