Straight answers. No hype.
The questions leaders actually ask before working with us: about what we do, how we're different, what it costs, and how we protect you. Offering-specific questions live on each offering's page; the cross-cutting ones are here.
What we do and how we're different.
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We've been talking about AI internally for months and still feel lost: can you actually get us moving?
This is the exact thing we exist to fix. We've watched businesses spend 6–12 months in board decks and exec debates that feel like progress but move nothing. Straight up: you'll achieve more in the two weeks of Phase 0 with us than in the last 6–12 months of talking amongst yourselves. And if that first session doesn't clear the bar, it's free.
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Is this another agency sales funnel dressed up in nicer language?
Healthy suspicion. We're anti-agency by design: we do the work with you, not for you; what we build stays as your capability; and the explicit aim is that you outgrow us. Phase 0's roadmap is yours whether you continue or not: a strange thing to hand over if the goal were to trap you.
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How are you different from an AI automation agency that can build me a workflow in a couple of weeks?
If you genuinely just want a bot or an n8n workflow dropped in and nothing else, an automation agency is faster and cheaper, and we'll tell you so. The difference: they sell you the tech and leave, so the capability (and the dependency) stays with them. We do build the systems (we're hands-on technologists), but we also build your team's capability, so it compounds and isn't hostage to a vendor. Tech and capability, owned by you.
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Are you a training/coaching outfit, or a consultancy?
Both, and neither. We're a rare mix of technologists, consultants, teachers and coaches: we go from strategy (DOTS) right through to systems design, architecture and implementation, and we build your people's capability alongside. Most firms do one slice of that; doing the whole span is the point.
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Who have you done this with: can you show named clients and outcomes, and could I speak to one?
Great question. It's the first thing we'd want to know too. We won't invent clients to look bigger than we are. We'd rather show you real work on a call and connect you with someone we've worked with. References are available on request. If proof is the thing standing between us, say so and we'll lead with it.
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Who are you two, and what earns the right to coach my exec team?
Fair. Never take AI direction from a self-appointed expert. We're AI-native ourselves: we've designed and run real AI-native operating systems (agents, skills, connectors, whole architectures) in our own business and embedded the same into others'. That sits on nearly two decades each of building products 0→1 and driving change in high-ambiguity environments. Toby leads strategy and the partnership; Andy leads product, architecture and hands-on implementation. Full story on the About page.
Pricing, honestly.
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Your prices all say "from": what's the actual number for me, and is it plus VAT?
"From" shouldn't mean "unknowable." The floors are genuine: cohort from £3,500/place, Phase 0 from £5,000, cycles from £20,000 each, all +VAT (UK businesses reclaim it; non-UK clients aren't charged UK VAT). They flex with size, on-site/travel and scope. Tell us the shape and we'll give you a real figure.
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What ROI can I expect, and how should I think about it?
The better question is usually "can we afford not to?" We're outcomes-focused: we tie the work to defined targets up front and aim for a return that dwarfs the fee. But the honest answer is that the only number that matters is the one measured in your business, so we help you anchor it in your numbers rather than waving ours at you. We won't claim a figure we haven't earned in your business.
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What's the realistic 12-month all-in cost for a company my size?
Honestly, we can't know before Phase 0, and that's the point. You're not committing to a 12-month programme. You commit to one Phase 0 (from £5,000), then 8 weeks at a time, and you never start a cycle (from £20,000) without full clarity on what it delivers. If finance needs something to hold, we'll sketch an illustrative range with caveats; what we won't do is invent a fixed annual figure that fakes a certainty we don't have.
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Do I have to pick just one? Can we run more than one at the same time?
Not at all, and most of our highest-value relationships don't. The Doors are just a clear place to start; the rest is a menu. Plenty of clients run several at once (full Company Enablement across the business, the in-house cohort for the exec team, and 1:1 coaching for a leader carrying the most) because they reinforce each other.
Guarantee, ownership, and how we scale.
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If it's not working, can I stop? Is there a guarantee?
Yes. It's the heart of how we work: no value, no payment. We don't want to work with anyone who doesn't feel they got far more than they paid for. Company Enablement: after your first session, you decide: if it's not worth it, you pay nothing. Coaching (all three formats): you get two full sessions and the resources are yours to keep; if it's not for you, cancel before the third and get a full refund. The only thing this doesn't cover is one-off talks and events. Beyond that there's no lock-in: engagements run a cycle at a time, your call.
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It's just the two of you: what if you're ill or oversubscribed, and how does this scale to a large org?
Senior ownership is deliberate and stays that way: whoever scopes your engagement stays hands-on and accountable for delivering it, end to end. Where it adds value we draw on deep networks of senior specialists mapped to your needs, protecting continuity and quality, and letting org-wide change scale through your people too. You're never handed off to a junior team once the deal's signed.
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Who owns what we build, and will you sign our NDA/DPA?
Simple: what you build is yours. Any frameworks or tools we share are yours to use freely across your business and personal life: the only line is you can't resell them or run them as a competing service. Your 1:1 work stays confidential. We handle NDAs/DPAs directly with your team.
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Do you discount, and can you work with our procurement process?
We don't compete on discount: price reflects the value, and tends to move up, not down. If a formal process is required we can work within it (we've done so before, including with a global financial consulting firm); a heavier process usually means more scope, which the price reflects.