# Demand validation + channel rules of engagement (v0.1)

> **Why:** The single cheapest thing that de-risks the entire raise. All three strategic reviews said the same:
> before building more, *kill or confirm the one hypothesis the whole company rests on.* This is the founder's kit
> to do that in ~5–10 conversations. **Updated:** 2026-07-03.

---

## Part A — The hypothesis to kill or confirm

> **"Regulated enterprises will pay for independent AI-governance attestation — and a govrn attestation carries
> real weight with the party they answer to (board, cyber-insurer, auditor, or regulator)."**

If that's true, govrn is a company. If buyers want a one-time assessment they never renew and no third party
recognizes the credential, govrn is a report — and the pro forma's annuity (the whole LTV) is fiction. This is a
binary, answerable question. Answer it with calls, not more slides.

## Part B — Who to call (aim for 8–10; regulated buyers first)

| # | Persona | Why them | Target profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | **CISO / Chief Risk / Head of AI Governance** | They own the spend and the board exposure | BCBS IL contact, Grace Hill CTO, + 1 warm energy/finance name |
| 4–5 | **General Counsel / Chief Compliance** | They decide what "carries weight" | Regulated (health/finance/energy) |
| 6–7 | **Board audit-committee chair** | The party governance answers *to* | Any board Richard can reach |
| 8 | **Cyber-insurance underwriter / broker** | The fastest forcing function — a premium lever | Any commercial cyber line |
| 9–10 | **Peer who bought a SOC 2 / ISO 42001** | Reveals the real buying motion | Any |

Do **not** pitch. This is discovery. Selling contaminates the signal.

## Part C — The call script (~20 min)

**Open (frame as learning, not selling):**
> "I'm not here to sell you anything — I'm mapping how enterprises are handling AI-governance risk and where the
> real pain is. Can I ask how you're thinking about it?"

**The six core questions:**
1. When your board or regulator asks *"can you prove your AI is governed?"* — what do you hand them today?
2. Who, if anyone, do you consider a credible *independent* party to attest to that? (Listen for: Big-4, ISO
   auditor, "no one," "we self-attest.")
3. If a govrn attestation lowered your cyber-insurance premium or satisfied a board oversight duty — would that
   change the math? *(This is the forcing-function probe.)*
4. Would you pay for a one-time assessment, an ongoing attested posture, or neither? What would each be worth?
5. What would a startup have to do for you to accept its attestation as carrying weight?
6. Who else has to say yes — insurer, auditor, procurement, legal?

**The killer question (ask it plainly):**
> "Is anyone *requiring* you to hold something like this — or would this be nice-to-have?"

## Part D — Scoring (go / no-go signal)

- **Strong GO** — ≥3 name a real forcing function (insurer, board duty, procurement, regulator) AND would pay for
  the *ongoing* attested posture, not just a report.
- **Conditional** — interest exists but only via an accredited co-signer → confirms the L3-partnership path in
  ATTESTATION-SPEC.md §6; adjust the model to "evidence layer feeding a licensed attester."
- **Stop / rethink** — buyers want a one-time report, recognize no independent issuer, and see no forcing function.
  Then the annuity thesis is wrong and the raise story must change *before* it goes out, not after.

Log every call in the prospecting engine. Ten calls ≈ one week. This gates the raise narrative.

---

## Part E — Channel rules of engagement (close the "channel-conflict blindness" flag)

The reviews warned: Kelly + Al Petrie + SIs all touching the same accounts with unclear economics reads as chaos
to an enterprise buyer. One-page rule set to lock:

| Channel | Owns | Economics | Rule of engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
| **MCG / Kelly Solutions** | Enterprise delivery, existing Kelly accounts | Services motion; per-phase split (pro forma) | White-label clearance already exists — paper the commercial terms + ROE in writing |
| **Al Petrie Advisors** | Energy/ESG-conference relationships (SME channel) | Referral / partnership TBD with Al | No white-label; "Silicon Bayou facilitates," Kelly = enterprise scale |
| **SIs / MSSPs (future)** | Reach govrn can't cover directly | Certified-partner program (consortium tier) | Only after the standard is recognized; not a year-1 motion |
| **Direct (govrn/SBV)** | The attestation IP + the standard | Owns the recognized issuer | The standard's neutrality is never delegated to a channel |

**Deconfliction rule:** every account gets one named channel-of-record before outreach; no account is worked by two
channels without a written split. Log channel-of-record in the prospecting engine alongside the account.

*This is a founder + counsel artifact. The call kit (A–D) Richard can run this week; the ROE (E) is locked once the
already-cleared Kelly white-label terms are papered.*