The Coders Guild — Strategy Knowledge Graph

Foundation

Root nodes — the things that don't change

Everything derives from these four. If any root changes, every dependent node must be revisited.

Root 1 Mission

Help businesses free up cash flow through AI and automation so they can reinvest it back into the local economy
Holds for both SME and mid-market — expressed personally for SME owners, at supply chain and workforce scale for mid-market
Not a marketing line. The test against which every decision is evaluated.

Root 2 Institutional Position

Crispin led the R&D of the L4 AI and Automation apprenticeship standard — the national definition of what an AI practitioner actually is
No competitor can say this. Multiverse can't. Cambridge Spark can't. Apprentify can't.
TCG's cornered resource — earns the right to define what good looks like, to be selective, and to charge a premium

Root 3 Business Archetype

Premium. Boutique. Maximum 150 learners in this iteration.
Deliberately oversubscribed — the waitlist is a brand signal, not a problem to solve
Not competing on cost. Not pursuing volume. Growth in this iteration is depth of impact per learner.
The goal is to be the provider businesses want to get into, not the one that is always available

Root 4 Products

L4 AI & Automation apprenticeship — government funded, 12–18 months, project-led. The programme the institutional position is built on.
Short courses — employer funded, tiered Foundation / Intermediate / Advanced / Leadership. Standalone or apprenticeship on-ramp.
Future hypothesis: Architect/CPD level — not in scope this iteration. Validate the initial proposition first.
Both products can coexist — a short course can stand alone AND feed the apprenticeship when conditions are right

Derived directly from roots

First-tier nodes

Stable while root nodes hold. Three have active gaps — marked with an amber border. Click any row to open.

ICP

ProductsMissionArchetype

Economic buyer: SME owner/MD or mid-market ops director/CFO
Minimum ~10 people or £500k–£1m turnover — below this, unlikely to have the operational complexity for a direction-led AI programme
Apprentice: must have all three alignments — employer sees business value, individual sees career value, individual will champion the project internally. Any gap predicts a failed engagement.
Short course buyer: same profile, lower commitment, faster decision cycle
Connecting thread: mission alignment — they care about what the financial improvement does for their business and their people

Qualification Criteria

ProductsArchetype

Financial — genuine cash flow pressure, not curiosity about AI
Direction readiness — enough to start; projects emerge through the programme using an agile approach
Organisational — a senior sponsor who will protect the apprentice's time and project scope when operational pressure hits
Cultural — continuous improvement mindset; AI as co-worker, not replacement
Dual hook — all three alignments present. Any gap here predicts a failed engagement.
Mutual qualification — both parties qualify each other. TCG is selective. Employers need to earn their place.

Counter-Positioning

Institutional positionProductsArchetype

Competitors sell training decoupled from real work — standardised cohorts, learning separate from delivery
TCG starts at the outcome: define direction → train people through delivering it → client owns the result and the capability
Competitors cannot replicate this without destroying their unit economics. Their model depends on standardised cohorts.
Also resolves the conversion problem: nobody wakes up wanting training — they want an outcome. TCG meets them there.

Proposition

MissionInstitutional positionProducts

TCG helps businesses find and deliver the AI projects that free up their cash flow — by training the people inside to deliver them
The training and the delivery are the same thing. You own the outcome; your people build the capability by learning to deliver it.
You stay part of a community that backs you long after the programme ends
We led the R&D of the L4 standard — that is why we know what good looks like, and why we are selective
Government funding is a closing tool, not a headline. It enters the sales conversation when qualifying propensity to commit — not in the proposition itself.

Brand

Institutional positionArchetypeMission

Differentiated — not a training company. Encounters with TCG should feel immediately unlike anything else in the market.
Belonging — you join something, not buy something. Employer and apprentice both become part of the TCG community.
Continuity — the relationship does not end at graduation. TCG stays with you.
Advocacy — TCG backs you. Employer (protecting the project) and apprentice (championing their development).
The guild metaphor is load-bearing. A guild is a community of practitioners with shared standards who back each other over time. The name says it.

Operating Model

ProductsArchetype

Gap

CrispinIn placeInstitutional anchor — holds the knowledge and authority that makes TCG credible. Irreplaceable.

Coaches / mentorsIn placeDelivery — work with apprentices through the programme. 15–22 apprentices each.

Account managementGapKeeps employers engaged, protects project scope over 12–18 months. Currently informal. Most critical gap.

RetentionGapKeeps employers and alumni in the ecosystem, drives repeat conversion and progression. Currently unassigned.

Operations (Rob)In placeCompliance, enrolment, admin.

Account management is the most critical gap — without it the brand promise "we back you" is not operational. Also the hardest hire: must hold relationships at MD and CFO level.

Revenue Model

ProductsArchetype

Apprenticeship — ESFA funded; the funding band per apprentice is set externally. TCG controls volume and quality, not the rate.
Levy employers: use pre-committed funds — no new cash outlay for them. Non-levy: 95% government / 5% employer.
Short courses — direct employer payment; TCG controls pricing fully. Premium archetype applies here most directly.
No other revenue streams in this iteration

Budget / Margin

Revenue modelOperating modelProducts

Gap

ESFA sets revenue per apprentice externally — TCG cannot increase the rate
Primary margin lever: cohort fill rate. Partially filled cohorts destroy margin.
Full cohorts at or above minimum threshold: where the unit economics actually work

Needs Crispin's financial data to complete: cost per apprentice, fill rate impact, short course pricing and delivery cost

Distribution

ProductsArchetypeICP

Goal: enough demand to stay oversubscribed — not volume, not everyone
Currently producing leads: 10KSB (Goldman Sachs programme) and webinars
Now converting: Blueberry and Phantom Buster turning CRM contacts into meetings and deals
Not yet at scale: FSB, Chamber, Growth Hub, referrals, speaking and events
Distribution is not the problem — the sales motion is. Leads exist; conversion is the constraint.

Network / Alumni

ArchetypeProductsMission

Gap

Currently: limited emails; LinkedIn alumni group started by Felicity — more to build
What it must become: keep graduates connected to TCG and to each other; generate employer referrals; provide a home for short course and CPD progression
At 150 learners it is manageable and high-quality. Above that it dilutes without active ownership.
Cannot be built without someone owning it — connects directly to the retention gap in the operating model

The brand promise "stays with you" is currently ahead of the operational reality

Locale

ProductsArchetype

Currently Leeds and Yorkshire. Scales demand-led to other UK regions as leads emerge.
Stays England this iteration — international expansion through partnerships, franchising, or licensing
Constraint: depth of relationship and trust is place-based; hard to replicate without local physical presence and network
Defensibility: hard for outsiders to replicate what TCG has built locally

Regulatory / Funding Environment

Products

External constraint — TCG responds, does not drive
Apprenticeship: ESFA-regulated, funding bands set externally, Ofsted inspection of delivery quality, levy mechanics for larger employers
Government policy changes can affect product viability and pricing
Short courses: employer-funded, no ESFA regulation, no Ofsted exposure. TCG controls pricing and curriculum fully.
Short courses carry no regulatory risk — structurally more flexible

Derived from first tier

Second-tier nodes

Depend on first-tier nodes being settled. Where strategy becomes executable. Four have active gaps or urgent issues.

Jobs to Be Done

ICPMission

Economic buyer — primary: find and capture financial value sitting untapped in the business
Economic buyer — secondary: get confidence the solution will actually fit their team, operations, and specific context
Underlying anxiety: being sold something generic that sounds good but does not translate
Apprentice — primary: become genuinely capable and credible in AI, with real work to show for it
Apprentice — secondary: be backed and supported through something that feels hard and new
Underlying anxiety: being set up to fail without proper support
Both: want to feel they have joined something worth being part of, not just been transacted with

Narrative Arc

MissionProposition

Entry point: process improvement — things that are slow, manual, or leaking time and money. Easy to articulate; where most businesses start.
Bigger picture: a business that has genuinely rethought how it operates around AI — when work gets done, how decisions are made, what tools people have
TCG gets them there, starting where the value is clearest and building toward something that changes how the whole business operates
At every step, the people inside the business are the ones doing it — capability that stays
Every touchpoint expresses this same arc — website, webinar, sales call, course content, alumni. Ambient, not sequential.

Sales Motion

PropositionQualification criteriaArchetype

Stage 1 — Find the line of sight: help the prospect connect AI to a specific outcome in their own business. Open on the mission. Follow the thread until there is a direction.
Stage 2 — Make the value visible: reflect back what solving it could mean financially. Get them imagining the outcome before they evaluate the solution.
Stage 3 — Qualify the dual hook: employer business value + individual career value + individual as internal champion. All three must be present or identifiable.
Stage 4 — Introduce TCG and close to a specific next step: not "I will send you some information." A specific next conversation with a specific agenda and a date.

Content / Marketing

Narrative arcArchetypeDistribution

Job 1 — Inspire the outcome: what could you do with freed-up cash? Stories that get business owners imagining the financial benefit before they engage with the how.
Job 2 — Demonstrate the thinking: what rethinking a business around AI looks like in practice. Real examples, real results.
Job 3 — Build credibility: Crispin's voice on what good AI capability is. The person who wrote the standard has a perspective nobody else has.
Job 4 — Create belonging: stories from the community. Apprentices, employers, alumni. People see themselves in others who have been through it.
Strategy: authority-building, not volume lead generation. The content should never feel like it is selling.

KPIs / Incentives

MissionBudget/marginOperating model

Gap

SalesCohort fill rate to minimum/target size — the unit economics lever. Funding band is fixed; margin is almost entirely a function of cohort fullness.

Account managementEmployer satisfaction at key milestones, project health, retention into second cohort or follow-on course. Once role is in place.

Delivery / coachingApprentice progress, project outcome delivery, EPA pass rate.

RetentionRepeat engagement rate, alumni network growth, follow-on course conversion. Once role is in place.

Mission KPICash freed up per project delivered. Requires tracking project outcomes — data collection design decision. Important as accountability mechanism for the mission itself.

Current commission on individual enrolments is wrong — produces sub-optimal fill behaviour. When oversubscribed, sales KPI shifts to qualifying the waitlist, not filling cohorts.

Metrics / Reporting

MissionProductsBudget/margin

Pre-oversubscription: cohort fill rate is the primary metric. Weekly operational reporting on pipeline and fill.
Oversubscribed: fill rate becomes irrelevant. Metrics shift to selection quality, outcome delivery, retention, and mission impact.
Build reporting to track both states so the transition is visible — you know when to change what you measure
Operational cadence: weekly (sales and delivery teams)
Management cadence: monthly (Crispin)
Mission cadence: quarterly — proof that TCG is doing what it exists to do

Retention Proposition

MissionICPProducts

All five drivers are built during the programme, not bolted on at the end
Outcome delivery — if the project delivers the promised cash flow improvement, the employer comes back without needing to be sold to. The proof is the result.
Relationship throughout — account management builds a relationship that makes TCG feel like a long-term partner. Without it this does not happen.
Apprentice advocacy — a genuinely transformed apprentice is TCG's most powerful retention mechanism, pushing for more cohorts and short courses internally
Follow-on courses — tiered progression means TCG always has the next thing employers need
Network of like-minded people — peer community with value independent of TCG itself. Belonging to something, not just buying something.

Process

Operating model

Gap

Compliance layer — ESFA requirements, off-the-job training hours, EPA, Ofsted readiness. Currently in place. Necessary but not sufficient.
Customer success layer — regular employer touchpoints, apprentice support and advocacy, project health checks, early warning on scope erosion, dual hook maintenance over 12–18 months, retention conversations before the programme ends. Currently absent.
Currently: compliance-shaped, not customer-shaped. The process passes inspections but does not build relationships or create the conditions for retention.

Account management and retention roles have nothing to run through even once hired — the customer success process layer must be designed alongside those hires

Talent

Operating modelBudget/margin

CrispinIn placeIrreplaceable institutional knowledge and authority. No hire needed or possible.

Coaches / mentorsIn placePractical AI delivery experience; ability to guide projects in real business contexts. Not classroom trainers.

Account managementGapRelationship skills and business acumen at MD/CFO level. Must feel premium — a client partner, not a project manager. Wrong hire breaks the brand promise. Hardest role to fill.

RetentionGapCommunity building and commercial instinct. Understands what makes people stay in a network; identifies and acts on progression opportunities.

Operations (Rob)In placeCompliance expertise. In place.

Technology

Operating modelBudget/margin

In place: CRM (employer and prospect tracking), Drupal app (learner tracking, being built), PICS (compliance), Slack community (in place but neglected)
Missing: customer success tooling for the account management layer — employer health tracking, touchpoint scheduling, project health monitoring
Missing: community / alumni platform beyond email
Principle: buy before build. Off-the-shelf where a gap can be filled; only build where it cannot.
TCG could be both a user of the Specs platform internally and a live demonstration of what the platform enables for employers — this connection to be worked through separately

How nodes connect

Change one root — these must follow

This is what makes the graph useful as a working tool. Each row shows which downstream nodes are forced to reconsider if the trigger changes.

If this changes	These nodes must be revisited
Products	ICP, qualification criteria, operating model, revenue model, budget/margin, locale — almost every first-tier node
Archetype (e.g. scale beyond 150)	Operating model, revenue model, budget/margin, qualification criteria, locale, distribution — the boutique model and the volume model are fundamentally different businesses
Mission	Proposition, narrative arc, brand, KPIs/incentives, and everything downstream — the mission is the test against which everything is evaluated
Institutional position (e.g. Crispin writes another standard)	Proposition, counter-positioning, brand — the cornered resource is what earns the premium; any change requires repositioning what TCG claims to be
Locale	ICP, distribution, network/alumni, operating model — depth of relationship and trust is place-based; new geographies require new local presence
Regulatory / funding environment	Products, revenue model, ICP — ESFA policy and Ofsted standards shape the apprenticeship product directly; short courses are insulated

Circular dependency: Operating model and budget/margin constrain each other. Design the operating model, check the margin, adjust, repeat. Do not try to resolve this in one pass — it requires iteration.

What's missing

Two tiers of gap — immediate and structural

One needs fixing this week. The other is the work of the next six months. Both are live risks.

Immediate — June 2026

The unit economics are not yet working

With 350+ leads in the pipeline and a June target of 60 learners, the constraint is not leads — it is conversion. The sales team answers product questions to prospects who have not yet seen why they would want the product. Prospects arrive curious about AI and leave uncertain.

Fix the sales motion — lead with line of sight to outcome, not product Q&A

Score the 350-lead pipeline using the Lead Qualification Grid — call greens first, this week

Philip and Crispin join research calls alongside pipeline calls to validate the revised approach before rolling it out

This is the gate. Everything else is secondary until the unit economics work.

Structural — This Iteration

The layer that makes the brand promise real is not built

Three gaps — same root cause. The brand says "we back you" but nobody is operationally doing it during the programme. These become the priority the moment the June conversion problem is solved.

Account management absent — the role that protects cohort quality, employer relationships, and retention

Retention has no owner — the alumni promise cannot compound without someone building and maintaining it

Customer success process missing — no framework for account management and retention to run through even once hired

Not three separate problems — the same problem.