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01 - The Diagnostic

Two weeks.
One clear answer.

Something is wrong. The internal answer is always "execute better." The Diagnostic finds out if that is actually true. Usually, it is not the problem.

Two weeks. One clear answer.

When growth feels stuck, the obvious answer is usually execution.

The Diagnostic checks whether that is true. Often, the real issue is that the market has placed the company in the wrong frame.

Timeline ~2 weeks
Fee €12K - €20K
Output One clear answer
Commitment None

Execution cannot fix a broken frame.
Before spending more, find out where the frame is broken.

The real problem

The market has placed your company somewhere. You may not like where.

Deals slow down. Pipeline grows but revenue does not. The team works hard. Results do not match.

Every conversation points to execution. But the problem is somewhere else: the market has compared you to the wrong companies, for the wrong reasons.

When that is wrong, more effort makes it worse. You move faster in the wrong direction.

This is the Execution Trap: the wrong frame, reinforced by more effort.

The Diagnostic makes the real problem visible. In two weeks. Without a long-term commitment.

What happens

Four steps. Two weeks.

Week 1 - Days 1 and 2

How you explain yourself today

We look at how your team describes the company - in pitches, on the website, in sales conversations. What story are you actually telling?

Week 1 - Days 3 to 5

How the market sees you

We look at how buyers, analysts, and investors actually place you. What problem do they think you solve? Who do they compare you to? The gap between your story and their perception is where the value gets lost.

Week 2 - Days 1 to 3

What position is available

We look at what space exists in your market and whether you can claim it. Is the window still open? This is where we decide if there is a clear path forward.

Week 2 - Days 4 and 5

A direct answer to your leadership team

We present the findings. Not 40 slides. A clear picture of what the real problem is, what it costs, and what to do next. You decide whether to proceed. Either answer is useful.

What you get

What The Diagnostic examines.

Eight areas. Each assessed directly against your company's current position. Not a report. A diagnosis the leadership team can act on.

What gets examined

  • Market perception - how the market currently understands the company: not what you intended, but what buyers actually believe
  • Comparison-set analysis - which companies you are being measured against, on which criteria, and whether that comparison works for or against you
  • Positioning breakdown - where the current position is ambiguous, contradicted, or wrong, and where in the buyer journey it costs the business hardest
  • GTM friction diagnosis - where go-to-market effort is absorbed by category confusion rather than driving buyer decisions
  • Buyer-language mismatch - how buyers describe the problem you solve versus how you describe it, and what that gap costs in deal velocity and conversion
  • Investor narrative assessment - whether the current framing holds in investor and board conversations, or introduces uncertainty under scrutiny
  • Execution vs framing - the central question: is the problem execution, or is strong execution pointed in the wrong direction?
  • Recommended next move - a direct recommendation: what to change, whether to proceed, and how

Two weeks. One clear answer. The problem is either named - or it is not.
That is the deliverable.

Timeline

2 weeks from start to final readout

Terms

Fixed fee. No retainer. No ongoing commitment.

Who you work with

Directly with Richard Poolman. No junior handoff.

What comes after

A deeper engagement - only if The Diagnostic shows a clear path worth taking.

Who this is for

Not for everyone.

This works best for companies that are already moving - typically Series A to C - where leadership knows something is off but cannot yet name it precisely. Not for early-stage teams still finding their footing. Not for companies looking for more activity, more content, or more advice. For founders, investors, and GTM leaders who think in outcomes and exits, who understand that AI increases execution speed - and that running faster in the wrong direction is now a much more expensive mistake.

Mobile summary

Two weeks. One clear answer.

When growth feels stuck, the obvious answer is usually execution.

The Diagnostic checks whether that is true. Often, the real issue is that the market has placed the company in the wrong frame.

Pricing

Pricing is fixed before work starts.

The service page explains the work. The FAQ explains the pricing logic.

Scope & pricing logic

Fixed fee. Defined before work starts.

The Diagnostic runs between €12,000 and €20,000.

The lower end applies when scope is contained, the stakeholder group is limited, category confusion is visible but not deeply embedded, relevant materials are available and clear, and investor or board complexity is limited.

The higher end applies when multiple stakeholders must be reviewed across functions, GTM complexity is higher, international scope is involved, category confusion runs deep across the organisation, investor or board narrative is part of the issue, or sales motion, partner motion, and leadership narrative need to be compared against each other.

Pricing is set before work begins. No retainer. No scope creep. No open-ended commitment.

The right question is not what The Diagnostic costs. It is what category misalignment is already costing - in deals, pricing, and capital consumed in the wrong direction.

Next step

Start the conversation.

Fixed fee. Two weeks. One clear answer.

Pricing is defined upfront. This page explains the work; the FAQ explains the pricing logic.