Chapter 04 of 05
The Launch Notes · Vol. 01 No. 04
The Ledger · 04
September 2026 · London
Why we charge fixed fees, not a percentage of raise · Economics
Margin without touching the float
The house wants high gross margin on Sprints, controlled contribution on Builds, durable margin on retainers and partner membership. That is an operating company, not a bet. We track source, conversion, delivery hours, LTV, partner-sourced revenue and churn. We do not track “assets facilitated.” We do not have assets.
Sprints are short and written. If a Sprint cannot be delivered in fourteen days with the inputs locked, we mis-sold the pack or we admitted the wrong team. Builds are where hours leak — production always does — so they are scoped as deliverables with milestones, not as a standing army. Retainers exist only where the register is live and the month can be reported as work.
Partner membership, when it is real, is visibility, co-marketing, a referral process and market intelligence. It is not a revenue share on raises. We do not promise lead volume we do not have. A partner who wants to pay us for exclusive deal flow has misunderstood the directory. Profile verified is not a placement franchise.
KPI set, the adult version
- 01Applications, qualification rate, calls, proposals, wins.
- 02ACV, deposit collection, Sprint-to-Build, Build-to-retainer.
- 03Partner referrals and partner-sourced revenue.
- 04Delivery margin and campaign-control incidents.
- 05Brief subscribers — owned audience, not a promotion feed.
Unit economics that depend on a token price are not unit economics. They are a mood. We will not staff a firm on a mood.