Founder Sprint
A focused 1-to-1 discussion to sharpen strategy and make the next decision.
Founder Sprint is designed for AgriTech founders who need to get strategy clear and make the next decision with confidence.
Not a discovery call, a strategy and decision conversation
WHO THE FOUNDER SPRINT IS FOR
Sometimes as a founder, the hardest part is differentiating signal from noise when you are building strategy and making the right decision.
The product may be working. Customers may be interested. Investors may be asking harder questions. The opportunity may be real, but the next step is not obvious.
Most founders do not need another generic mentoring session.
They need a direct conversation with someone who brings trust and experience to the table, with a deep understanding AgriTech commercialisation, capital, GTM, and the operational constraints of building in agriculture.
Founder Sprint helps founders separate signal from noise before they make decisions that cost time, capital, and momentum.
Working through a commercial, funding, product, or GTM decision
Trying to understand which constraint matters most right now
Preparing for a raise, pilot, market entry, or strategic partnership.
Looking for a sector-informed second opinion before committing to a larger engagement of time and capital.
Seeking practical, structured feedback to inform a team decision.
WHAT YOU GET IN A FOUNDER SPRINT
PRE-CALL DIAGNOSTIC
Before the session, you complete a structured diagnostic across the three pillars that shape commercial trajectory:
Product: offer maturity, customer evidence, differentiation, product-market fit signals
Operations and Finance: runway, unit economics, operating discipline, team capacity
Marketing and Sales: ICP clarity, pipeline, conversion, positioning, GTM channels
The diagnostic guides pre-call research, informed by Recode Radar, so the session starts informed and ready for real decisions.
90 MINUTE STRATEGY SESSION
A focused working session with Michael Macolino, built around your diagnostic, our insight, and the decision in front of you.
The session is built around your questions:
Is the current GTM path viable?
What needs to be true to raise capital?
Which customer segment to prioritise?
Where do we to apply AI in the business?
How to sequence the next 30 to 90 days?
The aim is to narrow the field, identify the real constraint, and make the next move clear.
POST CALL STRATEGIC BRIEF
After the session, you receive a concise written strategy briefing document covering:
The diagnostic analysis
Key points from the conversation
The commercial constraint we identified
Recode frameworks and resources
Recommended next steps
Practical 30 - 60 day priorities
The strategy brief is designed to be useful after the call, with co-founders, board members, advisors, or simply as your own next steps reference point.
The Workhorse thesis
AgriTech companies don’t die of starvation.
They die of indigestion.
Agriculture cannot absorb capital at venture speed.
Biology, weather and thin farm margins set the pace.AgriTech companies need to be default alive.
The business model has to work without the next investment round.Raise only to fund growth, never to fund survival.
A Workhorse earns the next season and grows with the market.
A Unicorn buys speed before the fundamentals catch up.
Most founders pick a growth path from ambition.
I built The Workhorse Diagnostic to give founders a benchmark on the alignment between ambition and their commercial fundamentals.
WHAT FOUNDERS ARE SAYING
Working with Michael Macolino has been a huge asset in my journey as a founder. His consistency, attentiveness and ability to adapt to exactly what I need in the moment is rare.
Importantly, he genuinely understands the realities and pressures of startup life, making him someone I can trust completely and be candid with.
Simon Mildren, Hive Keepers
COMMON FOUNDER QUESTIONS
To any agtech founder reading this,
I couldn't recommend Michael more.
He's been one of my key advisors for a while and never fails to impress me with his insights, knowledge of industry and depth of sector connections..
Edward Barraclough, Drone-hand
Michael was a massive help in navigating the complex realities of agtech.
He has a rare mix of a level head, a deep network, and strong intuition about what’s coming next. Here’s to more workhorses in agtech.
Jackson Berry - Founder
-
No. This is a paid working session. A discovery call is for deciding whether to work together. Founder Strategy is for doing the work of clarifying a real decision.
-
It is built primarily for AgriTech founders and technology companies serving the agricultural value chain, including climate and energy technologies where agriculture is the market, customer, or deployment pathway.
-
Accelerator mentoring calls are often broad, scope limited, and designed to expose you to a range of perspectives. Founder Strategy is a paid working session with one advisor, built around your diagnostic, Recode Radar intelligence, and structured decision-making frameworks. The aim is not general advice, it is to clarify the strategy, make the decision, and leave with a written brief you can act on.
-
No. Capital strategy may be part of the conversation, but Founder Strategy is just as useful for GTM, product focus, pricing, customer validation, market entry, and operating priorities.
-
You receive a written brief within 48 hours. Some founders take the brief and execute independently. Others move into Founder Rhythm or a Sprint if the next step needs ongoing support or something built.
Clarify the strategy before you make the move.
Book The Founder Sprint for $895
If you’re a founder trying to work out what matters most, Founder Strategy
gives you a structured way to think it through with someone who understands
the commercial realities of building in AgriTech.