Start Where You Are
Each engagement addresses a different stage: diagnose, design, build, or expand. Most organizations begin with the 5-Day Operational Blueprint™; organizations ready to commit to architecture or implementation can start further along. Your starting point determines the scope, timeline, and price.
Every engagement is powered by COA
COA (Compounding Operational Architecture) is an open specification that Kernel stewards for designing shared organizational context so humans and AI build from the same operational foundation instead of recreating context from scratch.
Learn how COA works →Choose Your Starting Point
| If you need to… | Start with… | Engagement price |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnose operational drag before committing further | 5-Day Operational Blueprint™ | $8.5k |
| Design the foundation from an accepted Blueprint | Operational Architecture Design | $18k |
| Design the foundation from a cold start | Operational Architecture Design | $25k |
| Build from an accepted architecture | Business Line Build | $15k |
| Design and build one business line | Architecture + Build | $30k with a Blueprint / $35k cold |
| Get optional support with continued rollout, implementation, and expansion. | COA Partnership — optional | $10k/month |
Diagnose operational drag before committing further
5-Day Operational Blueprint™ · $8.5k
Design the foundation from an accepted Blueprint
Design the foundation from a cold start
Build from an accepted architecture
Business Line Build · $15k
Design and build one business line
Architecture + Build · $30k with a Blueprint / $35k cold
Get optional support with continued rollout, implementation, and expansion.
COA Partnership — optional · $10k/month
Prices represent the engagement being purchased. Fees for previously completed engagements are not included.
5-Day Operational Blueprint™
Delivered in 5 business days
AI does not fix a fragmented operating model. The 5-Day Operational Blueprint reveals where your organization is rebuilding context from scratch and gives leadership a decision-ready fix-order for creating the shared foundation every employee, AI agent, and future initiative can build from.
- -Evidence-backed Context Tax score across five dimensions
- -Map of where operational context breaks down
- -Shared-foundation architecture recommendation
- -Executive fix-order—what to address first, and why—in a 30-minute leadership walkthrough
Guaranteed: your Context Tax baseline and executive fix-order, delivered in five business days—or you don't pay.
See the 5-day process →Operational Architecture Design
2–3 weeks
Available with an accepted 5-Day Operational Blueprint™ or from a cold start.
We establish the organizational foundation and design how knowledge, decisions, and workflows should be structured, governed, and connected. Implementation of a production-ready business line is available through Business Line Build.
- -Future-state operating model for humans and AI
- -Org Spine and business-line architecture
- -Operational asset system and repository architecture
- -Governance, ownership, and decision standards
- -Sequenced, production-ready implementation roadmap
Outcome: an operating architecture that evolves with your teams, tools, and AI capabilities—without rebuilding the foundation each time.
See the architecture process →Business Line Build
3–7 weeks
Available from an accepted architecture or bundled with Operational Architecture Design.
We turn one business line—such as GTM, Content, Product, or Engineering—into a production-ready operational system with the assets, standards, workflows, and feedback loop required to compound as the organization grows.
What the build delivers
- -Domain lexicon and production-ready operational assets
- -Signal-intake and decision protocols
- -One working operational loop
- -Implementation and maintenance handoff
Outcome: one working business line that your team can operate, maintain, and improve.
COA Partnership — optional
Optional ongoing support · 2-month minimum
Available after Operational Architecture Design or Business Line Build.
Every fixed-scope engagement includes the handoff needed for your team to operate and improve the foundation independently. COA Partnership is available for organizations that want Kernel to continue supporting rollout, implementation, governance, and expansion as priorities evolve.
What the partnership includes
- -2–4 new operational assets per month
- -Architecture reviews and ongoing optimization
- -Quarterly Context Tax re-scoring
- -Async implementation and advisory support
Outcome: continued implementation momentum while your team retains ownership and the ability to operate the foundation independently.
Kernel is probably not a fit if:
- ✕You're a pre-product-market-fit startup (typically fewer than 15 people)
- ✕You're looking for an enterprise-wide transformation across a 500+ person organization
- ✕Your organization is in acute financial distress and needs immediate operational turnaround
- ✕Documentation is viewed as bureaucracy rather than operational infrastructure
Build What Compounds.
The strongest organizations don't recreate context. They build operational systems that become more valuable every time they're used.
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