Engagement Brief · AYCAS Studios

The structured intake spec Discovery uses to lock scope, milestones, and price. Completed by you before the free Discovery call; becomes the input to the Diagnosis and Scope of Work.

This is the AYCAS Studios intake form for an AI business-build engagement. Fill it in before we scope a piece of work together. A real person reads every one.

If a question does not apply, write “n/a”. If you do not know the answer yet, write “tbc” — tbc answers are fine at intake; we will work through them on the Discovery call.

Submitted by: [NAME]
Role: [FOUNDER / DIRECTOR / OPERATIONS LEAD / INSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPAL / OTHER]
Date submitted: [DATE]
Contact email: [EMAIL]
Contact phone / WhatsApp: [PHONE]

1. The Operation

Field	Answer
Operation name (as it trades or operates)	[ANSWER]
Legal entity name (if different)	[ANSWER]
Country of registration / HQ city	[ANSWER]
Active markets (countries, regions)	[ANSWER]
Sector / industry	[ANSWER]
Years in operation	[ANSWER]
Current team size (people)	[ANSWER]
Annual operating revenue (rough band, USD)	[ANSWER]
Stage (pick one)	[ ] Pre-launch / greenfield · [ ] Pre-acquisition / new ownership · [ ] Operating, want capacity lift · [ ] Operating, want to add a function · [ ] Restructuring / pivoting
Primary working language	[ANSWER]

2. Current Operating State

What is already in place. Paste links where you can.

Element	Status	Link or note
Brand identity (positioning, voice, visual)	[ ] Locked · [ ] Drafted · [ ] None · [ ] Needs refresh	[LINK_OR_NOTE]
Website	[ ] Live · [ ] In progress · [ ] None	[URL]
Email infrastructure (custom domain, role addresses)	[ ] In place · [ ] Partial · [ ] None	[LINK_OR_NOTE]
Existing AI tooling	[ ] Structured AI agents · [ ] Consumer AI usage (ChatGPT etc.) · [ ] Sector-specific AI tools · [ ] None	[LINK_OR_NOTE]
Operating documentation (SOPs, playbooks, processes)	[ ] Comprehensive · [ ] Partial · [ ] None	[LINK_OR_NOTE]
Team tools in active use	[e.g. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Notion, sector-specific tooling]
Social presence (LinkedIn, sector platforms)	[ ] Active · [ ] Dormant · [ ] None	[LINK_OR_NOTE]
Legal / compliance posture (entity, registrations, sector compliance)	[ANSWER]

Top three operational bottlenecks today (in your own words):

[ANSWER]
[ANSWER]
[ANSWER]

3. The Project — What You’re Bringing to Us

Describe the project in your own words. Three to five sentences is plenty.

[PROJECT_DESCRIPTION]

What does success look like 12 months from now? [ANSWER]

What problem are you trying to remove from your team’s plate? [ANSWER]

4. Goals

What do you want this engagement to do for you? Tick all that apply, and add any in your own words.

[ ] Stand up a whole operation from zero (entity, brand, digital, AI team) — greenfield
[ ] Stand up a brand-new ownership of an existing operation (institutional take-over)
[ ] Lift one specific function with AI augmentation (finance close, customer service, marketing ops, HR intake, supplier comms, etc.)
[ ] Add a single AI specialist module to an existing operation (no whole-system rebuild)
[ ] Productised entry-level AI build for a budget-tight operation
[ ] Establish post-handover support (Care Plan retainer)
[ ] Brand identity refresh as part of a wider AI build
[ ] Operating Playbook for an existing AI team that wasn’t handed over cleanly
[ ] Other: [ANSWER]

If you had to pick one goal as the most important, what is it? [ANSWER]

5. Engagement Shape Preference

From the AYCAS Studios product ladder. Pick the one closest to what you have in mind. We will recommend an alternative on the Discovery call if a different shape fits better.

[ ] Venture Build — whole-operation stand-up. Brand, digital, AI operating system, comms — one engagement. 10–16 weeks.
[ ] Team Build — AI augmentation of one existing function inside a larger business. 4–6 weeks.
[ ] Component Build — single module from the Venture Build stack, delivered standalone. 2–4 weeks.
[ ] Starter Build — productised light-touch entry build. One orchestrator, two to three specialist agents, basic knowledge base, self-serve Operating Playbook. 2–3 weeks.
[ ] Care Plan — post-handover monthly retainer (you already have an AI operating system, you want ongoing support).
[ ] Not sure — want a recommendation

6. Timeline

Question	Answer
When do you want to start?	[DATE]
Is there a hard deadline? (acquisition close, launch event, regulatory deadline, funding milestone)	[DATE / EVENT]
Which parts are time-critical?	[ANSWER]
Which parts can wait if we have to choose?	[ANSWER]

7. Rough Budget

Pick the band that matches what you have available for the build engagement (USD, exclusive of any post-handover Care Plan retainer). Helps us shape Discovery; not binding.

[ ] Tight — small scope, productised entry-level
[ ] Standard — typical small-operation build
[ ] Substantial — larger commercial or institutional build
[ ] Multi-stakeholder — institutional venture, multi-sign-off governance
[ ] Discuss in Discovery — open / depends on scope

Any funding constraints we should know about (founder-funded, board-approved capex, grant, lender, split across partners): [ANSWER]

8. Your Existing Team & Stakeholders

Who is already around the operation? We coordinate with them, not replace them.

Internal team

Role	Name	Decision authority
Founder / Principal	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No
Co-founder / Director	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No
Finance / commercial lead	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No
Operations lead	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No
IT / digital lead	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No
Comms / marketing lead	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No
Other key staff	[NAME]	[ ] Yes · [ ] No

External advisors

Role	Name / firm
Legal advisor	[NAME]
Accountant / tax advisor	[NAME]
Sector specialist (named industry expert)	[NAME]
Investor / lender / funder	[NAME]
Board members or advisory board	[NAME]
Other	[NAME]

Who signs off commercial commitments on your side? [ANSWER]

If you are out for a week, who covers approvals? [ANSWER]

9. References

Links to operations or approaches you admire — businesses, AI implementations, brand identities, websites, operating models. A short note on why each reference matters is more useful than the link alone.

[LINK] — [WHY]
[LINK] — [WHY]
[LINK] — [WHY]
[LINK] — [WHY]
[LINK] — [WHY]

References you want to avoid (what “not us” looks like):

[LINK_OR_DESCRIPTION] — [WHY]
[LINK_OR_DESCRIPTION] — [WHY]

10. Constraints & Sensitivities

Things we need to know up front. This section is read carefully.

Sector regulation: any sector-specific compliance regime (financial services, education, healthcare, food & ag, government-adjacent)? [ANSWER]
Data sensitivity: any data we handle that is commercial-confidential, client-personal-data, financial, or otherwise restricted? [ANSWER]
Stakeholder constraints: board approvals, investor reporting cadence, regulatory reporting, donor reporting? [ANSWER]
Confidentiality needs: unannounced acquisition, unreleased product, IP issues, named-counterparty sensitivity? [ANSWER]
Faith, cultural or community sensitivities to respect: [ANSWER]
Geographies we should not work in: [ANSWER]
Topics or counterparties the operation will not engage with: [ANSWER]
Accessibility requirements (visual, cognitive, motor, language): [ANSWER]
Anything else we should know before we scope this: [ANSWER]

11. How You Heard About Us

[ANSWER — optional, but useful for us]

What happens next

A real person reads your brief. If the work fits our current pipeline, you will hear back within two business days with either a Discovery call invitation or a straight no. If it does not fit, we will say that too — and where we can, we will point you to a peer firm we would trust with the brief.

If you need to add anything, reply to the acknowledgement email — do not start a new thread.

Template v2.0 · Published by AYCAS Studios · aycasstudios.com

Template notice. This document is an intake form, not an executed legal instrument. It captures the information AYCAS Studios uses to scope a Venture Build, Team Build, Component Build, Starter Build, or Care Plan engagement. Any binding commercial relationship is governed by a separately-signed Service Agreement and Scope of Work.