Getting started, from first contact to kickoff
The call ladder, which intake form applies to which offer, and what happens between payment and the first line of work.
The call ladder
Four kinds of call, in increasing commitment. All of them are booked from the call menu, which lets you self-select rather than guess.
| Call | Length | Cost | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 10 min | Free | You are not sure yet whether there is a fit at all |
| Discovery | 30 min | Free | You have a real project and want to scope it |
| Consultation | 30 or 60 min | Paid | You want an answer, not a proposal. This is the work, not the sales call |
| Kickoff | 60 min | Free | You have already bought something. Scheduled after payment |
The distinction that matters is between Discovery and Consultation. Discovery is a sales conversation and it is free. Consultation is billable senior time where you leave with a decision made, and it exists so you can get value without an engagement.
Intake forms
Every priced offer has its own intake form rather than a shared contact page. The form is short, and everything it asks is something the first working session would otherwise be spent gathering.
- Advisor intake for the Advisor retainer
- Builder intake for any Builder tier
- Code review intake for the code review tiers
- Scalable MVP intake for the Discovery Sprint
Submitting the form routes you onward: to card checkout for a fixed-price tier, or to a paid kickoff booking for an hourly or variable engagement. If a tier's checkout is not wired yet, the form falls back to booking a paid consultation rather than dropping you on a generic contact page.
The contact page exists, but it is for general inquiries, partnerships and press. If you want to buy something, the intake form is faster for both of us.
Between payment and work starting
- Kickoff call. Scheduled straight after payment. This is where access, constraints and the definition of done get agreed.
- Access. The narrowest grant that lets the work happen, read-only where the work allows. Details on Security practices.
- A written scope. For retainers this is the first cycle plan. For a productized service it is the confirmed deliverable. For a custom project it is the quote you already accepted.
- Work starts. Nothing starts before there is a signed agreement in place. There are no handshake-only builds.
What is expected from you
Not much, but the two things that actually gate delivery are worth naming: a decision-maker who can answer a blocking question inside a working day, and access that is not stuck behind someone on holiday. Everything else can be worked around.
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