™How We Work · 5 min
The money-back POC: why we put price on the line before a recommendation
Fixed-scope, fixed-fee, money-back. Why quaStrat™ refunds everything paid and cancels outstanding fees if the engine doesn't beat your baseline – and what the pilot model asks of both sides.
Most strategy engagements ask you to pay first and judge later. quaStrat™ inverts that. The proof of concept is fixed-scope and fixed-fee. We agree the decision and the success measure up front. If the engine doesn't beat your baseline, we refund everything you've paid and don't bill the rest.
This exists to protect you from the central risk of buying anything described as "quantum" or "AI": paying for a sophisticated-sounding process that doesn't actually outperform what you already do. By tying our fee to a benchmark against your current method, we move that risk onto our side of the table. You're not buying a promise; you're buying a measured result, with a refund if the measurement disappoints.
It also imposes discipline on us. A money-back guarantee only works if we scope honestly, formulate the objective correctly, and benchmark rigorously – because we eat the cost of getting it wrong. It keeps us from over-claiming and forces us to choose engagements where the hybrid engine genuinely earns its place.
What it asks of you is modest: a clearly defined decision, access to the relevant data, and agreement on what "better" means before we start. What it asks of us is everything that matters – that we prove value or give your money back. That is the right order, and it's the order we work in.