FAQ
Common questions, answered plainly.
The questions we hear most before, during, and right after a discovery call. If yours is not here, ask us on a call.
Engagement structure.
How we are organized as a firm and how the work runs.
Are you a consulting firm?
We are a partnership of two senior operators that takes on scoped projects. There is no junior bench, no associate program, and no leverage model. Some people call that a consultancy and some call it a partnership. The shape is what matters.
Do you work on retainers?
No. Every engagement is a scoped project with a fixed fee, a fixed timeline, and a defined working group. If a follow-on project is the right move, we scope it on its own.
What kinds of companies do you work with?
Mid-market on the operating side, generally 50 to 500 employees. PE portfolio companies in similar bands. We are not the right team for very early-stage startups or for global enterprises.
Do you only work on AI projects?
No. AI readiness is one lane. Modern growth is another. Cross-functional strategic project work is the third. Many engagements pull from more than one lane.
Can you work with our existing fractional executive or in-house team?
Yes, that is usually the right setup. We engage in support of the fractional executive or in-house leader, not around them. The scoping document names the working relationships at kickoff.
Scoping, fees, and timeline.
How a project gets defined and priced.
How are projects priced?
Fixed fee against a fixed scope. The scoping document quotes the fee before any work starts. There are no hourly surprises and no junior staff billed against your engagement.
What does a typical project cost?
VERIFY: confirm fee ranges to publish. The scoping document is always the source of truth on pricing for a specific engagement.
How long does a typical engagement run?
Most engagements run four to twelve weeks. Smaller diagnostics can run shorter. Larger system builds can run a bit longer. The timeline is set in the scoping document and we hold to it.
What is in the scoping document?
One page. Problem statement, deliverables, working sessions, timeline, fee, working group, and what is explicitly out of scope. If it does not fit on a page, the engagement is not scoped tightly enough.
What if the scope changes mid-engagement?
It rarely does, because we scope tightly up front. When a real change is required, we write a short addendum to the scoping document. We do not run silent change orders.
Working group and access.
Who is involved on each side.
Who is on your side of the engagement?
Brian and Deane on every engagement. There is no junior associate running the working group. There is no team-of-six pulled from a bench.
Who do we need on our side?
Usually three to five people across leadership, operations, and the function the project most affects. Kickoff confirms the working group and the decision rights.
What access do you need?
The minimum needed to do the work in the scope. We do not ask for blanket access. The kickoff document lists the systems and the people we need.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes. NDA on the front end is standard, before any sensitive material is shared.
Working with PE and fractional executives.
Two common partnership structures.
Do you work directly with PE operating partners?
Yes. We engage with the operating partner as the sponsor, paired with an operating sponsor at the portfolio company. Decision rights and reporting cadence are named in scoping.
Will you take a referral fee from a vendor we end up choosing?
No. We do not take vendor referral fees. The recommendation is yours, on the merits, not ours.
Will you poach the fractional executive's client during the engagement?
No. The partnership exists to support fractional executives, not displace them. We engage in collaboration and we exit cleanly.
After the engagement.
What happens at the end and what comes next.
What does the handoff look like?
A working session with leadership to walk through the finished work, plus a short written handoff document. We answer questions for two weeks after the engagement ends, included in the fee.
Will you push us into a follow-on project?
No. If we believe a follow-on is the right move, we will say so plainly in the final read. If we believe your team can run the plan in-house, we will say that too.
Can we re-engage you later for a different project?
Yes, often. Each engagement is its own scope, even with returning clients. The scoping discipline applies every time.
Got a question we did not answer?
Ask us on a discovery call. They are short on purpose.
Execution Growth Partner · Midlothian, Virginia · National engagements