Ongoing advisory
When the question is fuzzy and the next move is not obvious.
Innovation Labs is open-ended advisory for founders sitting on a thesis, a half-built product, or a pivot decision. We do not ship code. We do not run sprints. We argue with you about what is actually true, in writing, on a cadence you set.
No email gate. No sales pitch.
When this fits
Three situations where open-ended advisory beats a productized engagement.
- 01
You have a thesis, an audience hypothesis, or a hunch about a market, but no validated demand yet. You need a partner to pressure-test the thesis, not a vendor to ship against it.
- 02
You have a working product but no clear ICP, and the team is split on which direction to commit. You need an outside read on segments, pricing power, and what to kill.
- 03
You are considering a pivot, a wind-down, or a major scope cut. You want a second opinion from someone who has shipped product, not just consulted on one.
When a productized engagement fits better instead
Most founders are past the fuzzy stage. We default to fixed scope.
- If you know your ICP and need to ship a working GTM motion, start with the GTM Sprint. Six weeks, fixed fee, working CRM and analytics by day 42.
- If you need senior technical cover for architecture, hiring, and vendor decisions, the Fractional CTO retainer is more concrete than open-ended strategy work.
- If the question is mostly about replacing SaaS subscriptions with self-hosted tools, go straight to Digital Transformation. Per-project, scoped on the call.
Productized alternatives
The four engagements that ship.
These are the recommended path for nine out of ten founders. If one of these fits, start there.
GTM Sprint
6 weeks fixed fee
Working ICP, positioning, channels, and stack in 42 days. Fixed scope, fixed fee.
Learn moreFractional CTO
1 to 2 days/week
Senior technical leadership for architecture, hiring, and vendor calls. Monthly retainer.
Learn moreCFO Advisory
Monthly retainer
Monthly close, 13-week cash forecast, unit economics, board reporting. Your books, our brain.
Learn moreDigital Transformation
Per project
Replace SaaS with self-hosted OSS. Twenty, n8n, Umami, Metabase, Kimai, Mox. Documented and yours.
Learn moreTell us what you are working on.
We will tell you whether Innovation Labs fits, or which productized engagement does instead.