The path from "yes" on the Growth Call to a client fully inside the engine. Built for the Uprise model: build the foundation (wedge) → activate the engine (retainer). Solo-run by Rio with outsourced lanes (Maya = content direction/CDM, editing = outsourced pipeline). Pricing/tiers: uprise-offer-tiers.
v2 changes (2026-07-04, Rio's decisions): deposit locked 50/50 · retainer rule locked ("starts when engine work starts" + 21-day drift cap) · GHL removed from stack (canceled 6/26) → custom stack · Founding Pilot performance offer added · intake = branded conversational form (build scoped in uprise-intake-build).
💰 Locked money mechanics (don't re-litigate per client)
- Deposit: 50% to start / 50% on launch — every build, every tier. The proven Dylan + Katelyne pattern. Money in = onboarding starts. "Interested" is not a client; collected is.
- Retainer rule: the retainer starts when engine work starts. One rule, two applications:
- Engine-first deals (client already has a site — pilots, retainer-only): month 1 bills at kickoff, day 1. The install IS engine work. No free month, especially not on the discounted pilot.
- Build-first deals (new site, then engine): retainer starts at launch, or 21 days after kickoff — whichever comes first. The cap goes in the agreement as one sentence. Client-side delays cost them, not Rio, and it makes assets show up faster.
- Never negotiate these per client. The deal shape decides.
🎁 Founding Pilot Offer (first 1-3 engine clients ONLY — proof-manufacturing phase)
The site's proof is all websites, zero growth numbers. This offer exists to manufacture the first real ads/growth case study. Irresistible on the surface, guarded underneath:
- Pitch: "I run your ads. If it doesn't make you money, you don't pay me for the management. I only win when you do."
- Client pays ad spend directly — their card in their own ad account. NON-NEGOTIABLE, no exceptions, ever. Rio never fronts spend.
- Install fee $500-750 upfront (tracking, pixel, funnel/landing fixes, email capture). Free management, never free infrastructure. Also filters tire-kickers.
- Performance fee by business type:
- E-com / DTC (Shopify): 10-15% of tracked attributed revenue — attribution is clean there.
- Local / service business: per qualified lead (flat $/lead, defined in writing: name + phone + stated intent). NOT rev-share — service attribution is a fistfight you can't win.
- 90-day term, then it converts to the standard retainer ($1,000/mo founding rate or the tier that fits) or ends clean.
- Case-study rights in the agreement — numbers, screenshots, name usage. This is the REAL compensation; it's the proof wall for uprisegrowth.io. No case-study rights = no pilot deal.
- Tracking is Rio's requirement to accept the deal: if they won't install the pixel / grant analytics + ad account access, walk. Performance pay without measurement = charity.
Phase 0 — Close (Day 0, the "yes")
The moment they commit on the call:
- Send the agreement (the Uprise-branded HTML agreement pattern — same as Katelyne's, Warm Rise letterhead, no em dashes) + the deposit request (Zelle). Money in = onboarding starts.
- Deposit per the locked mechanics above. Retainer billing per the locked rule. Both stated in the agreement, including the 21-day cap sentence on build-first deals.
- Send a short welcome message + the intake link (intake.uprisegrowth.io once live — see uprise-intake-build; the branded form IS the first "this operation is different" moment). Set the tone: one team, done for you, here's exactly what happens next.
Phase 1 — Intake (Day 0–3)
Collect everything in one pass so the build isn't bottlenecked later. The intake form gathers:
- Business basics: services, service area, hours, phone/email, the story
- Goals + KPIs: what "working" looks like (lead volume, bookings, revenue), in their words + a picked primary KPI
- Brand assets: logo (vector if they have it), colors/fonts, real photos + video → shared to a Drive folder with rio@uprisegrowth.io (the work email — Rio's call 7/4, looks professional + receiving shares works on any Google account). Fallback if a share glitches: any of Rio's other Google accounts. Note: Claude's Drive CONNECTOR reads riocosta141@gmail.com — if agent access to the assets is needed, add 141 to the folder.
- Access inventory (NOT passwords): registrar, current host, GBP yes/no, ad accounts, email tool, CRM. Actual credential handoff happens live on the kickoff call — never typed into a form.
- References: 2–3 sites they like + main competitors
- Content reality check: what exists + will they film their own with direction (sets up the Maya/CDM model)
Then book the kickoff call (30 min) — Calendly link fires automatically at the end of the intake form. Align on plan, timeline, who does what + do the access handoff.
Phase 2 — Build the foundation (Week 1–2)
The wedge. Rio's lane. (Skipped/compressed on engine-first deals — jump to Phase 3 at kickoff.)
- Design from real references → custom build (no templates) → 100/100 SEO baseline → mobile-first → tracking + lead capture wired day one
- 1–2 review rounds with the client → revisions → ship live
- DNS/domain set up, logins handed off, verify live (curl + screenshot, not just "looks done")
- Collect 50% balance on launch
- Ask for the testimonial within 3 days of ship (emotional peak fades fast)
Phase 3 — Activate the engine (retainer clock already defined by the locked rule)
What turns on depends on tier (uprise-offer-tiers):
- Ads (Rio): Google/Meta setup, conversion tracking, launch campaigns
- Content / CDM (Maya's lane): content direction + a calendar. Client films their own with that direction. Editing is outsourced via the managed pipeline. Maya is not the bottleneck, she productizes the direction.
- Automation (Rio): instant lead capture → automatic follow-up so no inquiry slips. Built on the custom stack (below) or wired into the client's existing tools — NOT GHL (canceled 2026-06-26; wrong stack for the DTC lane + "custom > generic platform" is the Uprise thesis).
- Reporting cadence set: monthly (Foundation) / bi-weekly (Growth) / weekly (Full Engine)
Phase 4 — Ongoing rhythm (the retainer that scales)
- Reporting + strategy call on the tier's cadence: what worked, what's next, the "are we climbing" number
- Monthly: a clear report tied to leads/revenue, not vanity metrics
- Quarterly: bigger strategy review + honest tier check (upsell when the results justify it)
- Pilot clients: day-75 conversation — convert to standard retainer with the case-study numbers on the table
Who does what
- Rio: web, ads, automation, conversion, account lead (the relationship + strategy)
- Maya (CDM specialist, outsourced): content direction + distribution strategy
- Outsourced: video editing pipeline
- Client: films their own content (with direction), approves work, provides access, pays their own ad spend
Tools (post-GHL stack, live as of 2026-07-04)
- Booking: Calendly (calendly.com/uprisegrowth/growth-call + a kickoff-call event type — create when first pilot signs)
- Agreements: Uprise-branded HTML agreement (Katelyne pattern) — signed + returned; DocuSign only if a bigger client demands it
- Payments: Zelle (rio@costacostudio.com / BofA business-tracking account)
- Asset collection: Google Drive — clients share their folder with rio@uprisegrowth.io (add riocosta141@gmail.com only if Claude's Drive connector needs to read it)
- Intake: branded conversational form → intake.uprisegrowth.io (uprise-intake-build); Google Form is the fallback if a client signs before it ships
- CMS/self-edit: Supabase direct-edit pattern (Dylan + Katelyne builds — proven twice)
- Email/forms/alerts: Resend + own form handlers (spam-filter brain pattern from Lee's build)
- Client CRM/automation: client's own tools, or custom (Supabase + Workers/Pages Functions) per deal — no platform subscription
Related: uprise-offer-tiers · uprise-intake-build · uprise-one-pager · overnight-run-2026-07-04