Who We Serve
Modern, brand-conscious owner-operators of $3–30M businesses in three target verticals.
The buyer profile
We screen people first, industries second. The criteria, in rough order of weight:
- Under ~50, AI-curious. Has played with ChatGPT. Treats AI as opportunity, not threat.
- Treats brand as competitive moat, not cost center. Cares how the firm shows up — language, design, presence. Often arrives a little embarrassed by the current website and the gap between what they sell and how they're showing up.
- Owner-operator with a dense reference network. Recurring or referral-driven economics; decisions stay with the owner; active in peer groups, industry associations, or founder communities — both for our reach and for theirs.
- AI-naïve in execution but ready to deploy with the right partner. They want the leverage AI promises but haven't found anyone who can install it for them at this scale.
The three verticals
| Vertical | Revenue band | Reach | Deal economics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern veterinary practice groups | $5–25M | Cold but dense (industry associations, peer groups) | Recurring service |
| Modern design-driven home improvement — design-build remodel, high-end landscape, modern outdoor living, design-driven custom pool, design-integrated solar, brand-driven roofing | $5–30M | Mixed — industry channels + founder relationships | Project + financing + warranty |
| Specialty coffee roasters | $3–15M | Mixed — founder networks + industry channels | Multi-channel CPG (wholesale + DTC + retail + bagged) |
Not on the home-improvement list: storm-chasing roofers, volume / lowest-price solar installers, legacy custom pool builders with traditional sales cultures.
Why these three
Buyer psychology is the constant — we're holding it the same across all three verticals so we can test what else varies.
The verticals span three axes we want to learn from:
- Reach mode — warm-network (coffee, home improvement) vs. cold-but-dense (vet)
- Deal economics — recurring service vs. project + financing vs. multi-channel CPG
- Brand intensity — how heavily the buyer leans on brand as competitive moat
After 5–10 engagements, we'll know which of those axes most predicts a successful customer, and we can anchor.
Who we don't serve
We've looked at — and ruled out — verticals where the buyer profile breaks:
- Owners who treat brand as a cost center to minimize, not a moat to invest in. That filters out a long list of categories: storm-chasing roofers, volume solar, commodity landscaping, fast-casual food, most legacy contractors.
- Operators who want to outsource decision-making rather than augment it. The Playbook is co-defined with the owner; it doesn't replace them.
- Operators above $30M. They have internal teams and need different scope.
- Operators below $3M. The methodology and pricing don't fit yet.
We've also looked at and passed on: med spa, dental, boutique fitness, hospitality, professional services, fractional services. They share some surface features with our targets but the buyer psychology screens out.
Open questions on this page: vertical priority (anchor in one vertical first or run all three in parallel from customer 1?); is there a fourth vertical worth considering?