See how much value holds without you
SPECS measures the architecture built around your craft: strategy, people, execution, capital and structure. It reads how much of your business would keep running, and keep earning, if you stepped away.
There are two ways in. SPECS 12 is free, open to anyone, and yours to keep. SPECS 45 is the full partner-led read, and it runs by application only. Both are covered by our tool terms.
SPECS 12
The open read. Twelve statements, one from each of the places value usually leaks out of an owner-run business. Enough to see the shape of the problem and where to look first. No cost, no card, no obligation.
- Your grade out of 100 and your score in each of the five parts
- The gaps your answers surfaced, and what each one costs you
- Where to start looking, and the part of the business you can build from
- Your readout lives at its own link, so you can keep it or share it
- No valuation, because we don't ask for your numbers
SPECS 45
The full read. Forty-five statements across all five parts of the model, plus your revenue, margin and industry, so we can put a number on what the business is worth today and what it would be worth standing on its own. SPECS 45 is not free and it is not self-serve. A senior partner runs it with you.
- Everything SPECS 12 gives you, at nine statements per part
- A valuation range for the business as it runs today
- The value still locked inside it, in dollars
- Every exposure the answers surface, ranked worst first
- A senior partner reads your run by hand and delivers the written report
We take a small number of these each month. Tell us about the business and a senior member of the team will come back to you with fit, scope and cost.
What you get from each one
SPECS 12 is free and puts you on the hook for nothing. SPECS 45 is a paid engagement with a senior partner, and it starts with a conversation.
| SPECS 12 | SPECS 45 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Paid, quoted after a conversation |
| How you get it | Open, start right now | By application only |
| Statements to answer | 12 | 45 |
| Time it takes | About 3 minutes | About 10 minutes, plus the debrief |
| Grade and five part scores | Yes | Yes |
| Your gaps and what they cost | The headline ones | All of them, ranked worst first |
| Asks about your numbers | No | Revenue, margin and industry |
| Valuation range | No | Today, and standing on its own |
| The value still locked in, in dollars | No | Yes |
| Read by a person | No | A senior partner, by hand |
| Written report to keep | On screen only | Delivered and walked through |
Twelve tells you where. forty-five tells you why
SPECS 12 can show you which part of the business is thin. It can't tell you what is causing it, because twelve statements aren't enough to separate a symptom from a root cause. Nearly every low score in one part is being driven by something sitting in another. That is the work SPECS 45 does, and it is why a partner runs it rather than a form.
It reads the whole model
Nine statements per part instead of two or three. That's the difference between spotting a weak area and knowing which specific thing inside it is failing.
It puts a number on it
SPECS 45 takes revenue, margin and industry, so the report shows what the business is worth today, what it would be worth without you, and the gap between them.
A partner delivers it
Every run is read by hand and walked through with you. That is where the pattern across your answers gets named, and it is the part software can't do.
Questions people ask before they begin
Is SPECS 12 really free?
Yes. No cost, no card, no obligation. You run it, you keep what comes back. If we're a fit you'll hear from us, and if you'd rather we didn't, say so and that's the end of it.
What does SPECS 45 cost?
It depends on the size and shape of the business, so we quote it after a short conversation. Request access and a senior member of the team will come back to you with fit, scope and cost.
Why can't I just start SPECS 45 myself?
Because a partner runs it. The value sits in the read and the debrief, not in the form, and we only take a small number each month. Requesting access is how you get in the queue.
Why do you need my details before I start?
So we can send your results and so the read is tied to a real business rather than an anonymous set of answers.
How honest do I need to be?
Completely, or it's a waste of your time. Nobody sees this except you and us, and a flattering score helps nobody. If you don't know the answer to something, say so. "I don't know" is real information and we treat it that way.
Should I do SPECS 12 first?
Yes, and most people do. It costs nothing, it takes three minutes, and it gives us a real starting point if you then ask about SPECS 45.
What if I'm a sole operator?
SPECS 12 will stop you at the first question. SPECS measures how much of the business runs without you, and when you are the business the answer is the same every time. Come back when you have a team around you.
What happens to my answers?
They're used to produce your read and to have a better conversation with you. We don't sell or share them. The full detail is in our privacy policy.