Goal
Reduce friction
Founders should be able to understand fit, scope, and confidentiality without being forced into a sales call.
FAQ
Questions a founder should be able to answer without booking a call
The first purchase should be simple. This page exists to remove avoidable friction around fit, scope, confidentiality, and how the $500 brief relates to the public research layer.
Rule
No hidden process
The first product should be legible enough to buy directly when the fit is clear.
Section
Fit and scope
Who is this for?
The initial offer is designed for founder-led B2B companies, especially teams in the 10-100 employee range that need fast clarity on where buying decisions are stalling without building an in-house analyst function.
Who is this not for?
It is a poor fit for companies looking for a generic benchmark deck, polished customer-facing collateral, or a workshop-heavy first engagement.
What if I do not know my real competitor set yet?
That is a normal starting point. One of the main jobs of the brief is to tighten the competitive frame and separate real decision competitors from category noise so you can see what is actually slowing the decision.
Section
Deliverable
What is in the brief?
The brief is meant to clarify your real competitive set, show where buying friction is building, separate real differentiation from copied or commodity claims, explicitly identify what not to react to, and close with a practical next move.
How is this different from a generic competitor audit?
The aim is not exhaustive market mapping. The aim is a short internal artifact that improves one concrete decision by making buyer hesitation, no-decision risk, and overreaction traps easier to see.
Is the brief customer-facing?
No. The output is designed for internal use by founders and product teams. It is there to sharpen internal judgment, not to function as customer-facing messaging.
How do payment and delivery work?
The intended path is fixed-price Stripe checkout first, then a short intake, then delivery as a private link plus PDF. That keeps the first purchase buyable without a call.
Section
Working model
Do we need a call to start?
The default assumption is no. The first offer is intentionally asynchronous so the purchase can happen with minimal friction when the scope is clear.
What do you need from me?
At minimum, the company URL, the decision you are trying to make, and the competitor set you currently believe matters. Additional detail can help, but the starting point should stay lightweight.
What happens after the $500 brief?
If the first brief surfaces a repeatable need for ongoing monitoring or interpretation, the work can continue under a retainer starting from $3k per month. That should be earned, not assumed.
Section
Confidentiality and publication
Will my company appear publicly on CitrusGate?
The default assumption is no. The public portal is designed to publish the pattern layer, not raw company-specific research.
Does CitrusGate publish the same internal research detail used behind the scenes?
No. CitrusGate should only publish sanitized, derived artifacts that remain useful even after company detail is removed.
Why have a public portal at all?
Because it makes the quality of thinking visible. Weekly memos, themes, and notes act as a public trust layer around the paid work without leaking private operating detail.
Next Step
If the offer already makes sense, the next step should stay lightweight
The main point of this page is to remove avoidable friction. If the fit is clear, there is no need to manufacture more process before the first purchase.