The questions founders ask us most often, answered honestly.
 

ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT

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Q. Are you a solo operator, an agency, or something in between?

A. We are a small, senior team — not a large agency and not a single freelancer. Every client has one dedicated point of contact who runs the relationship and is supported by specialists when the work requires it. You always know who you’re talking to.

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Q. What is the minimum engagement?

A. For project mandates, there is no minimum beyond the scope itself. For embedded operator engagements, we typically work with a three-month minimum so we can deliver real impact rather than just learning your business. Setup sprints are fixed-duration packages.

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Q. Do you work on a retainer or hourly basis?

A. We work on monthly retainers for embedded engagements and fixed fees for projects and setup sprints. As a rule, we don’t charge by the hour — hourly billing creates the wrong incentives for both sides, rewarding time spent rather than outcomes delivered.

In exceptional cases — short advisory sessions, one-off consultations, or clearly bounded ad-hoc tasks — we do offer hourly engagements. We’ll suggest this format ourselves when it makes more sense than a retainer or project fee.

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Q. Can you scale up or down within an engagement?

A. Yes. Retainers are reviewed quarterly and can be adjusted in either direction. Projects can be extended or expanded by mutual agreement, always in writing.

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ABOUT OUR CAPABILITIES

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Q. We are a traditional business — not crypto. Are we still a fit?

A. Absolutely. Crypto fluency is one capability we offer, not a filter on who we work with. The majority of our clients are traditional tech, real estate, and international service businesses. Crypto comes up when relevant; otherwise it’s simply a non-issue.

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Q. In which countries can you form a company or open a bank account?

A. Our core jurisdictions are Germany and the wider EU. We also work in selected international jurisdictions — including the UAE, UK, Switzerland, and offshore structures — through our network of legal and tax partners. We are honest when a jurisdiction sits outside our direct experience and will tell you upfront.

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Q. Can you replace our accountant, lawyer, or tax advisor?

A. No — and we don’t try to. We work alongside your existing advisors and, where you don’t have them, help you select and onboard the right ones. Our role is the operational and coordination layer that connects these specialists and ensures nothing falls between them.

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Q. Do you handle physical or local tasks, or only remote work?

A. Both. We attend bank appointments, notary meetings, and government offices in person when needed. Our primary geography is Europe — with particular depth in Germany, the EU, and surrounding jurisdictions — but we serve clients globally and coordinate trusted local partners in regions beyond our direct reach.

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ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER

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Q. How quickly can we get started?

A. We respond to inquiries within one business day. From signed proposal to active onboarding takes about one week. For setup sprints and urgent project mandates, we can often start work within 10 business days of first contact.

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Q. How do you handle confidentiality?

A. NDAs are signed before any substantive discussion. All sensitive communication runs through secure, encrypted channels. Our team is small, vetted, and bound by strict confidentiality protocols. We do not list client names publicly. References are shared only with explicit client permission.

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Q. Will I have one contact or multiple?

A. You have one primary contact who owns the relationship and your business context. Where specialist work is needed — for example, a particular jurisdiction or a technical treasury question — we bring in the right person, but coordination always runs through your primary contact.

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Q. What does communication look like during an engagement?

A. For retainers: a weekly written summary, regular check-in calls, and direct access to your primary contact via the channel you prefer (email, Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal). For projects: milestone-based updates and a final delivery report. We adapt to how you want to work, not the other way around.

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ABOUT PRICING

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Q. Why don’t you publish your rates?

A. Because pricing depends on scope, complexity, and engagement model — and a published rate would either over-charge simple work or under-price complex work. We share clear, written pricing within a few days of every discovery call, before any commitment is made.

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Q. Are your services expensive?

A. We are positioned at the senior end of the market — we charge less than a Big Four advisory firm and more than a junior freelancer. Most clients tell us afterward that the cost was lower than the time and risk they were absorbing before working with us. We are honest if we sense the budget and the scope don’t match, and we will say so on the discovery call.

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ABOUT LANGUAGES AND GEOGRAPHY

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Q. In which languages do you work?

A. Our working languages are German, English, Russian, and Latvian — at professional fluency, not basic level. For other languages, we coordinate vetted translators from our network.

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Q. Where are you based, and do you travel?

A. We are based in Europe and work with clients globally. We travel for in-person meetings, bank appointments, and key milestones when the engagement benefits from it.

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