Bighorn already has the inputs that matter — accredited investor lists, conference pipelines, a borrower network, a buy-box, and an operational rhythm. The bottleneck has never been strategy. It's been throughput. A single principal can only call so many investors, underwrite so many deals, and follow up on so many warm leads in a week.
Phase 1 deploys the Ainsworth Group platform against Bighorn's two highest-leverage workflows — Deal Sourcing first, Capital Raising second. The ordering reflects how Bighorn's business actually runs today: the deal pipeline is producing now, so we instrument against existing volume immediately. The capital raise is the growth motion built on top of that foundation.
Finds, underwrites, and buy-box-matches off-market acquisitions. Distress signals, ownership chains, comp pulls, and skip tracing run automatically against Bighorn's existing deal flow. Deals enter the queue ranked, not raw — from day one of production.
Turns lists, conference rosters, and the existing CRM into qualified investor meetings on the IR team's calendar. Three agent modes — qualification, re-engagement, referral — running on a 24/7 cadence with perfect follow-up.
The two workflows share a platform layer (Recon's intelligence APIs, dashboards, observability) and a third operator running underneath both — the Daily Brief, already in production for Casey, Ashley, and the team. Confirmations the night before, auto-reschedule with three options if unconfirmed thirty minutes prior, 7am briefing every morning. Bighorn has been running it since Q1 2026 — that's the same operational reliability Workflows 1 and 2 are built to. The platform isn't theoretical. The team is already a user.
Workflow 1 sources and underwrites deals → closed deals create distribution events and track record → Workflow 2 turns those events into investor meetings → committed capital funds the next wave of deals → the loop tightens. Capital and deal flow stop being separate workstreams.
Phase 1 launches both workflows in sequence. Workflow 1 — Deal Sourcing — goes live first, instrumented against Bighorn's existing deal pipeline so the team sees production output before the second workflow even kicks off. Workflow 2 — Capital Raising — follows once Workflow 1 is producing, with its own focused launch and proof window.
Workflow 1 pairs Recon (underwriting + intelligence) with Scout (lead surfacing) against Bighorn's buy-box. Three coordinated steps turn raw property inventory into deal-ready submissions — ranked, enriched, and pre-qualified before anyone on the team spends a minute on them.
Scout monitors distress signals, ownership transitions, and off-market indicators across Bighorn's target geographies — automatically. New inventory enters the queue with a complete intelligence packet attached, not a raw address.
Recon enriches every property with the inputs Bighorn's underwriting actually uses — comps, ARV, rehab signal, neighborhood velocity, and exit-strategy fit. The output is an underwriting brief, not a property card. The team reviews recommendations, not raw data.
Bighorn doesn't run one buy-box — it runs several, segmented by capital source, geography, and exit. Scout's matching layer routes each enriched property to the right desk: in-house acquisition, lender pipeline, wholesale opportunity, or referral partner. Nothing sits in a generic queue.
Workflow 2 pairs Envoy (voice + outreach) with Scout (lead intelligence) and runs three agent modes against Bighorn's investor universe. Each mode handles a different phase of the raise cycle. Together they create a closed loop where every prospect, past investor, and warm referral gets worked systematically.
Upload any list — NAPE attendees, SquadUp roster, LinkedIn exports, purchased leads. Envoy calls each prospect, confirms accreditation, gauges deployment intent and timing, and books qualified meetings on the Investor Relations team's calendar — only for accredited investors with a real intent to deploy capital. Cold names that don't qualify never reach IR.
Past investors who said "not right now" are the warmest leads in any pipeline. Envoy calls them with fund updates, new deal highlights, and distribution performance — giving them a reason to re-commit without a sales push.
After a successful investment — or even after a good conversation — Envoy follows up asking for introductions. Warm referrals convert at 5–10× the rate of cold leads. This mode mines them systematically without requiring Casey to make the ask.
A single live console — not a monthly report. Pipeline health, agent performance, deal queue, raise progress, and operator anomalies, all in one place. Observational AI runs in the background flagging drift, missed handoffs, and conversion-rate changes before they become this week's problem.
Production cadence. Workflow 1 launches first. Bighorn's deal pipeline is producing today, so Workflow 1 instruments against existing volume from the moment it goes live — Recon, Scout, and the buy-box matching layer working against real properties, real owners, real comps. Workflow 2 follows once Workflow 1 is producing and the IR team is ready to absorb qualified investor meetings. The team sees real deal queue output before any capital-raise commitment is asked of them.
The first 30 days post-launch for each engine are calibration — operators tuning to Bighorn's voice, buy-box, and investor language against real activity. The proof window opens once both engines are live and instrumented. Phase 2 conversations begin only after that window produces.
Phase 1 operates on uploaded lists, exported rosters, and the platform's native pipeline view. Direct integration with Bighorn's existing CRM is optional and not included in this scope — it adds material engineering surface and is best handled as a separate engagement once Phase 1 is producing.
That said, here's what a CRM integration would unlock when Bighorn wants it: every Envoy call writes back to the contact record automatically, every Recon enrichment populates the property record, lead status changes flow bidirectionally, and the IR team works inside the CRM they already use rather than a parallel console. Estimated separately as a follow-on build when Phase 1 is producing and the CRM target is selected.
Both workflows produce measurable output. Workflow 1 ranks deals and surfaces buyers. Workflow 2 books qualified investor meetings. Below are the conservative, base, and upside scenarios for each — modeled on volume Bighorn already has the inputs to support.
Modeled against the existing Revive Method acquisition motion plus the buyer match layer. Conservative assumes Recon's enrichment doubles the team's review throughput. Upside assumes both throughput gains and buy-box matching surfaces deals the team would otherwise miss.
| Metric | Conservative | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Properties enriched / month | 200 | 500 | 1,000 |
| Buy-box matched deals / month | 15 | 40 | 80 |
| Submission-ready deals / month | 5 | 12 | 25 |
| Incremental closed acquisitions / quarter | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Avg net acquisition profit (flip or hold) | $35K | $45K | $55K |
| Annual incremental P&L contribution | $280K | $900K | $2.2M |
Modeled against Bighorn's existing investor lists, conference rosters, and CRM contacts. Skip tracing converts name-only lists (NAPE, SquadUp net-new) into callable pipeline. Conservative assumes the IR team handles 250 outbound calls a month at modest qualification rates. Upside assumes the platform absorbs 1,000+ monthly calls with strong list quality.
| Metric | Conservative | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prospects called / month | 250 | 500 | 1,000 |
| Qualified leads / month | 25 | 75 | 150 |
| Meetings booked with IR / month | 8 | 25 | 50 |
| Investors committed / month | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Avg check size | $25K | $50K | $100K |
| Annualized capital raised | $600K | $3.0M | $12.0M |
One junior capital raiser: $60K–$80K salary plus benefits, 3–6 month ramp, 30–50 calls per day at peak. One acquisition analyst: $70K–$95K loaded, sources and underwrites manually, capacity ceiling around 30 enriched properties per week.
Workflow 2 makes 500+ calls in its first month. Workflow 1 enriches 500+ properties in its first month. Neither workflow takes a sick day, neither workflow forgets a follow-up, and neither workflow has a ramp period beyond the first 30-day calibration.
Phase 1 is a multi-agent agentic system with voice, telephony, skip tracing, real-time underwriting intelligence, and 506(c)-aware investor workflow — built for a regulated financial services context. Below are Q1 2026 published benchmarks for comparable scope.
Average mid-market investment for a custom-built AI agent system in 2026 falls between $45K and $120K. Integrated agentic systems with multi-agent orchestration: $50K–$150K. Monthly retainers: $2,500–$15,000.
For a production agent serving real users: $3,200–$13,000 per month covering LLM API costs, infrastructure, monitoring, monthly tuning, and security maintenance. Integration engineering and QA/safety testing alone account for 40–60% of total build cost.
Multi-step reasoning agents with tool integration: $20K–$80K. Full multi-agent systems with custom RAG pipelines, enterprise integrations, and safety evaluations: $100K–$500K+. Maintenance budgeted at 15–20% of build cost annually.
Most SMEs invest $30K–$100K upfront for a custom agent tailored to their workflows. Enterprise deployments with custom training and dedicated support: 10–50× more than basic SaaS subscriptions. Hidden integration costs: 20–40% on top of platform fee.
Bighorn's scope sits squarely in the upper-mid agentic range. Two distinct workflows sharing a platform layer. Voice + telephony + skip tracing + real-time intelligence APIs + 506(c) compliance handling. Equivalent agency-built scope at Q1 2026 market rates would land at $100K–$200K for the build and $8K–$13K per month for managed operations.
Sources: Agix Technologies (Q1 2026), Azilen Technologies (Q1 2026), Groovy Web (Feb 2026), The Crunch (Q1 2026). Benchmarks reflect U.S. agency rates for comparable agentic AI scope. Anchor partner pricing reflects early commitment, co-development access, and named reference rights — documented in the next section.
No tier matrix, no usage credits, no line-item add-ons. The Phase 1 commitment is a one-time deployment fee, a monthly retainer covering both workflows and all managed operations, and a performance share that activates only on capital raised through Workflow 2.
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Deployment Fee
One-time. Covers all build work for Workflow 1 and Workflow 2 — Recon's underwriting layer, Scout's matching logic, Envoy voice + telephony stack, dashboards, observability, integration QA, and team onboarding.
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$35,000
Invoiced at kickoff
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Monthly Retainer
Covers Ainsworth Group's time and managed operations across both workflows — platform infrastructure, prompt tuning, model upgrades, dashboards, observational AI, daily uptime monitoring, weekly performance review, monthly model refresh, and on-demand support. Hosting, LLM inference, voice and telephony, enrichment APIs, and skip-tracing flow direct to Bighorn at cost. No markup, no agency margin on usage. These pass-through costs vary by client based on actual usage — Bighorn's call volume, enrichment volume, and inference load determine the run rate. They must remain funded for the platform to operate and for Ainsworth Group to maintain daily access for build, maintenance, and support.
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$5,500/mo
Begins at Workflow 1 production launch
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Capital Raise Performance Share
Activates only when Workflow 2 (Capital Raising) goes live and only on attributable raised dollars — capital committed by investors who came through the Envoy + Scout outreach pipeline. No raise = no fee. Less than half the rate a placement agent or broker-dealer would charge for the same service.
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3%
On attributable raise · Workflow 2 only
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Bighorn's existing CRM has 749 contacts who attended SquadUp 2026. If Workflow 2 calls those contacts during the first 90 days of production and reactivates four with average commitments of $50K each, the math runs:
4 commits × $50K = $200K raised · performance share = $6,000
Same logic scales. If the platform sources $3M from the broader pipeline (NAPE Tier 1, SquadUp net-new, mailing list, referral mining) over 12 months, performance share is $90K against $3M of new AUM. Casey writes that check only after the capital is committed.
Deployment ($35K) + retainer ($5,500 × 12 = $66K) = $101K of fixed cost in Year 1, deductible as an ordinary business expense. The performance share is paid only on dollars actually raised — at the base scenario ($3M raised through Workflow 2), that's an additional $90K paid against $3M of incremental AUM the platform sourced.
If Workflow 2 raises zero dollars, total Year 1 cost is $101K against the deal-flow output of Workflow 1 alone — which produces $280K–$2.2M in incremental P&L per the prior section. Workflow 1 carries the Year 1 economics independent of any capital raise outcome.
Pass-through costs are separate. Hosting, voice, telephony, LLM inference, and enrichment API usage are billed direct to Bighorn at cost — variable based on actual call volume, enrichment volume, and inference load. Run rate becomes predictable after the first 30 days of production usage data; until then, it scales with how aggressively Bighorn pushes the platform.
Tax treatment. Technology platforms and contract services are standard IRC §162 ordinary and necessary business expenses. Bighorn's CPA will classify the deployment fee (amortize or expense) and monthly retainers (straightforward operating expense) appropriately. The performance share, when paid, is a deductible business expense in the period it's incurred.
Three things are scoped separately, by design, so this proposal stays clean:
Anchor partner status reflects more than early adoption. Casey participates in the platform not only as an operator, but as a force multiplier — shaping product direction, activating distribution, and sharing directly in the upside created through his network.
The deployment fee, monthly retainer, and 3% performance share are locked for 18 months from production launch. Retail pricing may evolve; Bighorn’s terms remain fixed during this window. Any adjustments thereafter are mutually negotiated.
Bighorn’s voice, buy-box criteria, investor language, and operational rhythm directly shape how the platform behaves. Feature priorities surfaced through real usage — underwriting enhancements, sourcing inputs, IR workflows — move to the front of the roadmap when aligned with platform direction.
Casey is not just a customer — he is a distribution node in the system. Through his investor base, masterminds, and industry relationships, he contributes directly to platform growth and participates in the upside created through that distribution.
The anchor pricing itself represents structural upside. Casey operates below market cost while participating in new revenue created through the platform — aligning incentives on both sides of the relationship.
Bighorn may use the platform publicly at any time across marketing, investor materials, and presentations. Ainsworth Group will not reference Bighorn externally without explicit written approval — all references are opt-in.
No support tiers or ticketing queues. Casey and team have direct access for workflow changes, priority issues, and ongoing iteration. Weekly sync available as needed.
Both parties acknowledge the potential for a deeper long-term relationship — including expanded distribution participation, co-branded initiatives, or broader economic alignment. Any such structure will be defined separately based on demonstrated performance and mutual alignment.
This structure keeps Phase 1 clean and executable while establishing a clear path for deeper alignment as real performance data accumulates.
No procurement loop, no scope-of-work back-and-forth, no ramp period before signature. Phase 1 moves on a defined timeline from the moment the deployment fee clears.
Phase 1 is a 90-day engagement on the customer side and a six-week build on the Ainsworth Group side. If after the proof window Bighorn decides not to continue — Workflow 1 underperforms, Workflow 2 doesn't produce attributable raises, the operational fit isn't there — there's no auto-renewal, no termination penalty, no contract roll-forward. The retainer ends; Casey keeps the platform's outputs to date; the relationship continues as Ainsworth Group's needs and Bighorn's needs allow.