Friday 5 June

Engagement · First six months

What the first six months looks like.

Not a roadmap. Three four-week phases then a longer narrative. Built around calibrating the founder voices and getting the systems Shine already has talking to each other, then around how the studio actually works, then learning. The portal stays yours at month 6.

Phase shape · weeks 1–12, then months 4–6

  • Phase

    Weeks 1–4

    Calibration — voices, brand register, the data Shine already has.

    Most boutique agencies have the data; it just isn't talking to itself. The first month wires up the systems Shine already runs — campaign management, time tracking, media buys, client portals — into a single operating surface. In parallel: founder-voice calibrations begin against a fortnight of each founder·s existing writing. Replacing illustrative numbers with Shine·s actuals across every surface you saw at the pitch.

    What gets worked on

    • ·Studio campaign-management read access — the campaign pipeline runs against the real book.
    • ·Media-buy + analytics feed — the performance dashboard reflects actual ROAS, CTR, CPM per client.
    • ·Time tracking + studio capacity feed — team load reads true on the performance surface.
    • ·Founder-voice calibration begins for the six founders on the voice roster — two-week reading window per voice.
    • ·Top-10 client list confirmed, sensitivity flags set before any of those clients land on the cockpit.

    By endBy the end of week 4 the surfaces you saw at the pitch carry Shine·s actual numbers.

  • Phase

    Weeks 5–8

    Shaped around the studio — surfaces reshape around how Shine works.

    Data is real. Workflows wired in. Approval queues populated with real drafts in calibrated voices. First standing cadence runs. The portal stops being demo-shaped and starts being studio-shaped.

    What gets worked on

    • ·Voice studio queue moves from illustrative drafts to drafts in each founder·s calibrated register.
    • ·Sophie·s daily review surface runs against the real concept presentations the studio is shipping.
    • ·Creative review board routes from the studio system; ECD queue lands on the briefing page.
    • ·First weekly creative review runs the full agenda; the action ledger goes live.
    • ·Iris·s and Theo·s tier views shaped around how they actually triage the week.

    By endBy the end of week 8 the studio is using the portal in the rhythm of their existing week.

  • Phase

    Weeks 9–12

    Learning and handover prep — the system starts adjusting to behaviour.

    Approval patterns settle. Draft voices tighten. The portal stops needing constant calibration and starts adjusting to behaviour — what gets approved, what gets edited, what gets ignored. Handover documentation drafted toward the month-6 rights transfer.

    What gets worked on

    • ·Voice drafts refining against the edit pattern of the first two months.
    • ·Weekly creative review format settling — what·s a useful sixty minutes, what isn·t.
    • ·Alignment scoring tuned against the campaigns that have shipped or killed in months 1–2.
    • ·Performance dashboards reviewed with Iris; channel-mix or creative-refresh decisions surfaced for action.
    • ·Handover documentation drafted — what the portal is, how it runs, what the optional ongoing partnership covers.

    By endBy the end of week 12 the portal is running quieter — surfaces lifting the work, not generating new work.

  • Phase

    Months 4–6

    Partnership in flight — commercial work alongside the build.

    Trent in alongside the build. Pipeline coaching, pitch reviews, business development on new founder-led brand opportunities — the human layer the portal can·t replicate. Deal reviews. Sales support on live pitches where another set of eyes shifts the close. System refinement against the patterns of the first three months and beyond. Voice studio drafts and performance outputs settle into their cadence. Handover prep builds toward month 6 — documentation, infrastructure handover plan, optional partnership terms agreed before the rights transfer.

What Shine brings

  • ·Studio campaign-management read access during the first month — read-only token, sandbox first.
  • ·Time-tracking + media-buy read access — the studio·s tech contact + Iris in the same room.
  • ·Accounting feed during the first month — Shine·s finance lead.
  • ·M365 / Google calendar read for Sophie, Iris and Theo, delegated where it makes sense.
  • ·A fortnight of each founder·s existing writing — the anchor for voice calibration in weeks 1–2.
  • ·Top-10 client list confirmed and sensitivity flags before those clients land on the cockpit.

What Trent brings

  • ·The portal — built around Shine·s actual data and workflows. Yours to keep, outright, at month 6.
  • ·Commercial pipeline support alongside the build — pitch reviews, business development on new founder-led brand opportunities — for the full six months.
  • ·Voice studio drafts in each founder·s calibrated register, once voices are calibrated.
  • ·A standing weekly creative review cadence once the rhythm settles.
  • ·£6,500/month, 30-day notice either party. Portal handed over at month 6, outright rights transfer.
  • ·Optional £500/month from month 7 for upkeep, infrastructure and light iteration. Opt-in, not bundled.

At month 6 · handover

  • ·The portal — full rights — transferred to Shine, outright.
  • ·Documentation: what each surface is, how it runs, who owns what.
  • ·Infrastructure handover plan agreed. Hosting, integrations, credentials.
  • ·Decision on the optional £500/month ongoing partnership sits with Shine.

Weeks 1–4 are the calibration month. Weeks 5–8 reshape the surfaces around how the studio works. Weeks 9–12 are learning and handover prep. Months 4–6 carry the commercial work alongside the build. £6,500/month for six months, 30-day notice either way. The portal, outright, is yours at month 6. Optional £500/month from month 7 covers upkeep, infrastructure and light iteration. Opt-in.