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Our Process · Issue 06

A 6-phase engagement, operator-built.

No discovery deck. No surprise scope creep. No 12-month lock-ins. The week-by-week of how a Mastodon engagement actually runs, end to end, with the exact deliverables you should expect at each stage.

Craftsperson's walnut desk at golden hour with closed leather notebook, brass fountain pen, ceramic mug, brass desk lamp, succulent in stone pot, reading glasses, and a stack of kraft folders
Fig 01 The operator's workspace before the engagement begins. Quiet, considered, unhurried.

Process is the constant. Outputs vary.

Most agency engagements run on the "discovery deck → ongoing retainer" model: weeks of strategy work, expensive PowerPoint decks, vague deliverables, monthly invoices that produce more reports than results. Ours doesn't.

We use a six-phase build cycle: discovery (week 1), scope (week 2), build (weeks 3-6), train (week 7), standwatch (weeks 8-12), handoff or stay (day 91+). Every phase has explicit deliverables and written acceptance criteria.

Total cycle: about 90 days from kickoff to a working system you can rely on without us. Single-playbook projects collapse this to 14-30 days. Full pillar builds run 60-90 days. Full four-pillar implementations phase across 6-12 months. All committed in writing at scope. No 12-month lock-ins, ever. If our work isn't delivering, you should be able to leave.

Three steps. Each one ends before the next begins.

Step 1

Fit call 15 minutes

You book a 15-minute call via our contact page. Alex personally takes this one. You describe the bottleneck. Alex asks about your tools, team, budget range, timeline. End of call you know: (a) whether we're the right firm, (b) rough cost ballpark, (c) what the next step is.

  • No deck. No pitch. No "let me follow up with a proposal."
  • Honest answer if we're not a fit. We've recommended competitors more than once.
  • If we're a fit, we schedule a 30-minute scoping call within 3-5 days.
Step 2

Scoping conversation 30 minutes

Deeper dive. We map your current process for the bottleneck, list the integrations we'll need, agree on what "success" means in your numbers, gather access requirements. At the end, you know what we're going to build and roughly what it costs.

  • Current process map sketched live
  • Integration list (CRM, phone, calendar, etc.)
  • Success metrics agreed in writing during the call
  • Budget range confirmed, timeline expectations set
Step 3

One-page spec Within 24 hours

Within 24 hours of the scoping call, you receive a one-page spec. Not a 30-page proposal. A one-page document with: what gets built, cost (setup + monthly), timeline (kickoff date + go-live date), acceptance criteria at 30/60/90 days, what's included vs add-on, rollback plan if launch fails, references from similar clients on request.

You read it. You sign it (DocuSign or PandaDoc, 5 minutes). Or you don't. Either way, no follow-up nags.

Quiet contemplative interior room with two simple wooden chairs facing each other near a tall window, warm golden-hour light, ceramic vase on a wooden coffee table between the chairs

"If a client can't measure the outcome we shipped in dollars, hours, or attributable leads inside 90 days, we did not do the job."

— Alex Rocha, Founder

Each phase ships. Each one signs off. Then the next begins.

Six phases across roughly 90 days. Discovery, scope, build, train, standwatch, handoff. Every phase has a deliverable, a written acceptance criteria, and a clean exit point if we're not the right fit.

01
Two coffee mugs on a wooden cafe table with steam rising, a small open notebook between them, morning light from the side
Week 1 · 4-6 hours of your time

Discovery

We sit with you (or your team lead) and map the actual current process. Not how you wish it worked, how it works today. Tool inventory. Baseline metrics. The hidden context that doesn't show up in tools.

Deliverable Process map (Loom + written), tool inventory, baseline metrics, access checklist
02
Brass triangular ruler, dividers, sharp wooden carpenter's pencil, and unrolled trace paper on a tan canvas drafting mat
Week 2 · 1-2 hour review

Scope

Based on discovery, we tighten the spec from the pre-engagement one-pager into a detailed build plan. New integrations or scope changes get caught here, before code is written.

Deliverable Detailed build plan, integration map, escalation playbook draft
03
Craftsperson's hands working with leather and a hand-stitching tool on a wooden workbench, wood shavings scattered nearby
Weeks 3-6 · 2-4 hours weekly

Build

The actual construction. We stand up the AI platforms, configure integrations, build the knowledge base, write the workflows. Most of this is us; you're brought in for content review (knowledge base wording, message templates, brand voice samples).

Deliverable Working system in shadow mode, full integration with your CRM/phone/email, written documentation
04
Long empty wooden boardwalk stretching toward the horizon at dawn with soft mist hanging above the boards
Week 7 · 1-2 hours of team time

Train

Your team learns the handoffs. When does the AI take a conversation. When does it escalate. What does the team see when escalation happens. What does the customer see. We run one training session, document everything, and have everyone do a supervised dry run.

Deliverable Team training session (recorded), written SOPs, escalation playbook
05
Tree-lined avenue at twilight with warm streetlamps lit on both sides creating a corridor of soft golden light receding into distance
Weeks 8-12 · 30 minutes weekly

Standwatch

The phase where most agency engagements end. Where ours doesn't. We sit on top of the system for 90 days, tune it weekly, and report results in a monthly dashboard. This is what keeps the system working in production instead of slowly drifting toward uselessness.

Deliverable Weekly tuning log, monthly dashboard, 90-day outcomes report
06
Macro close-up of an antique brass micrometer caliper measuring a small polished wooden block on a leather surface, extreme shallow depth of field
Day 91+ · Your call

Handoff

At day 90, three doors: keep us on a monthly retainer for ongoing optimization, take a clean handoff with full documentation, or extend into the next pillar build. Most clients pick the retainer or extension. Clean handoff is fully supported and never punished.

Deliverable Three doors: retainer, clean handoff, or extend to next pillar

How we stay in touch during the engagement.

01

Shared Slack channel

Or Teams if you prefer. Day-to-day async. Most communication lives here.

02

Email

For anything you need a paper trail on. Scope changes, contract updates, formal sign-offs.

03

Loom walkthroughs

Async video updates. 1-3 per week during build, fewer during standwatch.

04

SMS or phone

For anything urgent within business hours. We do not call at 2am unless something is on fire.

05

Weekly 30-min call

First 90 days. Recorded if you want it. Monthly cadence after that.

06

Quarterly business review

Long-term clients. In-person at our office or yours when in metro.

The people on your engagement, named.

Alex Rocha leads every engagement personally. You'll work with him directly during discovery, scope, and weekly standwatch calls. No offshore-only delivery. No faceless account-management layer between you and the people building your system.

  • Alex Rocha (founder): discovery, scope, weekly calls, escalations, all client-facing strategy.
  • Project specialist (per engagement): day-to-day build, integration work, documentation. Named in scope.
  • Development partners (when needed): custom API integrations, custom UI, non-no-code work. Vetted, US-based.

The rhythm of how we report.

Weekly

First 90 days

  • 30-min call: tuning changes, escalations reviewed, anomalies flagged, week-over-week metric movement
  • Loom recap if you can't make the call live
Monthly

Ongoing after first 90 days

  • Written dashboard: KPIs vs baseline, auto-resolution rates, conversion funnel, qualified-lead count, revenue attributed where possible
  • 3-paragraph executive summary auto-drafted, our team edits and ships
  • 30-min review call (optional after first 90 days, most clients want it)
Quarterly

Long-term clients

  • Business review: directional planning, what to expand next, what to retire, market shifts to watch
  • In-person for Greater Houston clients, video for elsewhere

What we hold ourselves to. What we ask of you.

We commit to

  • Acceptance criteria at 30/60/90. Written into every scope. If we miss them, we tell you in the weekly call.
  • Go-live dates. Committed in writing. If we're going to miss by more than 5 business days, you hear about it 14 days out, with the reason.
  • 60-day money-back guarantee on single-playbook setups. We've never had to honor it; we'd rather you know it's there.
  • 30-day notice to cancel any monthly retainer. No penalty. No awkward break-up call.
  • No 12-month contracts. Ever. Retention should be earned weekly, not locked.

We ask you for

  • One decision-maker in week 1. Implementations stall when scope needs to escalate up an org chart. Pick one person with authority.
  • 4-8 hours per week of internal time during the build phase.
  • Access to systems we need to integrate. Set up admin or specific-permission accounts.
  • Honesty about what's not working internally. Broken processes, team conflicts, tool sprawl. We can work around almost anything if we know.
  • Engagement on the weekly call during the first 90 days. Clients who skip end up unhappy because they don't know what we're tuning.

The questions we hear on most intro calls.

How long does an engagement take?
Single playbook: 14-30 days. Single pillar: 60-90 days. Full implementation: 6-12 months phased.
What happens on the first fit call?
15 min. We ask about bottleneck, stack, budget. Honest answer on fit. No deck.
Do you write a proposal?
One-page spec, not a proposal. What gets built, cost, timeline, acceptance criteria.
How much team time?
Discovery week: 4-6 hours. Build: 2-4 hr/wk. Training: 1-2 hr. Standwatch: 30 min/wk.
What if we want to pause or stop?
30-day notice. No lock-ins. Pay pro-rata for completed work.
How do you communicate?
Shared Slack, email, Loom, SMS for urgent. Weekly 30-min call first 90 days.
Who's actually doing the work?
Alex Rocha leads. Project specialist for larger builds (named at scope). Development partners for custom integrations.
What happens at day 91?
Three doors: monthly retainer, clean handoff, or extend to next pillar.

Ready to walk through this with us?

15 minutes. No deck. No pressure. Honest answer on fit at the end.

Book a Fit Call →