Market Entry Audit.
A 2–3 week diagnostic for companies that have product traction but need a sharper US commercial motion.
Designed for SaaS, AdTech, MarTech, data, and platform vendors entering or scaling in the US. The audit turns market noise into a clear operating read: who to target, what to say, which partners matter, what proof is missing, and what to do in the next 90 days.
Who this is for.
The work is sharp because the scope is narrow. Honest answer either way.
- You're a Series A (25–75 employees · $2–10M ARR) founder-led team with product traction but no US engine.
- You're Series B (75–200 employees · $10–30M ARR) and want a focused diagnostic before scoping a retainer.
- You see existing US demand but no local commercial engine.
- You have product traction but unclear ICP, buyer narrative, or partner map.
- Founder-led sales needs to become repeatable.
- A first US hire or first regional commercial motion is being considered.
- The board wants a clearer 90-day GTM plan, not a strategy deck.
- Pre-Series A / Pre-PMF — founder still selling, no enterprise buyer problem yet.
- No product traction yet.
- No willingness to narrow ICP.
- Seeking logo intros only.
- Not ready to change positioning, pricing, or product.
- Wants a slide deck instead of decisions.
- No owner to execute after the audit.
Seven diagnostic lenses.
Each lens reads a different layer of the commercial system. None on its own is enough; together they explain why growth is stalling.
- 01
Market truth
- Category maturity
- Buyer urgency
- Budget owner
- Adoption friction
- 02
ICP and segmentation
- Primary buyer
- Secondary buyer
- Strategic partners
- Bad-fit segments
- 03
Buyer narrative
- Value proposition
- Proof points
- Objection handling
- Market education
- 04
Competitive frame
- Direct competitors
- Adjacent platforms
- Substitution risk
- Wedge
- 05
Partner sequencing
- Agencies
- Platforms
- Resellers
- Data / identity
- Measurement
- Supply / distribution
- 06
Product and proof readiness
- Use-case packaging
- Demo readiness
- Case-study gaps
- Legal / privacy posture
- Measurement story
- 07
Operating model
- Founder-led vs team-led
- First-hire profile
- Sales / CS / product feedback loop
- 90-day cadence
2–3 weeks.
Three phases.
Time-boxed. Built around shipping decisions, not stacking decks.
- 01
Week 1 · Truth finding
- Founder / exec interviews
- Current GTM review
- Sales materials review
- Pipeline review
- ICP review
- Competitive scan
- Product / proof review
- 02
Week 2 · Synthesis
- Buyer segmentation
- Positioning read
- Partner map
- Proof-gap analysis
- GTM motion options
- Risk assessment
- 03
Week 3 · Operating plan (optional)
- 90-day plan
- Target-account list
- Partner sequence
- First-hire profile
- Board-ready memo
- Next-step workshop
Ten artifacts. One operating answer.
- 01 Market-entry diagnostic memo
- 02 ICP and segmentation map
- 03 Buyer narrative
- 04 Competitive wedge
- 05 Partner sequencing plan
- 06 Proof-gap assessment
- 07 90-day GTM plan
- 08 First-hire profile
- 09 Board-ready market read
- 10 Recommended next engagement path
Not a strategy deck.
- Broad market overview
- Too many segments
- Vague recommendations
- No execution owner
- No buyer sequencing
- Weak accountability
- Narrowed ICP
- Buyer-specific narrative
- Partner sequence
- Proof-gap list
- 90-day plan
- First-hire implications
- Operating cadence
Three ways the audit lands.
The audit is designed to terminate cleanly — and to scope what comes next when it makes sense. Three paths, picked at the end of week three based on what the diagnostic surfaced.
- 01
Audit only
Board, founder, or CRO needs an independent market read — and that's enough for the next decision.
- 02
Audit → GTM & BD Sprint
Company needs help activating pipeline, partners, and market proof after the audit lands.
- 03
Audit → Advisory Retainer
Company needs ongoing operating support through the first US build phase.
What's needed in.
What you'll know out.
The audit is a focused engagement. It runs fast because the inputs are scoped before kickoff and the outputs are defined before week one.
- Honest read on the commercial state — pipeline, NDR, gross retention, top-five reasons deals stall.
- Access to 5–8 stakeholders — CEO / CRO / CMO / Head of CS / Product, and (if applicable) the first commercial hire.
- Two or three customer / lost-deal interviews we can schedule together inside week one.
- Recent board / investor narrative and any active strategy work — so the audit reads against, not over, what's already in flight.
- Read access to the CRM (pipeline + reason codes + ICP fields) for the diagnostic. No data leaves your systems.
- One named decision owner who can move on the read inside the next 30 days.
- Where to start — the one ICP, segment, or motion that compounds the fastest from your current state.
- What to ignore — the parts of the market, the partner set, or the roadmap that look promising and aren't worth the cycles.
- Who to target — named-account logic, sequencing (indie → mid → holdco → strategic), and the buyer narrative that lands.
- What proof is missing — the case studies, the privacy / measurement assets, the operating artifacts gating enterprise deals.
- What the first 90 days look like — focus · sequence · proof · motion · accountability, with the decision owner named.
- Whether to keep going alone — or scope a Sprint or Retainer. Honest answer either way.
Need a clear read
before you scale?
If the US market is already visible but the motion is unfocused, the audit creates the operating answer — where to start, what to ignore, who to target, what proof is missing, and what should happen in the next 90 days.