How long does a Mastodon engagement take from first call to live?

First call to signed scope: 3-7 days typically. Kickoff to live system: 14-30 days for single playbooks, 60-90 days for single-pillar builds, 6-12 months for full four-pillar implementations. All timelines committed in writing at scope.

What happens on the first fit call?

15 minutes. We ask about your bottleneck, your current stack, your team, your budget range. We tell you honestly whether we're a fit. If yes, we schedule a 30-minute scoping conversation. If no, we point you somewhere better. No deck, no pitch.

Do you write a proposal?

We write a one-page spec, not a proposal. The spec has: what we'll build, what it will cost, what success looks like at 30/60/90 days, what's included vs. add-on, the go-live date, and the rollback plan. You read it, you sign or you don't.

How much of my team's time will this take?

Discovery week: 4-6 hours of one person's time. Build phase: 2-4 hours per week. Training week: 1-2 hours for the team learning handoffs. Standwatch: 30 minutes per week for weekly review. Most clients can absorb this without dedicated headcount.

What if we want to pause or stop mid-engagement?

Single-playbook projects: 30-day notice to pause or stop. Pillar builds: complete the current phase, then stop, paid pro-rata. Full implementations: cancel any phase, pay only for work completed. No 12-month lock-ins, ever.

How do you communicate during the engagement?

Shared Slack channel (or Teams) for day-to-day. Email for things needing a paper trail. Loom videos for async walkthroughs. SMS or phone for urgent. Weekly 30-min check-in call during the first 90 days, then monthly after.

What happens at day 91?

Three options, you pick: (1) keep us on a monthly retainer for ongoing optimization and reporting, (2) clean handoff with full documentation, you run it internally from there, (3) extend into the next pillar build. Most clients pick option 1 or 3. Option 2 is fully supported.

Process

What working with Mastodon actually looks like.

Q: Who's actually doing the work?

Alex Rocha leads every engagement directly. For larger builds we bring in a project specialist (named at scope), and our development partners for custom integrations. No offshore-only delivery, no faceless account-management layer between you and the people building your system.

No "discovery deck." No surprise scope creep. No 12-month lock-ins. Here's the week-by-week of how a Mastodon engagement runs, end to end, with the exact deliverables you should expect at each stage.

Mastodon Marketing 6-phase process methodology dashboard on an operator laptop showing horizontal phase stepper with discovery to delivery milestones

TL;DR

How our process is different.

Most agency engagements run on the "discovery deck → ongoing retainer" model: weeks of strategy work, expensive PowerPoint decks, vague deliverables, monthly invoices that produce more reports than results. Ours doesn't. We use a six-phase build cycle: discovery (week 1), scope (week 2), build (weeks 3-6), train (week 7), standwatch (weeks 8-12), handoff or stay (day 91+). Every phase has explicit deliverables and a written acceptance criteria. Total cycle: ~90 days from kickoff to a working system you can rely on without us. Single-playbook projects collapse this to 14-30 days. Full pillar builds run 60-90 days. Full four-pillar implementations phase across 6-12 months. All committed in writing at scope. No 12-month lock-ins, ever. If our work isn't delivering, you should be able to leave.

Pre-engagement (before you sign).

Step 1, Fit call (15 minutes)

You book a 15-minute call via /contact. Alex personally takes this one. You describe the bottleneck you want solved. Alex asks about your current tools, team, budget range, timeline. End of call you know: (a) whether we're the right firm, (b) rough cost ballpark, (c) what the next step is.

No deck. No pitch. No "let me follow up with a proposal."
Honest answer if we're not a fit. We've recommended competitors more than once.
If we're a fit, we schedule a 30-minute scoping call within 3-5 days.

Step 2, Scoping conversation (30 minutes)

Deeper dive. We map your current process for the bottleneck, list the integrations we'll need, agree on what "success" means in your numbers, and gather access requirements (CRM admin, GBP manager, ad accounts, etc.). At the end, you know what we're going to build and roughly what it costs.

Current process map sketched live
Integration list (CRM, phone, calendar, etc.)
Success metrics agreed in writing during the call (notes shared after)
Budget range confirmed
Timeline expectations set

Step 3, One-page spec

Within 24 hours of the scoping call, you receive a one-page spec. Not a 30-page proposal. A one-page document with:

What gets built (named, not vague)
Cost: setup fee + monthly
Timeline: kickoff date + go-live date
Acceptance criteria at 30, 60, 90 days
What's included vs. add-on
Rollback plan if launch fails
References from similar clients (on request)

You read it. You sign it (DocuSign or PandaDoc, 5 minutes). Or you don't. Either way, no follow-up nags.

Mastodon process-phase detail mobile mockup showing per-phase task list with progress dots and status indicators for client engagements

The engagement (six phases, ~90 days).

Phase 1, Discovery (week 1)

We sit with you (or your team lead) and map the actual current process. Not how you wish it worked, how it works today. Tool inventory. Baseline metrics. The hidden context that doesn't show up in tools.

Deliverable: Process map (Loom + written), tool inventory, baseline metrics, access checklist
Your time: 4-6 hours total this week (one or two working sessions)
Our work: Audit + map + initial integration scoping

Phase 2, Scope (week 2)

Based on discovery, we tighten the spec from the pre-engagement one-pager into a detailed build plan. New integrations or scope changes get caught here, before code is written.

Deliverable: Detailed build plan, integration map, escalation playbook draft
Your time: 1-2 hours review session
Our work: Architecture + build plan + integration spec

Phase 3, Build (weeks 3-6)

The actual construction. We stand up the AI platforms, configure integrations, build the knowledge base, write the workflows. Most of this is us; you're brought in for content review (knowledge base wording, message templates, brand voice samples).

Deliverable: Working system in shadow mode, full integration with your CRM/phone/email, written documentation
Your time: 2-4 hours per week (mostly content review)
Our work: Platform setup, integrations, knowledge base, workflows, shadow-mode testing
What "shadow mode" means: AI sees real production traffic but humans still respond. We compare what AI would have said vs. what humans said, and tune for 5-7 days before cutover.

Phase 4, Train (week 7)

Your team learns the handoffs. When does the AI take a conversation. When does it escalate. What does the team see when escalation happens. What does the customer see. We run one training session, document everything, and have everyone do a supervised dry run.

Deliverable: Team training session (recorded), written SOPs, escalation playbook
Your time: 1-2 hours for affected team members
Our work: Training delivery, SOP writing, handoff documentation

Phase 5, Standwatch (weeks 8-12)

The phase where most agency engagements end. Where ours doesn't. We sit on top of the system for 90 days, tune it weekly, and report results in a monthly dashboard. This is what keeps the system working in production instead of slowly drifting toward uselessness.

Deliverable: Weekly tuning log, monthly dashboard, 90-day outcomes report
Your time: 30 minutes per week weekly review call
Our work: Daily monitoring, weekly tuning, escalation review, anomaly response
What we watch for: False confidence (AI was wrong but acted certain), missed handoffs (should have escalated but didn't), customer feedback on AI interactions, metric movement vs. baseline

Phase 6, Handoff or stay (day 91+)

At day 90, three doors:

Door 1, monthly retainer: We keep optimizing, reporting, and on-call. Most clients pick this for at least 6 months past launch.
Door 2, clean handoff: Full documentation transfer, KB ownership, platform login transfer, one optional 90-min handoff training. You run it from there. No bitter feelings.
Door 3, extend: Add another pillar (sales after customer service, ops after sales, etc.). Most clients who pick this expand to all four pillars within 18 months.

Communication during the engagement.

Shared Slack channel (or Teams if you prefer) for day-to-day async. Most communication lives here.
Email for anything you need a paper trail on (scope changes, contract updates, formal sign-offs).
Loom videos for async walkthroughs and updates. We send 1-3 per week during build, fewer during standwatch.
SMS or phone for anything urgent (within reasonable business hours; we don't call at 2am unless something's on fire).
Weekly 30-min call during the first 90 days. Recorded if you want it. Monthly cadence after that.
Quarterly business review for long-term clients, in-person at our office or yours when in metro.

Who's actually doing the work.

Alex Rocha leads every engagement personally. You'll be working with him directly during discovery and scope, and on weekly standwatch calls. For larger builds, we bring in a project specialist (named at scope) for the build phase. For custom integrations beyond no-code platforms, we bring in our development partners. We don't offshore the work, and there's no faceless account-management layer between you and the people building your system.

Alex Rocha (founder): discovery, scope, weekly calls, escalations, all client-facing strategy. Bio.
Project specialist (per engagement): day-to-day build, integration work, documentation. Named in scope.
Development partners (when needed): custom API integrations, custom UI, non-no-code work. Vetted, US-based.

Mastodon 6-phase methodology flowchart tablet view showing connected phase nodes for transparent client engagement workflow

Reporting cadence (what you actually get).

Weekly (first 90 days)

30-minute call covering: tuning changes, escalations reviewed, anomalies flagged, week-over-week metric movement
Loom recap if you can't make the call live

Monthly (ongoing)

Written dashboard: KPIs vs. baseline, AI auto-resolution rates, conversion funnel, qualified-lead count, revenue attributed where possible
3-paragraph executive summary auto-drafted by AI, our team edits and ships
30-minute review call (optional after the first 90 days, most clients want it)

Quarterly

Business review: directional planning, what to expand next, what to retire, market shifts to watch
In-person for Greater Houston clients, video for elsewhere

What our reports don't include

Vanity metrics (impressions, "engagement" scores, "brand awareness")
Stock-photo charts that don't tie to your numbers
Generic industry benchmarks without context
Recommendations we won't help you execute

What we hold ourselves accountable for.

Acceptance criteria at 30/60/90. Written into every scope. If we miss them, we tell you in the weekly call (we don't bury it in a quarterly report).
Go-live dates. Committed in writing. If we're going to miss by more than 5 business days, you hear about it 14 days out, with the reason.
60-day money-back guarantee on single-playbook setups. If the system doesn't meet its acceptance criteria by day 60, full setup refund. We've never had to honor this; we'd rather you know it's there.
30-day notice to cancel any monthly retainer. No penalty, no awkward break-up call, no pressure to "reconsider."
No 12-month contracts. Ever. The retention math should be earned weekly, not locked.

What we ask of you.

One decision-maker in week 1. Implementations stall when scope decisions need to escalate up an org chart. Pick one person with authority.
4-8 hours per week of internal time during the build phase (discovery + content review + training).
Access to systems we need to integrate (CRM, GBP, ad accounts, phone, calendar). Set up admin or specific-permission accounts for us.
Honesty about what's not working internally (broken processes, team conflicts, tool sprawl). We can work around almost anything if we know about it.
Engagement on the weekly call during the first 90 days. The clients who skip this end up unhappy because they don't know what we're tuning.

Common questions.

How long does an engagement take?: Single playbook: 14-30 days. Single pillar: 60-90 days. Full implementation: 6-12 months phased.
What happens on the first fit call?: 15 min. We ask about bottleneck, stack, budget. Honest answer on fit. No deck.
Do you write a proposal?: One-page spec, not a proposal. What gets built, cost, timeline, acceptance criteria.
How much team time?: Discovery week: 4-6 hours. Build: 2-4 hr/wk. Training: 1-2 hr. Standwatch: 30 min/wk.
What if we want to pause or stop?: 30-day notice. No lock-ins. Pay pro-rata for completed work.
How do you communicate?: Shared Slack, email, Loom, SMS for urgent. Weekly 30-min call first 90 days.
Who's actually doing the work?: Alex Rocha leads. Project specialist for larger builds (named at scope). Development partners for custom integrations.
What happens at day 91?: Three doors: monthly retainer, clean handoff, or extend to next pillar.

Ready to walk through this with us?

15 minutes. No deck. No pressure. Honest answer on fit at the end.

Book a Fit Call→