What it is
One-off high-stakes missions, non-coding: product scoping, tech arbitration, architecture review, CTO hiring, fundraising prep.
For whom
Executives needing to decide fast on something that locks 12-36 months — rebuild, fundraise, build vs buy, tech org.
Indicative price
Fixed price on quote, sized in person-days. Written deliverables and board-level debrief included.
Each mission is one-off, scoped in person-days. Here are the patterns we keep seeing.
- 1
Scoping a back-office rebuild for a 50-employee SMB. We formalize the needs, estimate effort (6-8 weeks), draft the RFP and help pick the vendor.
- 2
Decision support between an existing SaaS solution and in-house development. We compare 3-year cost, vendor lock-in, reversibility, sovereignty, business fit. Arbitration note as evidence.
- 3
Technical prep for a Series A fundraise. We build the tech dossier, rehearse due-diligence questions, prepare the team to defend the architecture and roadmap in front of investors.
- 4
Hiring a CTO or CPO. We write the job description, qualify candidates, run the senior technical interview, help with closing and the first 90 days of onboarding.
- 5
Architecture review before a 10x scale-up (growth, geographic expansion, enterprise contract). We identify bottlenecks, propose evolutions and cost the effort.
- 6
Organizational audit of the tech team. Role split, workload, processes (code review, incidents, releases), and a 12-month organizational trajectory.
- 7
External code review. An independent third party reviews the code from your vendor or team, before a sensitive go-live or a contract renewal decision.
- 8
Technology choices, no coding: data foundation, analytics tool, AI platform, sovereign hosting. We instruct the decision without doing the development — the call stays yours.
What we ship
Every mission produces written, defensible and reusable deliverables — not just slides.
Detailed report
Findings, analysis and reasoned recommendations. 15 to 40 pages depending on scope, structured, board-ready or investor-ready.
Prioritized action plan
Items ranked by effort / impact / risk ratio. Each one costed in days, with a suggested owner and a target date.
Executive presentation
Short deck (10-20 slides) summarizing stakes, options and our recommendation. Usable in the boardroom.
Board-level debrief
1 to 2-hour session with leadership and stakeholders. Q&A, arbitration, decisions taken.
Operational documents
Depending on the mission: RFP, vendor scorecard, arbitration matrix, job description, interview guide, due-diligence questionnaire.
30-day follow-up
Written support included after the debrief. We answer questions that surface once execution starts.
Typically 5 to 20 person-days over 2 to 10 calendar weeks.
Interviews
5 to 15 targeted interviews — leadership, tech team, business, external stakeholders. Confidential setting, anonymized notes if needed.
Field immersion
Document review, code review if relevant, observation of a sprint or a committee. We understand the real ecosystem, not the presented version.
Documentary analysis
Vendor contracts, invoices, tickets, KPIs, roadmap. We cross-check what is said with what is written and what actually happens.
Debrief + plan
Written report + oral debrief + prioritized action plan. 30 days of availability for execution.
Frequent questions
How much does a strategic mission cost?+
Fixed-fee quote, structured in person-days. Typically 5 to 20 days depending on scope, over 2 to 10 calendar weeks. A 5-day scoping starts around €5,500 excl. VAT; fundraise prep or CTO hiring ranges from €10,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT.
Do you also do the implementation?+
Not by default — a strategic mission is meant to inform a decision, not to execute it. If you want us to extend into operational support (fractional CTO, development, deep audit), we scope a separate contract.
Do you sign an NDA?+
Always, before any information sharing. MAG&Cie NDA available if you don't have one, or we sign yours. Multi-party supported (co-founders, investors, lawyers).
Do you take international missions?+
France and EU zone in priority. Mostly remote, with 1 or 2 on-site visits for immersion or debrief. Fluent English on deliverables if needed.
What is the start-up delay?+
Scoping within 5 business days of the first call. Kick-off within 2 to 4 weeks depending on availability — we intentionally cap the number of parallel missions to preserve attention.
/ En résumé
A strategic decision to instruct?
Free 1-hour first call. Quote within 5 business days.
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