The hard questions

Why should you believe any of this?

You shouldn’t, yet. These are the questions we would ask in your seat before applying for a Gap Diagnostic — about the price, the guarantee, the tools, the people and what happens after the install — answered plainly.

Published September 5, 2026 · Middle Research and Development

In short

The deal is simple enough to state in one sentence: we find at least $25,000 leaking from your store on a free call, or we pass; if we find it, we install the system that plugs it in 21 days and you pay a third of the 12-month leak we recover, with a $15,000 minimum. Every question below is a version of ‘why would you structure it that way?’ The short answer is alignment. A flat fee pays us whether the leak closes or not; a third of what we recover pays us only if it does. The floor exists so we only take leaks worth closing. The pass exists because a 45-minute no is cheaper for both of us than a 21-day maybe. And the install is built between the tools you already pay for because switching platforms mid-growth is itself a leak.

Questions

Why a third of the leak? Why not a flat fee?: Because a flat fee pays us whether the leak closes or not. A third of what we recover pays us only if it does. The $15k floor exists so we only take leaks worth closing — if the math can’t clear it, neither of us should be on the call.
What if you can’t find $25k?: Then we pass, on the call, and tell you where we looked. You keep the map. No proposal, no follow-up sequence. We’d rather say no in 45 minutes than spend 21 days proving a small leak.
Do I have to switch tools?: No. The install is built between the tools you already pay for. Switching platforms mid-growth is its own leak; we don’t create one to fix one.
Who actually does the work?: The two people on the call. An operator who scopes it and a developer who builds it. Nothing is handed to a junior team after you sign.
Why 21 days?: Because the modules already exist — the diagnostic decides which ones and how they’re wired to your stack. Custom research and bigger builds are a later conversation, after the first system is earning.
What happens after the install?: It runs. You own it. If you want us to keep it from rotting as the stack changes, that’s a separate conversation we only have after the first system has paid for itself.
How is a Gap Diagnostic different from an agency audit?: An agency audit looks at one tool — usually the one the agency sells. The Gap Diagnostic looks at the spaces between tools, because that is where the money leaves. It ends in a priced list of gaps and a yes or a no, not a proposal.
Do I need to prepare anything?: Answer the five application questions honestly and have admin access to your store and ad accounts available on the call. We don’t need exports or decks.
What if you can’t find $25,000?: Then we pass, on the call, and tell you where we looked. There is no proposal and no follow-up sequence. We would rather say no in 45 minutes than spend 21 days proving a small leak.

Find out what your store is leaking.

One call. If we can’t point at $25k, we pass. If we can, we install the system in 21 days. Apply for a diagnostic.

Apply for a diagnostic

Questions

Why a third of the leak? Why not a flat fee?

Because a flat fee pays us whether the leak closes or not. A third of what we recover pays us only if it does. The $15k floor exists so we only take leaks worth closing — if the math can’t clear it, neither of us should be on the call.

What if you can’t find $25k?

Then we pass, on the call, and tell you where we looked. You keep the map. No proposal, no follow-up sequence. We’d rather say no in 45 minutes than spend 21 days proving a small leak.

Do I have to switch tools?

No. The install is built between the tools you already pay for. Switching platforms mid-growth is its own leak; we don’t create one to fix one.

Who actually does the work?

The two people on the call. An operator who scopes it and a developer who builds it. Nothing is handed to a junior team after you sign.

Why 21 days?

Because the modules already exist — the diagnostic decides which ones and how they’re wired to your stack. Custom research and bigger builds are a later conversation, after the first system is earning.

What happens after the install?

It runs. You own it. If you want us to keep it from rotting as the stack changes, that’s a separate conversation we only have after the first system has paid for itself.

How is a Gap Diagnostic different from an agency audit?

An agency audit looks at one tool — usually the one the agency sells. The Gap Diagnostic looks at the spaces between tools, because that is where the money leaves. It ends in a priced list of gaps and a yes or a no, not a proposal.

Do I need to prepare anything?

Answer the five application questions honestly and have admin access to your store and ad accounts available on the call. We don’t need exports or decks.

What if you can’t find $25,000?

Then we pass, on the call, and tell you where we looked. There is no proposal and no follow-up sequence. We would rather say no in 45 minutes than spend 21 days proving a small leak.