What a structured decision review costs — and why it isn't a prediction
A structured decision review costs between $197 and $580 for a single matter, or $1,520 for a block of five. Here is what that buys, and why we do not sell forecasts.
What a decision review is, and what it costs
A structured decision review is a fixed-fee engagement on a single matter: one decision, one written memo, a stated delivery window of 48 hours and one follow-up exchange within 72 hours of delivery. A Written Brief is $197; a Single Decision Review is $380, or $580 for the 24-hour expedited tier; a block of five reviews is $1,520, used over six months. No hourly billing, no minimum engagement and no retainer.
The relevant comparison is the decision, not the price list
A senior commercial advisor or an experienced lawyer in most major markets bills $300–600 per hour, and a single structural question can consume two or three of those hours. Against that, a review priced at $380–$580 is a contained, capped cost — and a decision that unravels at month three costs multiples of any advisory fee.
What is included
- A written memo covering four dimensions: timing, counterparties, capital and resources, hidden and structural risk
- Two or three scenario paths, each with what it depends on and where it becomes irreversible
- A verification list: what must be evidenced before you sign, and what remains an assumption
- A short action list, mapped to the advisers you already have
- Delivery over WhatsApp in 48 hours; one follow-up exchange within 72 hours
Every engagement is delivered in writing and in the same thread: the memo arrives as a PDF over WhatsApp, and the one follow-up exchange happens there too. There is no call to schedule, and no hourly clock running against you.
The engagements
| Engagement | Price | What you receive | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written Brief | $197 | A short asynchronous written review of one decision, delivered over WhatsApp within 48 hours: the structural questions, what to verify, and what remains an assumption. No follow-up exchange at this tier. | A first look, or a decision that is moderately complex. |
| Single Decision Review | $380 | The full memo for one matter, with no sub-questions: four assessment dimensions, two or three scenario paths, and one follow-up exchange, delivered over WhatsApp within 48 hours. | Material decisions that are hard to reverse or involve another party. |
| Single Decision Review — Expedited | $580 | The same full memo, delivered within 24 hours, with one follow-up exchange. For a signing date that is already in the diary. | |
| Five-Review Block | $1,520 | Five reviews used over six months ($304 per review), each delivered within 48 hours with one follow-up exchange. | Several decisions arriving in the same year. |
| Ten-Review Block | $2,660 | Ten reviews used over twelve months ($266 per review), each delivered within 48 hours with one follow-up exchange. Limited to two clients per quarter. | Frequent decision-makers — restructuring, relocation and a sale in the same cycle. |
| Annual Advisory | $3,800 | Twelve reviews over twelve months, each with one follow-up exchange, plus four written quarterly reviews and six expedited 24-hour deliveries. | A standing adviser for a founder or family with decisions spread across the year. |
Why it is not a prediction
We do not tell you what will happen, and we publish no accuracy claims. What can be delivered reliably is a structured review of the decision you are already holding: which assumptions are verified, who can block you and when, where the money moves, and where the irreversible points sit. Anything beyond that is either advice you should take from a lawyer or an accountant, or a claim no serious adviser makes.
When it is worth it — and when it is not
A review tends to pay for itself when the decision is material in size, hard to reverse, and involves another party whose interests may differ from yours. When a decision is small, reversible and entirely within your control, you do not need us — the free checklist is enough, and we will tell you so.
See full pricing and terms, or how a review compares to a legal memo, a consultancy engagement and a low-cost reading.
How the fee compares to the decision it protects
Put a single review next to the alternatives: three hours with a senior lawyer at the low end of a $300–600 hourly band costs the same as a full review, and it answers a narrower question. A consultancy engagement that models the market costs multiples more and still does not tell you who can block you at month three. The comparison that matters is not review versus reading; it is review versus the cost of discovering a structural gap after signature.
What the delivery timeline looks like
- Day 0: scoping call, twenty minutes, free. Scope and fee confirmed in writing the same day.
- Days 1–2: written intake — the decision, the parties, the capital, the constraints, the documents you have.
- Days 3–8: analysis and drafting, memo shared as a PDF.
- Days 9–11: one follow-up exchange within 72 hours of delivery.
How to start: four steps
- Step 1 — Ask for a scoping message. Free, by message. We establish whether the decision is material, hard to reverse, or shared with a counterparty whose interests may differ from yours.
- Step 2 — Receive scope and fee in writing. One matter, the fee and the delivery date. If a review is not warranted, we say so here and nothing is charged.
- Step 3 — Send the intake. The decision, the parties, the capital, the constraints and the documents you already have — no account, dashboard or call required.
- Step 4 — Read the memo, then use the window. One follow-up exchange is answered within 72 hours of delivery.
Cheaper alternatives, and what they actually cover
A forecast is cheaper to commission and a single hour with a lawyer costs less than a review, so the comparison deserves to be made honestly. A free reading can tell you which questions to ask. An hour with counsel answers a legal question you have already identified. A review exists for the part in between: establishing which questions the decision actually turns on, and what each answer changes. If your open question is legal, buy the legal hour — it is cheaper and faster, and we say so at scoping.
What changes the fee
- Number of counterparties — each additional party is another set of interests and blocking rights.
- Number of jurisdictions — two legal systems means two filing and reporting calendars.
- How far the negotiation has already run — the closer to signature, the fewer structural options remain available.
- Document volume — a term sheet and a shareholders' agreement are different reading loads.
Who pays for a review, and who should not
Clients who buy a review are usually committing to something that cannot be unwound cheaply: a partnership, a cross-border transfer, a relocation, a sale process. Clients who should not buy one are those making a decision that is small, reversible and entirely within their control — that is what the free checklist is for, and we will say so at scoping.
