The Edge Brief — Clarity you can act on

A decision, not a pitch

A paid working session that ends in a written brief.

You pay for my full attention and my actual thinking, and you walk away with a document you could hand to your board whether or not you ever work with me. The session is a real working session — we get into your numbers, your market, and your constraints. The brief is the thinking, written down and made actionable.

What you get

A written brief, 16 to 22 pages.

Not notes, not a recap email. A structured document you can act on.

The thesisThe specific edge worth building, stated plainly and argued.
The systemWhat I’d build to capture it, in concrete terms.
The numberWhat it should move, and how we’d know it worked.
The pathHow Discover → Architect → Build → Commercialize plays out for you, with what you’d own at the end.
The Foundry ScreenWhether your problem is yours alone or your industry’s, and what that difference is worth.
The verdictIncluding whether this is worth doing at all, and what I’d do if I were you.

Delivered 5 to 7 days after our session. Yours to keep regardless of what happens next.

Every Edge Brief now includes a Foundry Screen: a one-page score of whether the problem we scope is unique to your company or common across your vertical. Most problems are yours alone, and the brief will say so plainly. When one isn’t, it may qualify for the Foundry — Modven’s thesis that a common problem, once solved, can become a company you hold founding equity in. The screen adds nothing to the price. It is how I make sure a second harvest never goes unnoticed.

What it costs, and why

$500.
Credited in full if we build.

If we go on to an engagement, that $500 comes straight off the price — you’ve lost nothing. If we don’t, you keep a board-ready document that’s worth more than $500 on its own.

It’s priced this way on purpose. A real price gets you my full attention and a real deliverable, and it makes sure we both treat the conversation like the decision it is.

Fit

Built for some people, and not for others.

For you if

You run an ambitious mid-market or challenger company, roughly $25–250M.
You have a real growth thesis and no integrated way to design and ship the system behind it.
You want to own the outcome, not file another strategy deck.
You can move when the answer is clear.

Not for you if

You want a deck to circulate, a second opinion, or hours billed.
You need a large team, a vendor list, or a procurement process more than an accountable owner.
You’re shopping the same brief to five firms for the lowest bid.

How it works

Four steps, about a week.

01 · Apply

Tell me about it

You tell me about the business and the opportunity. I take a limited number of these.

02 · The paid conversation

A focused working session

We pressure-test the real opportunity together — your numbers, your market, your constraints. $500, paid on booking.

03 · The brief, delivered

In writing, in a week

5 to 7 days later you get the written Edge Brief — the thesis, the system, the number, the path, and my read.

04 · Credited if we build

Your $500 comes off the price

If we go on to an engagement, the fee is credited in full. If we don’t, the brief is still yours to act on.

I take roughly two engagements a quarter, by application. The Edge Brief is the only way in.

Q3 capacity · ▮▮▮ · 2 of 3 engagements committed

Field Note · No. 02Less is the instruction: a new way to prompt Fable 5 → Field Note · No. 05The canvas that runs itself: lean startup on Fable 5 →

Questions

The answers.

Is this just a sales call?

No. It’s a paid working session that produces a written document you keep. If anything, it’s how I screen out work that isn’t a fit — for both of us.

What if you decide there’s no edge worth building?

Then the brief says so, and walks through why. A clear “don’t build” saves you from spending real money on the wrong system, and the brief is yours to keep either way.

Do I have to work with you afterward?

No. Plenty of briefs end with “here’s exactly what to do” and a client who goes and does it. The $500 credit is there if you want to build with me.

Why only two engagements a quarter?

Because I do the work myself, end to end. The whole value is one accountable orchestrator, which only holds if I’m not spread across a dozen accounts. The constraint is the product.

How fast can we start?

The conversation can usually be booked within a couple of weeks; the brief follows 5 to 7 days after. Engagements start when capacity opens, which is why the brief is the right first move regardless.

What does an engagement cost?

It depends on the system — that’s exactly what the brief scopes. The brief is how we both find out, with real numbers instead of a guess.

See your edge clearly before anyone commits to building it.

A paid working session that ends in a written brief.

A written brief, 16 to 22 pages.

$500.
Credited in full if we build.

Built for some people, and not for others.

For you if

Not for you if

Four steps, about a week.

Tell me about it

A focused working session

In writing, in a week

Your $500 comes off the price

The answers.

Start with an Edge Brief.

A paid working session that ends in a written brief.

A written brief, 16 to 22 pages.

$500.Credited in full if we build.

Built for some people, and not for others.

For you if

Not for you if

Four steps, about a week.

Tell me about it

A focused working session

In writing, in a week

Your $500 comes off the price

The answers.

Start with an Edge Brief.

Start with an Edge Brief

Thanks — I’ll be in touch.

$500.
Credited in full if we build.