01 · MAP
Four compounding problems · none fix alone
1Sales · velocity zero
0 net new Q1 · hipages → Mutinex A$120K lost Apr 2 · 0 outbound this week · Dan 0 leads 3 wks · Vincent/Elisa 0% contracted mkt time
2Product · 12 months no output
A$18K/mo team cost · customer emails: 12 mo unshipped · chatbot unshipped · Peter 1am · Vincent response "overwhelmed" · offshore VN / English-speaking customer gap
3Delivery · cannot service
A$483/customer/mo CS cost · Kleva cut 49% · GR 1 mo not serviced · ShipBob renewal risk · ROLI £15K AR writeoff · CS reluctant to adopt Claude
4People · structural mis-match
Want A$4,735 → A$10,000 base · 10% mkt contracted, 0% delivered · won't watch sales recordings · Sophia overwhelm · Peter burnout · Oliver exited
Can't sell→ no growth
Product doesn't ship→ customers don't love us
Can't service→ customers cut or churn
Team mis-matched→ nothing ships
02 · MAP
The gap · 0 hours above, 38 hours below
Where the CEO of a 5-customer pre-PMF company should be
Face of the business
Podcasts
Events
Meetups
Roundtables
Outbound
Customer visits
Mkt content
Thought leadership
0 hrs this week
◆ THE GAP ◆
38 hrs this week
Where I actually spent 38 hours this week
Systems instead of customers
AI CFO brain
Rev Ops overhaul
Payroll switch
Q1 deck
Gmail MCP
Phone system
Meeting 4-tier
2-phase scoring
6-stage pipeline
Monday ritual
Proposal tracking
Reply automation
Advisory brain
This deck
Auth framework
Bilal → Ibrahim
Xero cleanup
Apr forecast
Sophia rollout rule
No chatbot
No customer emails
GR not serviced 1 mo
Kleva cut 49%
hipages → Mutinex
ROLI £15K AR
SVP pricing gap
03 · MONEY
Q1 closed -A$5K. Apr forecast -A$8K. FY26 at 32% of plan.
Q1 Revenue
A$136.6K
Q1 OpEx
A$141.9K
Q1 Net
-A$5.3K
vs Budget
+A$37K
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr fcst | Q1 | FY26 plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | 44.8K | 53.7K | 71.6K | 98.5K | 170.1K | 1,594K |
| Actual | 51.3K | 44.1K | 41.2K | 36.4K | 136.6K | — |
| % of plan | 115% | 82% | 57% | 37% | 80% | — |
| FY26 scenario | Revenue | % of plan | FY26 net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | A$1,594K | 100% | +A$317K |
| Current trajectory | A$506K | 32% | -A$250K |
| Recovery (3 customers by Jun) | A$1,150K | 72% | -A$90K |
| Best case (5 customers Q2) | A$1,400K | 88% | +A$50K |
Director's Loan
A$584K
SAFE received
A$300K
Runway
~14 mo, compressing
My lean
Cost discipline holding. Revenue is the only lever left.
Side decision
A$190K FY25 salary accrual — pay, offset, or defer? See appendix →
04 · SALES
0 net new Q1. hipages → Mutinex. SVP is the whole Q2.
| Deal | Stage | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SVP Worldwide | Contract Out | ~A$90K ARR | 85% · pre-May-1 · USD gap |
| hipages | Closed Lost | A$120K | Lost to Mutinex · Apr 2 |
| Adrenaline / Kanda | Qualified | tbc | Agency-side |
| Ceflo | Qualified | tbc | Sep close |
| GSD · PulseCharge | Discovery | tbc | DTC · new this week |
| Dan output | — | — | 0 leads · 3 wks · zero-cost contract |
| Dead: Body20 · Secret Lab · Wild Fork · Mad Paws · Fly A Deal · Salary · P&G · hipages | |||
My lean
SVP contract at USD rate + 12-mo AUD "early signer" concession. Soft close this week. Dan to exit end-April if no leads.
Your call
hipages/Mutinex loss — positioning, product, or pricing? Re-introduce Dan 3/wk floor now, or exit end-April?
05 · PRODUCT
Founder shipped 3 systems this week. Product team: 12 months, 0 customer emails.
| Output | Shipped · 7 days | Unshipped · 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Systems | AI CFO · Rev Ops · Payroll switch | — |
| Customer features | — | Customer emails · chatbot · notifications · self-serve onboarding |
Team cost
A$18K/mo
Peter status
1am working · burnout risk
Vincent response
"overwhelmed" (not prioritisation)
My lean
Performance conversation with Vincent. Question offshore VN fit for English-speaking customer base.
Your call
Performance conversation, product-ops layer, or structural team change — which first?
06 · DELIVERY
2 green · 3 amber · 1 red across 6 customers. Cannot take more.
| Customer | MRR | Acq | Adopt | Prove | Realise | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee Club | A$7,750 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Green |
| Inspirations | US$5,500 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Green |
| Kleva · cut 49% | A$6,850 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⚠ | Amber |
| ShipBob · renewal Oct | A$7,416 | ✓ | ✓ | ⚠ | ? | Amber |
| Global Rescue · 1 mo, not serviced | US$4,584 | ✓ | ⚠ | ? | ? | Amber |
| ROLI · £15K AR writeoff | 0 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | Red |
CS team
2 FT · A$2,900/mo
Per-customer CS
A$483/mo
CS tool adoption
Reluctant to use Claude
My lean
Turn 3 amber green before acquiring #7. Formal value-proof for ShipBob before September.
Your call
Pause SVP acquisition until delivery stabilises, or dual-track? ROLI — collections or writeoff mid-May?
07 · PEOPLE
10% marketing contracted · 0% delivered · want base doubled.
| Obligation | Contract | Delivery | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing time | 10% weekly | ~0% sustained | 100% |
| Sales engagement | Support commercials | Not watching recordings | High |
| Product shipping | Ship customer features | 12 mo key features pending | High |
| Leadership alignment | Engage strategy + P&L | Quiet; dismissed Claude work | Medium |
| Comp trigger (flipped) | Elisa | Vincent | Michael |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today (10% mkt unmet) | A$4,735 | A$4,735 | Accruing |
| Compliance restored (4 wks evidence) | A$4,735 | A$4,735 | Accruing |
| A$75K MRR + PMF green 4/6 | A$6,000 | A$6,000 | Accruing |
| A$100K MRR + 3 customers from their pipeline | A$8,000 | A$8,000 | A$2,000 |
| A$150K MRR + PMF green 5/6 | A$10,000 | A$10,000 | A$5,000 |
My lean
Performance conversation precedes comp conversation. Vietnam trip = go for the hard conversation in person · Mon 27 – Wed 29 Apr.
Your call
Trust rebuild, or performance + accountability? Flipped comp ladder — right structure, or different trigger?
08 · THE ASK
Fixable at current cost base, or reshape?
The strategic decision · everything hinges here
A$506K FY26 vs A$1,594K plan · 68% miss · A$884K founder capital exposed · four problems compound
Reframe A · Sales
Block 4 days/wk for sales (kill builder weekends), hire AE, or wait for brand-driven inbound?
Reframe B · Product
Vincent performance, product-ops layer, or structural team change — which first?
Reframe C · Delivery
Pause SVP + acquisition until 3 amber green, or dual-track?
Reframe D · People
Trust rebuild or performance + accountability? Original prescription assumed first.
09 · REGISTER
Open items · since Apr 13
| # | Item | Status | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R&D tax to Rimon | Urgent | Alan Fathom sample |
| 2 | Vietnam trip | Decide today | Ask A |
| 3 | Quarterly vs Plan | Delivered | S3 |
| 4 | Comp priority (flipped) | Framework ready | Ask D |
| 5 | Dan commission | 0 leads 3 wks | Floor or exit |
| 6 | Leadership sales-involvement Q | Mon 21 | Your edit |
| 7 | Supermetrics | Open | Defer |
| 8 | Mangrove | Low | Monitor |
| 9 | PMF presentation | Delivered | S6 scorecard |
| 10 | Brand project | Workshop Wed 22 | Reframe |
| 11 | SVP contract | Pre-May-1 | USD + concession |
| N1 | hipages → Mutinex post-mortem | Strategic | Ask · S4 |
| N2 | Vincent performance conversation | Strategic | Ask B |
| N3 | Offshore VN fit · English customers | Strategic | Structural review |
| N4 | PMF declaration (pre-PMF) | Decision | Change playbook |
| N5 | Insurance (BizCover) | Gap | May session |
| N6 | Michael A$190K FY25 salary · pay / offset / defer | Decision | Appendix A → |
Pattern
Structural prescriptions land · behavioural lag. Five asks today are all behavioural. That's where I need you most — and where the current advisory pattern breaks down.