Engagement — the Substrate Ladder

Four rungs. One asset.

Every engagement is a fixed-scope rung on the same ladder, and every rung ships as Operational IP — MIT-licensed, self-hosted, owned by you. The ranges below are indicative; the exact price is fixed in your quote after the diagnostic, and it doesn't move after that.

All prices in ZAR, excl. VAT · fixed-fee · no hourly billing

Two minutes — find your rung

Five plain questions

How many people work in the business?

Where does the business's knowledge live today?

What should AI take off your plate first?

How sensitive is the data?

When do you need it proven?

The rungs

Indicative, until the diagnostic makes it exact.

Start here

Substrate Proof

R250k fixed · 4–6 weeks

One high-value workflow, captured and running on a working substrate slice
MCP-connected to the systems that matter for that workflow
Outbox and audit log from day one — nothing auto-fires
Operational IP starter: ontology seed, runbook, decision log
MIT-licensed, self-hosted, yours from minute one

Proof on your data, this quarter

Begin the diagnostic

Substrate Foundation

R600k–R900k fixed in quote · 8–12 weeks

Everything in Proof, plus:
The full knowledge layer for one business unit
3–5 system integrations via MCP
Team-wide retrieval — every operator queries in plain English
Compliance gates where they matter
Handover Manifest v1 + operator training

A unit running on it daily

Begin the diagnostic

Flagship

Substrate Practice

R950k–R1.5m fixed in quote · 4–6 months

Everything in Foundation, plus:
Multi-domain substrate across the whole operation
Advanced retrieval over the entire practice
Outbox automation at scale — AI speed, human signatures
Full Operational IP handover: audit log, runbooks, valuation pack
Stewardship onboarding

The operating model, changed

Begin the diagnostic

Substrate Federation

By mandate engagements typically beyond R3m

Everything in Practice, per entity, plus:
Federated substrates across a group with shared governance
Security review and group compliance architecture
On-premises appliance fleet (BlitzBox) where required
Board-level asset case for the balance sheet
Negotiated scope, negotiated price — priced per mandate

Group-wide, multi-year

Book a scoping call

Every rung ships as Operational IP — a capitalisable, transferable software asset, not a consulting receipt. Climb when the previous rung has paid for itself. Stewardship retainers are available after any handover.

The honest math

Are we worth it?

Run your own numbers — ours would be marketing. Three inputs, conservative assumptions, and the result is your math, not our claim.

What does this team cost you per month? Everyone the substrate would help — salaries plus overheads, in rand. We've started with a typical number for your rung; change it to yours. How much of their week goes to looking for things and doing them twice? Finding files, retyping the same answer, checking one system against another. Most teams land on 15–30% once they measure it. 20% What you'd pay us Filled in from your rung above — change it to anything.

Time you get back, in money terms (per year — we only count 60% of what you identify)—

It pays for itself in—

Left over after three years (after our fee and 15% a year for upkeep)—

Every R1 you spend brings back—

And this isn't money that disappears into a project. The substrate is something your business owns — an asset an auditor can put on the balance sheet, and a buyer can pay for one day. Read how that works →

Your estimates, not our promise. We deliberately count only 60% of the time you identify, and we add 15% a year for upkeep, so the result leans conservative. The diagnostic replaces these estimates with your actual workflows and numbers.

Next step

The diagnostic prices it exactly.

Twenty minutes of plain questions about your business. You get the rung, the fixed price, and the first workflow we'd prove — before you commit a rand.

Begin the diagnostic