What does working with Admiral Systems look like?

The short answer

You start with a Sandbox, a short paid proof, or a Blueprint, a paid diagnosis ending in a costed plan. A Build delivers your growth engine in signed-off phases and becomes yours on final payment. Run then offers monthly support.

This page is for a founder or chief executive who already knows the Admiral Systems name and wants to know what they would commit to, and when. Perhaps growth has stalled, or new funding has arrived, and you want to see the path before you book a call. We cover each stage in order: what it costs, how long it takes, what you own, and how to choose where to start.

The four stages at a glance

1. Sandbox (optional, 1 or 2 weeks). One working system on your stack, meaning the tools you already run, at a fixed price.
2. Blueprint. A paid diagnosis that ends with a costed plan.
3. Build. Your growth engine, built in phases, each signed off before the next begins.
4. Run (monthly). Ongoing senior support that operates and improves your growth engine each month.

The Sandbox is optional. A Blueprint can be your first step when you know something is wrong but not yet what to fix.

By growth engine we mean the systems behind your growth: the funnel, tracking, data pipelines and integrations.

Sandbox: one working system, in one or two weeks

A Sandbox is one working system on your stack, at a fixed price. It is not a workshop and not a deck. It is a paid proof on a single problem, so you can see a result before you commit to more.

You leave with four things:

• A live system, running in your own tools, not in a sandbox of ours.
• A walkthrough, recorded so your team can follow it back.
• A one-page blueprint: what we built, and what we would do next. This is a short note, not the Blueprint engagement described below.
• Full ownership. Every code repository (repo) and every credential is yours.

There are two sizes. One week costs S$3,500 and suits one sharp question. Two weeks cost S$6,800 and allow a slightly broader proof. Both are paid upfront. We set the readout date, when we show you the result, at kick-off, so the work stays inside the agreed time.

If you go on to a Blueprint within 30 days, the Sandbox fee credits in full towards it. If you do not go on, there is no follow-on obligation, and the system stays yours. The Sandbox page sets out both sizes.

Blueprint: the diagnosis and a costed plan

A Blueprint is a paid diagnosis that ends with a costed plan. It suits the moment when you know something is wrong, but not yet what to fix. It can follow a Sandbox, or it can be where you start.

The work runs in four steps:

1. Research and findings on your market, your stack and your funnel.
2. A map of your stack or funnel, with prioritised recommendations.
3. A check on every recommendation. Each one must be defensible before we show it to you.
4. A walkthrough of the report with you.

You leave with a plan in three parts, and the plan is yours:

• The architecture. Every system, every integration, drawn and named.
• The sequence. What gets built first and why, gate by gate.
• The number. A fixed build price, not an estimate that grows.

Blueprints come in three sizes, chosen by scope:

• Lite: S$8,000 to S$12,000, over 1 to 2 weeks. One engine, one question. Typical next step: Build Foundation.
• Standard: S$18,000 to S$28,000, over 2 to 3 weeks. The whole revenue machine. Typical next step: Build Growth.
• Advanced: S$35,000 to S$55,000, over 3 to 5 weeks. Multi-team, multi-market. Typical next step: Build Scale or Build Market.

Once you accept the findings, the work routes to a Build or to Run. The Blueprint page sets out each size in full.

Build: your growth engine, in signed-off phases

In a Build, we build your growth engine end to end: funnel, tracking, data pipelines and integrations, built by a senior team in 6 to 20 weeks. The price is fixed and the scope is fixed. The Blueprint is where you get that fixed build price.

How payment works

A 50% deposit starts the Build. The remaining 20%, 20% and 10% are released on written sign-offs.

A sign-off is your written confirmation that a phase's scoped items are tested, documented and live. A gate is the check at the end of each phase. No gate passes with open defects, and no phase starts before its gate clears.

How you stay across the work

How often we steer the work with you depends on the tier. On Foundation, the entry tier, that means weekly gates.

Which tier fits

The tier is decided by how much of the machine is broken, not by how much you can bear. Foundation is one engine, built properly, on the stack you already run. It costs S$60,000 to S$90,000 over 6 to 8 weeks. The Build page lists the other tiers.

What you own

The intellectual property (IP), meaning the rights to what we build, passes to you on the final 10% payment, together with the source files and credentials. On that final payment, all of it becomes yours.

Run: monthly support after the Build

Run is ongoing senior support that operates and improves your growth engine each month. It is best taken straight after a Build. It is a separate engagement, priced per month by tier. Run can start at completion, with a Run handover pack.

Each month follows the same cycle:

1. We agree the month's priorities with you at the start.
2. We do the work within your hours entitlement, which is the monthly cap on hours that your tier includes.
3. The month closes with a value report.

If the work needs more hours than your tier includes, you move up a tier. Extra work is never done silently and for free.

On Essential, Growth and Scale, Run is a fixed monthly fee, not an hourly rate. The entry tier, Essential, is S$6,000 to S$8,000 a month for up to 20 hours a month. The Run page sets out the other tiers.

What you own at each stage

• Sandbox: the live system, the recorded walkthrough, the one-page blueprint, and every repo and credential.
• Blueprint: the plan, meaning the architecture, the sequence and the fixed build price.
• Build: the IP, source files and credentials, once the final 10% payment clears.

Every system, integration and dataset we build is handed over as yours to run. We are not trying to lock you into our own infrastructure.

What if it costs too much, or we would rather hire?

Both are fair questions for a founder who watches cash closely.

On cost, the commitment grows in priced steps. You know the price, or the price band, of each step before you take it. The Sandbox has a fixed price, with no follow-on obligation. The Blueprint is priced by size, in a set band. It then gives you a fixed build price, not an estimate that grows. In a Build, a 50% deposit starts the work, and each later payment is released on a written sign-off.

On hiring, hiring is a fair choice, and for some companies it is the right one. What we build is handed over as yours to run, on the terms above, so an in-house team can take it over. Whether our route costs less than a hire depends on the roles you would need and how much of the work is ongoing.

For the numbers, see what a fractional growth team costs. If you lean towards hiring, see how to structure a growth team.

Where to start with Admiral Systems

If you want proof on one problem first, start with a Sandbox.

If you know something is wrong but not yet what to fix, a Blueprint is a paid diagnosis that ends with a costed plan and a fixed build price, so the Build decision rests on a document.

Be clear about what a Blueprint is not:

• It does not promise results. A Blueprint diagnoses and plans. The decision to build comes after the plan, and it stays yours.
• It is not the only way in. If you are not sure which first step fits, tell us through our contact page.