ATLAS
tryatlas.today
Positioning &
customer discovery.
Force explicit choices, run structured interviews, route buyers to Core, Professional, or 83s1c — aligned with what ships today.
How to use this playbook
Pair the positioning worksheet (forced choices on category, ICP, tiers) with the discovery guide (30–45 min interviews by persona). Update positioning after every 5 calls. Do not pitch for the first 15 minutes — lead with quarter-end reality.
Collect async input from prospects and advisors: pain rankings, category preference, offering interest, and willingness to pay. Open the positioning feedback survey (track with ?source=linkedin&ref=Name).
1. Category — pick one primary
What budget line and procurement category do we own? Circle one, then write a one-sentence category statement.
Fund CFO software
Modeling, waterfalls, capital calls, fund economics
Portfolio operations platform
Company data, marks, monitoring, IC support
LP reporting infrastructure
Quarter-end packs, capital accounts, LP comms
Embedded fund ops / middle office
People + systems — 83s1c motion
2. Hero workflow — next 90 days
The first workflow we demo, sell, and measure activation on. One hero only.
3. Core ICP — who we turn away
Explicit exclusions sharpen messaging. Default Core target: growing VC $100M–$500M AUM, small ops team, Excel for fund economics.
- Solo GP / angel syndicate
- Fund-of-funds
- PE with heavy debt / covenant reporting
- Family office without dedicated ops
- Funds using institutional fund admin as system of record
4. Product truth — sell today vs. roadmap
Sales rule: do not promise roadmap items on a first call unless labeled beta with a date.
| Capability | Status |
|---|---|
| Client-side waterfall / fund math | Today |
| CSV / TSV / JSON portfolio import | Today |
| PDF / Excel export w/ disclaimers | Today |
| CFO Advisor (Claude, grounded) | Today |
| Multi-user / cloud persistence | Roadmap |
| Carta connector | Roadmap |
| Pulley connector | Roadmap |
| Salesforce / CRM connector | Roadmap |
| LP portal / investor-facing | Roadmap |
5. Kill list — pause until true
Claims to remove from external pitch until shipped or staffed.
PE as equal ICP to VC
→ Lead VC fund CFO; qualify PE separately
Family office (generic)
→ Name integration + budget triggers only
Live Carta/Pulley/Salesforce sync on Core
→ CSV import today; connectors via 83s1c / roadmap
Compliance beyond disclaimers + human review
→ Compliance-adjacent cues; counsel signs off
All 8 modules as equal heroes
→ One hero workflow per segment
Call structure — all personas
30–45 minutes. Score each call 1–5 on: pain acuity · budget fit · timeline · champion strength · Core vs Enterprise fit.
Context (5 min) — Fund profile, role, what they own
Workflow deep-dive (15 min) — Last quarter-end / last deal / last LP ask
Stack & alternatives (10 min) — Tools, workarounds, what they've tried
Value & budget (10 min) — Pain quantification, buyer, timeline
Reaction (5 min) — 2-sentence ATLAS frame + ask for demo
Persona scripts
Emerging VC GP / Managing Partner
$50M–$500M AUM · 1–2 funds · 20–60 portcos · Excel for fund economics
I'm researching how funds your size handle fund-level math and LP-facing numbers — not pitching yet. Can I ask how you run waterfalls and quarter-end today?
Core questions
- How many funds and approximate AUM? Who owns carry/waterfall vs. portfolio marks?
- Walk through the last waterfall or carry scenario — tools, time, who checked it?
- Describe last quarter-end: scramble, reconciliations, what shipped late?
- Most expensive mistake feared — wrong carry, clawback, LP credibility?
- What software do you pay for today — and what still lives in Excel?
- What would X hours saved per quarter justify at $5K–$10K/month?
Fit signals
Trusts Excel but doubts carry/clawback → Core — waterfall + export
Quarter-end reconciliation theater → Core or Enterprise if 5+ systems
Wants someone to run reporting cadence → 83s1c, not Core
Frame: We built client-side fund math — waterfall, capital calls, scenarios — so numbers stay on your machine, with AI only for narrative on top.
Fund COO / Head of Portfolio Operations
3–8 person ops team · owns LP reporting calendar · spreadsheets + Carta + inbox
I'm talking to COOs about quarter-end and data discipline — where the single source of truth breaks. What does your reporting calendar look like this year?
Core questions
- Non-negotiable reporting obligations — LP letters, capital accounts, ILPA metrics?
- Describe the last close: timeline, headcount, systems, what shipped late.
- Where do numbers disagree today — finance vs. investment vs. IR?
- Which tasks should be automated vs. assisted (human sign-off)?
- What integrations are table stakes — Carta, Salesforce, etc.?
- What would get you fired if it went wrong on a reporting cycle?
Fit signals
Wants playbook + ownership, not another dashboard → 83s1c or assessment sprint
80% pain is fund waterfall; portfolio data OK → Core
Needs connectors Day 1 → Enterprise — qualify budget + timeline
Frame: We separate deterministic fund math in the browser from AI that only reads those numbers. Start with Core modeling or a short assessment sprint that maps systems first.
Family Office Principal / CIO
Multi-asset · bespoke tooling · high privacy · fragmented direct + fund holdings
Family offices often have no off-the-shelf stack. I'm learning how you consolidate reporting across managers and direct holdings — what's your source of truth today?
Core questions
- What do you hold — VC/PE funds, directs, real assets, public?
- Where does aggregation break — fees, carry, look-through, cash planning?
- What data won't go in multi-tenant SaaS? Who approves AI on position data?
- Software vs. outsourcing vs. project consultants — how do you buy ops?
- What must a $45K–$90K assessment deliver to be worth it standalone?
Fit signals
Bespoke + integration-heavy + budget → 83s1c
Single VC sleeve, modeling only → Core
Wants turn-key family office admin → Often not fit
Frame: Core keeps fund modeling local in the browser; 83s1c is for integration and workflow ownership with embedded operators.
LP / Institutional Allocator
Influence buyer — evaluates reporting quality and operational maturity
We're researching what LPs expect on reporting timeliness and metric consistency. What makes you trust — or distrust — a manager's quarterly package?
Core questions
- Red flags in quarterly reporting that trigger escalation?
- Metric inconsistencies across managers — how often?
- What should managers answer in real time vs. after a two-week pull?
- Would you recommend a manager adopt a specific ops platform — when?
- If a manager improved ops infrastructure, how would that affect re-up or fees?
Fit signals
Refines messaging for fund managers → Influence map
Validates assessment deliverables → Sprint packaging
Direct revenue → Usually not — influence only
Frame: LP interviews sharpen fund-manager messaging and sprint deliverables — not primary revenue.
PE Operating Partner / Portfolio Monitoring
Debt/covenant reporting · EBITDA bridges · 100+ assets · different cadence than VC
PE ops reporting is different from VC fund waterfalls. How do you run portfolio monitoring and LP/GP reporting today?
Core questions
- Is pain fund-level waterfall or asset-level KPI / covenant tracking?
- What systems dominate — Allvue, eFront, Excel, custom BI?
- Would VC-style client-side fund math solve anything material?
- What must an embedded team deliver in year one to earn $100K+/mo?
Fit signals
Asset KPIs, covenants, ERP integration → PE roadmap or 83s1c custom
Fund-level waterfall is primary pain → Qualify for Core carefully
Frame: Do not sell Core VC module pack as primary wedge without explicit PE product fit.
Tier routing — after each call
| Condition | Route |
|---|---|
| Fund math trust · <5 systems · <$500M AUM · self-serve appetite | Core (Starter → Pro) |
| Data sprawl · 5+ systems · wants embedded help · $50K+/mo budget | 83s1c |
| Pain unclear · politically complex · long sales cycle | Assessment sprint first |
| Fund admin owns NAV; only wants deal modeling | CapStack / ecosystem cross-sell |
| PE asset monitoring primary | Defer or custom enterprise |
| No budget · no quarter-end pain · curiosity only | Nurture — firm data setup content |
8-week discovery cadence
8–10 calls: 5 GP/MP, 3 COO, 2 wildcards (family office or LP)
Update positioning worksheet; adjust pitch page kill list
10 more calls weighted toward highest-scoring tier
Lock category, hero workflow, ICP exclusions, Starter price
Outbound + demos using only validated language
Stop rule: If 5+ consecutive Core-target calls say integration is the blocker, pause Core GTM and lead with assessment sprint / enterprise until a connector ships or sprint deliverable is packaged.
Pitch frames — test in phase 5
Core (VC GP)
ATLAS is your fund's CFO for math you can trust — waterfalls, capital calls, and scenarios run locally in your browser, with AI only to draft narrative on those numbers. Funds use it to stop rebuilding Excel every quarter and ship LP-facing outputs faster.
Enterprise (COO)
83s1c is an embedded operating layer — we map your systems, normalize data, and run the workflows still stuck in spreadsheets and inboxes, on top of ATLAS's deterministic fund engine. We start with a fixed-scope assessment if you're not ready for a full engagement.
Not fit (polite)
Based on what you described, your system of record is your fund administrator and you need look-through PE monitoring — we're not the right primary tool today. We'll stay in touch if fund-level modeling becomes the bottleneck.
Pre-outbound checklist
- Category sentence matches hero workflow
- ICP excludes at least 3 segments we will turn away
- Tier boundaries have numbers, not custom only
- Demo script uses only live capabilities
- Enterprise pitch matches delivery capacity (FTE, sprint bandwidth)
- Kill list applied to fund-manager-pitch + 83s1c pages
Ready to run discovery?
Use validated language on the fund manager pitch — or open an enterprise conversation.