Discovery
Discovery is your first engagement with Instfy: a strategic analysis of the business that identifies problems, opportunities, risks and priorities and defines the next moves.
Discovery is Instfy's main entry service and the embodiment of the way we think. Before proposing any solution, we gain a deep understanding of the client, the business, the context, the ambitions and the constraints. The goal is not to find the expected answer. It is to find the question that deserves to be solved.
What it is for
- Getting an accurate snapshot of the business, the people behind it and their ambition.
- Separating the apparent problem from the real problem: a drop in sales may come from the product, the price or the sales process, and not from marketing.
- Knowing what to do first, what to leave for later and what not to do.
- Making decisions based on facts and evidence, not on perception alone.
The five Discovery questions
| Question | What we analyze |
|---|---|
| Who is it? | The nature of the business and of the people behind it: early-stage company, startup, SMB, family business, group, manufacturer, retailer, services, franchise, personal brand, public institution or multinational. |
| Where is it now? | History and stage, revenue model, products, customers, operations, people, technology, marketing and sales, finance, brand, data and differentiation. |
| Where does it want to go? | Business, financial and growth goals, brand, expansion, new products and markets, technology transformation, succession and impact. |
| What context is it in? | An outside-in reading: global, national, regional, local, business and individual. |
| What are the constraints? | Capital, time, team, execution capacity, legislation, operational limitations, founder dependency and risk appetite. |
What we can analyze
Business, market, competition, products, customers, brand, sales, marketing, technology, artificial intelligence, operations, people, data, finance and expansion opportunities. The focus and depth vary according to the business profile.
How it happens
- Form and kickoff: you share information in advance through the full Discovery form and, at the kickoff, we align objectives, schedule, people and channels.
- Interviews: we talk with the founder and the key people in the business.
- Data and document analysis: we study numbers, processes, materials and systems.
- Context reading: we analyze the market, competitors, customers and trends, from global to local.
- Diagnosis: we compare what the client believes, what the data shows, what the market is doing and what could happen.
- Presentation: we present the snapshot of the business and the recommended paths.
What you receive
| Deliverable | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis | Facts, signals and hypotheses about the reality of the business. |
| Opportunities | What can be explored, with estimated potential and effort. |
| Risks | What needs to be protected and why. |
| Benchmarks | Relevant market and competitor references. |
| Priorities | What to do first, what to do next and what not to do. |
| Recommendations | The recommended direction, with scenarios where it makes sense. |
| Roadmap | The sequence of moves for the next stage of the business. |
What to prepare
- Business: company presentation, history, products and services, key customers.
- Numbers: revenue, margins, main costs and targets, at whatever level of detail you have.
- Sales: channels, funnel, average ticket and main competitors.
- Operations: critical processes, team structure and systems in use.
- Brand and digital: website, social media, materials and campaign results.
- Ambition: where you want to go, in what timeframe and what you are not willing to do.
Don't wait until everything is organized. Part of our job is precisely to organize what already exists. Share what you have and tell us what is missing.
After the Discovery
The Discovery can stand on its own: the knowledge is yours, and you can use it with your own team or with other partners. When Instfy has the capacity to help build the next stage, we present the Instfy Project proposal, with objectives, direction, scope, team, stages, investment, indicators and relationship model. See Instfy Consulting and How we work.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Instfy Discovery?
It is a strategic analysis of the business, with fixed scope and fee, that identifies problems, opportunities, risks and priorities and delivers a roadmap with the next moves. It is your first engagement with Instfy.
How long does the Discovery take?
The timeline is agreed on at the kickoff and depends on the size of the business and on the availability of people and information. The full schedule, including the presentation date, is set right at the start.
What is the difference between the Assessment and the Discovery?
The Assessment is the first step: you tell us about the business and the challenge, and we point you to the path suited to your segment. The Discovery is the full, paid analysis that goes deeper into the five questions and delivers a diagnosis, priorities and a roadmap.
Do I have to hire the project afterward?
No. The Discovery delivers value on its own. The Instfy Project is a second proposal, which you evaluate based on what was discovered.