- Backfilled: 2026-09-04 from meeting notes (Michael ruled 2026-09-04 that the public log carries the whole company history)
Decision
Three live verticals mapped: FJ core, GEO/SEO, audience building (ghostwriting). Each gets a lead magnet, a low-priced front-end offer, a back-end monthly service, and possibly a $10k+ tier. Candidate white-labeled additions: Reddit, Instagram, bookkeeping, design. FJ core: a Founder-OS-style program around $1k and one-off retreats growing into a mastermind. Rejected: selling high-ticket advising a handful of times (“I’d have less time than I do now”).
Context
Paid acquisition partner kicking off 2025-11-24 needed funnels to send traffic into. Michael: position Founding Journey and himself “for founders first”, with ads per bucket. A fund model was sketched: invest $100k to $200k and have the portfolio company pay for services monthly.
Consequences
- Templates, best-practice guides, search-readiness checklist, strategy audit built Nov 2025.
- Fed 2026 launches: Lore as own brand, JOLT, FJ Plus, agent teams per vertical.