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Archived version Updated May 12, 2026 · Affirmology_Brief_v5.md
For: Jeff Parker Date: May 11, 2026 Purpose: Colin asked for five specific deliverables in the next conversation. Before we can build them well, you need to land your own answers on the questions below. The list is organized by Colin's ask, plus a final section of questions to put to Colin directly on the next call.
These are decision-forcing questions, not abstract reflection prompts. Answer them quickly and we can build the executive summary, team schematic, tech-obsolescence response, customer journey, and team vision in the next session or two.
1. Final seed target amount. Is the number $30K, $100K, $130K, $150K, or another? Right now the deck says $30K for 10% and we have talked about scaling to $130K with tiered SAFEs. Pick the lead number for the summary, knowing it can be revised.
2. Priority order if you raise less. If you only close $30K, what happens first? If you close $60K? If you close the full $130K? Three scenarios, one line each. Investors love seeing this discipline.
3. Pricing reality check. Have you tested $77 Starter Kit or $22/month subscription pricing with anyone, even casually? If yes, with whom and what did they say? If no, that is fine, just note it as a Sprint 1 validation step.
4. Conversion rate assumptions. Email signup to Starter Kit purchase: what percentage do you assume? Industry rough benchmark for warm wellness audiences is 2 to 8%. Pick a number, even a guess.
5. Lifetime value assumption. You mentioned 2.5 years in conversation. What is that based on, and what is the implied LTV per customer? (Math: $22/mo × 30 months = $660 LTV, plus $77 Starter Kit = ~$737 LTV. Reasonable.)
6. The worst-case six-month outcome you would be okay with. Define floor. Example: "50 paying customers, $1,500 MRR, demo validated, ready for ad scaling." Investors want to know you have thought about the downside.
7. The optimistic six-month outcome. Define ceiling. Example: "300 subscribers, $7K MRR, profitable ad loop, demo featured at Faena, one practitioner license sold."
8. Faena conference success metrics. What does winning look like on those three days? Number of email signups? Number of paid Starter Kits sold on the spot? Number of practitioner license conversations started? Pick two or three numbers.
1. Jackie conversation status. Have you spoken to Jackie directly about a potential operational role here, even informally? Does she know about Affirmology yet?
2. Sol's sister conversation status. Has Sol mentioned Affirmology to her sister yet, beyond your background conversations with Sol? Has the sister expressed interest?
3. Tech engineer candidate pipeline. Do you have any names in mind for the senior tech engineer hire? Or are you starting from scratch? Knowing this helps Colin assess execution risk.
4. Your time allocation. Once Affirmology is funded, how many hours per week do you commit? What gives way in your current schedule (coaching, conferences, men's work)?
5. Sol's time allocation. Once she is onboarded as Chief Brand Officer, what does her week look like? Is she still doing other paid work? When does she go full-time?
6. Trigger for the tech hire. What signal causes you to hire the senior engineer? Specific revenue (X MRR)? Specific customer count? Specific date relative to seed close? Pick the trigger.
7. Trigger for Sol going full-time. Same question. Specific signal. Or is it just "when the company can afford it"?
8. Legal counsel identification. Have you identified or shortlisted a Florida startup attorney for the hourly review later? If not, that is a follow-up item.
1. ElevenLabs cost or TOS shift contingency. What is your plan if ElevenLabs doubles their pricing, deprecates voice cloning, or restricts the API in a way that hurts the product? (Likely answer: alternative voice providers exist - PlayHT, OpenAI's voice, Cartesia, Murf - and the script content is what you actually create, voice is interchangeable.)
2. Anthropic deprecation contingency. What is your plan if Anthropic significantly restricts agent-based use cases or changes pricing? (Likely answer: agents can run on Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, or open-source Llama-class models with comparable orchestration. The agent design is the asset, not the underlying model.)
3. Knowledge base portability. Is your Gene Keys / astrology / affirmation knowledge base structured to be portable across LLM providers, or does it tie tightly to one ecosystem? (Should be portable. Confirm.)
4. The "Anthropic builds this themselves" risk. Real or not real in your view? Why? (Strongest answer: Anthropic builds horizontal infrastructure, not vertical wellness products. Mind Valley building this is a more real risk than Anthropic.)
5. The defensible moat list. Beyond the knowledge base, what is hard to replicate? Likely answers: your community standing, your live-event activation strategy, the affirmation bank that improves with usage data, the founder ability to evolve the stack. Articulate these in one line each.
1. First user touch. Ad click goes where exactly? Landing page or product page? Where is the demo audio embedded?
2. Intake form scope. How long is the form? What specific data do you collect - name, email, birth date, birth time, birth city, life themes, preferences, anything else?
3. Audio delivery mechanism at launch. Email with download link? Web player on a private URL? PWA log-in area? Pick the launch version.
4. Post-purchase experience. What does a customer see and hear in the first 48 hours after they pay $77? Welcome email? Onboarding sequence? When do they get their audios?
5. Feedback collection. In-app rating? Email survey? Optional comment field? How does feedback flow back into the affirmation bank to improve future audios?
6. Refund and satisfaction policy. What is your policy? "100% money-back guarantee within 30 days" is standard for digital products in this space. Are you offering that?
7. Recovery flow for misses. If a customer's first audio does not land for them emotionally, what is the recovery? Free re-generation with different inputs? Customer support touch?
8. Monthly transit drop delivery. Email notification? Push notification? Both? When in the lunar cycle do they drop?
1. Sol's actual equity number. 20% with up-to-10% earn-in, 25% flat, or another configuration? You and Sol need to land on this before the next Colin conversation.
2. Brand decision authority. Who has final say on brand direction? Sol alone? Joint decision? You with Sol as primary recommender?
3. Tech decision authority. Almost certainly you, but worth stating explicitly for the record.
4. Financial and legal decision authority. Same. Almost certainly you for now, with Sol on Major Decisions.
5. Exit versus distribution path. Is the explicit plan to build for exit (Mindvalley, conscious funds), distribution (lifestyle business), or preserve both? The operating agreement and the pitch should align with this answer.
6. Cap table snapshots. Where does ownership stand at month 6, month 12, month 24? Brief v2 has the math for the seed; project this forward one round.
7. Operating agreement timing. Sign with Sol before Omaha (May 22) or after (early June)? My recommendation has been before. Confirm.
These are the questions that move the conversation from "interesting" to "committed." Ask them deliberately. Listen for the answers, do not push.
1. Configuration question. "Of the three configurations we have talked about - investor only, investor plus strategic advisor, investor plus operational role - which one most fits where you are? I want to make this real on your terms."
2. Decision timeline. "What is your timeline for deciding? Do you need a week, two weeks? Is there anything I can put in front of you that would help you decide faster?"
3. Check size range. "When you mentioned the $30K, was that the upper end of your range or somewhere in the middle? Just want to make sure I am sizing the conversation correctly."
4. The naturopath angel. "You mentioned your naturopath doctor friend who does angel investing. When would be a good time to make that intro? Could we get something on his calendar within two weeks?"
5. The operational role specifics. "If you wanted to be operational, what work would most attract you? Enterprise sales? Strategic partnerships? Investor relations? Something else?"
6. Hidden concerns. "What concerns or questions have come up since our last conversation that we have not surfaced yet? I want to make sure I am addressing what is actually on your mind."
7. Materials review. "What specifically do you want to see in the executive summary, team schematic, and tech response that I am sending over? Anything in particular I should make sure to address?"
8. Omaha relevance. "Given that I am leaving for Omaha on the 24th, what would you want to have settled between us before I go? Or does it not matter timeline-wise?"
Once you have answered the questions above (or even partial answers), tell me. We can then build in this order:
We can probably get all five done by Friday if you can answer the questions today or tomorrow.