Four places where money and months usually go missing.

When this is the right door

You have budget approval or you are about to ask for it. There is more than one product idea on the table. Somebody has produced a business case and it takes someone who has actually launched one to call it with confidence.

When it is not

You have already validated the model and signed the partner. In that case you want Partner Selection or the Experience Build, not this.

How long

Typically four to eight weeks, to be confirmed against scope.

What it runs on

Your numbers, your customer data if you have it, and conversations with the people who will actually have to sell and support the thing.

When this is the right door

Proposals are in, or you are about to go out to market for them. Or you already have a partner and you are starting to suspect the fit is wrong, which is worth having early rather than at renewal.

When it is not

You have not settled what the product is yet. Choosing a partner before the proposition is a common and expensive order to do things in.

How long

Typically four to six weeks, to be confirmed against scope.

What it runs on

Your projected volumes, your risk appetite, and an honest read of what your engineering team can absorb.

When this is the right door

The board has asked which country is next. Or the country has been chosen and the plan is being written. Earlier is better and cheaper, because most of the expensive decisions get made in the first three weeks.

When it is not

You are already trading in the new market and the problem is growth rather than structure. That is a different piece of work and I will say so.

How long

Choosing the country and the route takes weeks. A licence and a launch takes months, and that depends more on the regulator than on either of us.

What it runs on

Your current regulatory position, your appetite for holding your own licence versus operating under someone else’s, and what you can afford to spend before the first customer arrives.

When this is the right door

You have a flow that is not converting, or you are about to design one. This is also the door for a bank that knows the experience is the problem and cannot get a fix through its own compliance function.

When it is not

The problem is acquisition rather than completion. If people are not arriving at the flow at all, redesigning the flow will not fix it, and I will tell you that before you pay for it.

How long

Typically eight to twelve weeks, to be confirmed against scope.

What it runs on

Your current flow, your drop off data, and access to whoever owns compliance on your side. The last one matters more than the first two.