Decision Sniff Test
$19
Five questions, sent back as a one-page personalised decision frame within 1 business day. The shape of your decision named, so you stop circling it.
Pay $19 →Onwards Analytics · for operators who've decided to actually run it hard
The decision keeping you up at night, written answer by Friday.
A bad call on something irreversible costs six months and around $300k. The work to get the answer right normally runs $5-10k with a fractional CTO or board advisor. This is $297. Written by Friday. Guaranteed to change your mind on at least one thing, or full refund plus a 30-min strategy call free.
Pay $297 → Send the decision by Wednesday EOD → Written memo back Friday EOD
What you're buying: 1× Second-Line Review · $297 · Wed cutoff → Fri delivery · guaranteed to land or full refund + free 30-min call
Pay $297, send my decision → ✓ Guaranteed to land, or refund + free call
Apple Pay · Google Pay · card · secure checkout by Stripe
After you pay: confirmation email immediately → 2-question intake form → written memo back by Friday EOD
Written and signed off by Ryan Richardson. 15+ years across businesses from $1M to billions, small startups through to complex enterprise. Founder of Onwards Analytics. Currently CTO of a funded startup. Author of They Don't Get It. LinkedIn
What's in the $297
$773 of work. You pay $297.
- Your specific written memo, yes/no with reasoning, by Friday EOD $297 value
- Bonus 1The Decision Framework, 7-question filter PDF + 5-day email course on how to apply it (sold standalone for $19, free in this stack) $79 value
- Bonus 2One follow-up clarification email within 14 days $150 value
- Bonus 3$50 credit toward your next memo within 90 days $50 value
- Bonus 4Sample memo library, 24 worked decisions across firing co-founders, killing products, ICP calls $197 value
- GuaranteeChange-your-mind guarantee, if the memo doesn't change your mind on at least one thing, full refund + 30-min strategy call free priceless
Total value
$773
You pay today
$297
A bad call on something irreversible costs six months and ~$300k. A memo costs $297.
Or take the AI-engine version
$97. Same library, AI-led, Ryan-reviewed. Back in 24h.
Submit your decision. The Clarity engine runs every principle, every named asymmetry, every observation, every mental model in our library against your situation. Ryan reads every report before it sends. Back in 24 hours, not Friday.
- Fractional CTO retainer$8k+/mo
- Senior consultant on one decision$3-5k
- Ryan-written memo, by Friday$297
- This: AI engine, Ryan-reviewed, 24h$97
Pay $97, AI version → ✓ Same refund + free 30-min call guarantee
Want it written by Ryan personally? $297, back by Friday ↑
Or start smaller.
Same Ryan, same library, smaller artefact and faster turnaround. Use these to test whether the memo shape works for your decision before committing $297.
Mini-Memo
$47
One specific question, 200-400 word written answer, within 1 business day. The smaller version of the Second-Line Review when the decision is narrow.
Pay $47 →Research Brief
$47
Tell us the question and the context. We send back a 2-3 page research brief on your specific situation: the patterns we've seen, the data that matters, what's worked for founders sitting on similar calls. Within 2 business days.
Pay $47 →All three include the same change-your-mind guarantee, refund + a 30-min strategy call free if it doesn't land.
Seven decisions, seven memos. Pick the one that fits.
Each one has a fixed price, a fixed timeline, and a money-back default. No call required to start. Stripe handles the checkout.
No call required to start. No upsell. Stripe checkout. Confirmation email + intake form arrive immediately.
See what an actual memo looks like
"Should I fire my technical co-founder?"
A real worked example. The same structure, the same voice, the same depth you'd get if you sent us your decision, just written for a generic version of the question.
Three honest tests before you pay
Don't take my word for it. Read the work.
Testimonials are curated. These are not. Push them, question them, and decide for yourself whether the memo will land for your situation:
- Read 24 actual sample memos. Same structure, same voice, same depth as the paid version. Browse all 24 →
- Talk to the chatbot. It runs on the same library that backs every paid memo. Ask it the actual question you're sitting on. If it doesn't make you sharper in 60 seconds, the memo won't either. Open the chat →
- Read the book. They Don't Get It is Ryan's published book on the gap between business and technical leaders. The reasoning style in the memos comes from there. See the book →
When real founder testimonials land, they'll go here. Until then, the work above is the proof. Want the deeper version with numbers, case studies, and the twenty-plus active builds we're shipping this month? Read the work →
You've already tried the other things.
You've tried the $19/mo AI tools. They're fine for first drafts and useless for the decision in front of you. You've sat across from the 23-year-old account manager. They're earnest and they don't get it. You've considered the $50k discovery engagement. You don't need a deck; you need an answer.
This is for the moment you've decided to actually run the company, build the product, fire the wrong vendor, kill the side bet, sign the deal. The decisions a board call won't fix and your network can't help with. You don't need motivation. You need a mirror.
Buy a memo when: the decision is irreversible, the cost of being wrong is real, and the people in your life can't be the ones to tell you the answer.
Your network is incredible and useless for this.
Your CFO friend can't help you test an ICP. Your CTO friend charges five hundred dollars an hour when you're pre-revenue. Your board doesn't know you're sitting on this. You can't really bring it home.
You need a mirror, not a favour.
Is the memo written by an AI?
No. The memo is written by me, real attention on your specific decision between Wed cutoff and Fri delivery, signed off personally, with the reasoning I'd put in a board paper. The site has a chatbot elsewhere; the memo is the actual work.
Ryan Richardson
Founder, Onwards Analytics
15+ years across businesses from $1M to billions, small startups through to complex enterprise. I run Onwards, which means I've been behind the decision you're trying to make, quietly, repeatedly, in other people's companies. Currently CTO of a funded startup. Author of They Don't Get It, a short book on the gap between business and technical leaders. The same patterns play out at every scale; the second-line memo lets you borrow that pattern recognition for your specific call.
I'm not your coach. I'm not going to tell you to believe in yourself. I'll read what you sent me. I'll tell you what I think, honestly, with the reasoning I'd use in a board paper. Wed cutoff → Fri delivery. Guaranteed to change your mind on at least one thing, or full refund + a 30-min strategy call free.
The four questions buyers ask in their head.
What if the memo doesn't land for me?
Two-layer guarantee. (1) Change-your-mind guarantee: if the memo doesn't change your mind on at least one thing, full refund plus I'll do a 30-minute strategy call free. (2) 7-day refund, no questions: if you just want your money back, reply "refund" and it processes in 24 hours. You keep the memo either way.
Can I ask follow-up questions after the memo?
If a quick clarification helps, I'll usually answer one follow-up email within 14 days, that's the bonus included in the package. For deeper conversation or a back-and-forth, the $497 strategy call add-on is the right move.
How is this different from a coaching call?
Coaching is conversation. This is a written deliverable, yes-or-no with reasoning, in writing, that you can re-read, send to your co-founder, or use to brief a board. A call ends and the thinking dissipates. A memo stays where you can use it.
Is Ryan really writing it, or is it AI?
Written by Ryan personally. Real attention on your specific decision between Wed cutoff and Fri delivery. There's a chatbot elsewhere on the site for free, that's a separate product. The memo is the real work.
Onwards Notebook · subscription
Not ready for a memo? The slow version is $97/month.
One framework, observation, or decision-pattern delivered every Tuesday morning. Drawn from the same library that backs the chatbot and the memos. Cancel anytime, $50 credit toward any memo (redeemable once during your subscription).
Send Wednesday. Memo Friday. Done.
$297. Guaranteed to change your mind on at least one thing, or full refund + a 30-min call free. No call required to start.
What you're buying: 1× Second-Line Review · $297 · Wed cutoff → Fri delivery · guaranteed to land or full refund + free 30-min call
Pay $297, send my decision → ✓ Guaranteed to land, or refund + free call
Apple Pay · Google Pay · card · secure checkout by Stripe
After you pay: confirmation email immediately → 2-question intake form → written memo back by Friday EOD
See six other reviews ($197–$497) → · Subscribe to the Notebook ($97/mo) →