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How we choose a long-term partner.

The screening runs both ways. Here is what we read before we say yes, and why some calls end in not yet.

By Nihal Choudhary, founder20 Sept 20262 min read

This month we opened long-term partnerships. A named person joins your business and stays. People ask first about the price, and then about how to get in. This piece answers the second question.

A partner sees your numbers and sits in on your decisions. That does not work one task at a time. So before a partnership starts, we read the founder. You read us back at the same time.

Before a partnership
We

We read the founder.

You

You read us, at the same time.

What each side reads
We
  • Your pace
  • Your decisions
  • Your fences
  • Your obligations
You
  • The 3 principles we hold to
  • The duties on our side

What we read

Pace

Pace comes first. We look at how fast you move in practice. A founder who answers in hours can grow things a committee cannot.

Decisions

Decisions come second. When a call needs you, what do we get? An answer, a delay, or a redesign request. All 3 are workable. Only 1 of them is fast.

Fences

Fences come third. We ask what you would never automate. The answer tells us more than any pitch deck. A founder with no fences worries us more than one with many.

Obligations

Obligations come last. A partnership names duties on both sides. Your numbers when the work needs them. A decision inside 48 hours. Candor when something is wrong. We ask which of these you can promise. A partial answer is fine.

Why “not yet” exists

Some calls end in not yet. A business that wants business-hours support does not need a partner. It needs a system, and we build those too. We say so on the call.

Where we read them

We read them on the first call, not in a form. The fit check on this site is 5 questions and takes about a minute. It asks what eats your week, and it ends with a time to talk.

5 questionsAbout a minute
◉ Take the fit check

It ends with a first answer built from yours, and a calendar to book the call. The answers go to Nihal and stay in one private file until you ask us to delete it.

The first step is a 30 minute call. You get a fixed price within a day, and builds start at $500.

Book a 30 minute call →See how the partnership works →
20 Sept 2026 · 1 min readA year of growing systems: 5 lessons.The next note →