Notes
Working notes from the studio.
Short essays on the kinds of decisions our work tends to land on. Occasional, unscheduled, written for the operators and founders we end up working with most often.
Date
Essay
Read time
- Why we built AurakoshaA community that has outgrown the generic surface needs its own. Aurakosha is the studio's answer — a managed, white-label streaming platform, now in private beta with the SWS Sangha.Why we built Aurakosha
A community that has outgrown the generic surface needs its own. Aurakosha is the studio's answer — a managed, white-label streaming platform, now in private beta with the SWS Sangha.
- The cost of the wrong vector storeAn architectural decision made early, hardened quietly, and the bill that arrived two years later. A short case from the studio's reading of a system the team had stopped questioning.The cost of the wrong vector store
An architectural decision made early, hardened quietly, and the bill that arrived two years later. A short case from the studio's reading of a system the team had stopped questioning.
- What a scoped engagement letter containsA short, specific document that commits both sides to what will be delivered, when, and on what terms. An example, redacted.What a scoped engagement letter contains
A short, specific document that commits both sides to what will be delivered, when, and on what terms. An example, redacted.
- The first conversationWhat we do in the first unpaid email exchange, and what it tells both sides about whether an engagement is the right shape.The first conversation
What we do in the first unpaid email exchange, and what it tells both sides about whether an engagement is the right shape.
- Family-office technical riskA family office holds companies it did not found and may hold them for decades. The technical risk profile is not the one a venture board is looking at.Family-office technical risk
A family office holds companies it did not found and may hold them for decades. The technical risk profile is not the one a venture board is looking at.
- When to write the system downMost systems are not documented because no one has decided whose job it is. A short note on when documentation is the deliverable.When to write the system down
Most systems are not documented because no one has decided whose job it is. A short note on when documentation is the deliverable.
- Architecture review vs code reviewOne reads the lines. The other reads the room the lines are in. A senior team usually wants the second and gets billed for the first.Architecture review vs code review
One reads the lines. The other reads the room the lines are in. A senior team usually wants the second and gets billed for the first.
- Evaluating an AI vendor without the demoThe questions to send in writing, before the pitch meeting, that tell you whether the vendor is a fit without the sales choreography.Evaluating an AI vendor without the demo
The questions to send in writing, before the pitch meeting, that tell you whether the vendor is a fit without the sales choreography.
- The retainer that is not a retainerA scoped, closed, written engagement — the opposite of an open-ended retainer, and closer to what most operators actually want.The retainer that is not a retainer
A scoped, closed, written engagement — the opposite of an open-ended retainer, and closer to what most operators actually want.
- Reading a technical diligence reportFor the partner who has never had to sign one. What a defensible diligence report should contain, and what its absences tell you.Reading a technical diligence report
For the partner who has never had to sign one. What a defensible diligence report should contain, and what its absences tell you.
- The second-opinion engagementOne decision, one defensible read. The shape of a technical-SOS engagement.The second-opinion engagement
One decision, one defensible read. The shape of a technical-SOS engagement.
- Fractional CTO vs engineering counselThey are priced similarly. They do different jobs. The difference decides which one a founder actually needs.Fractional CTO vs engineering counsel
They are priced similarly. They do different jobs. The difference decides which one a founder actually needs.
- Judgment before codeThe most expensive thing a founder can buy is a correctly built wrong thing.Judgment before code
The most expensive thing a founder can buy is a correctly built wrong thing.
- AI readiness without the vendor pitchHow a non-tech firm begins with AI without committing to a three-year contract it cannot evaluate.AI readiness without the vendor pitch
How a non-tech firm begins with AI without committing to a three-year contract it cannot evaluate.
- Technical diligence — the quiet questionsThe questions a senior diligence asks that the deck does not answer.Technical diligence — the quiet questions
The questions a senior diligence asks that the deck does not answer.
Occasional, unscheduled. Subscribe via RSS →
Begin a conversation
The decision an essay does not yet cover.
Every enquiry receives a personal reply, written by the principal, within two working days.
No forms. No phone trees. Direct to the studio.