Gordian Data’s engagements take three primary forms:

• Initial Project - 2-4 months, $10-50k
  Before investing the substantial effort to mutually integrate into each other’s operations and corporate consciousness, we think it’s worthwhile to have a “getting to know you” project. These initial projects are meant to be well-scoped and high-impact, so that our clients can get a taste of the quality of the work that Gordian Data can deliver and so that we can make sure that we are well suited to enter into a longer-term relationship with a client.
  
  Sometimes these projects are successful but result in the conclusion that our client no longer requires quantitative services in the short term. In this case, we advise such a client how to forecast future analytical needs and hope they call us back to continue our work.
  
  Because these projects are meant to exist with “no strings attached,” they are not eligible for payment via equity, as outlined below.

• Fractional Chief Data Scientist - 6-18 months, starting at $15k/month
  Salaries for Chief Data Scientists average over $250k per year (source), not including employment taxes, benefits, equity grants, or other compensation. This role is foundational to the success of an early stage company, but such companies face substantial hiring risk since they are in the discovery phase of their problem space. Gordian Data can de-risk establishing a data science or analytics team by exploring early problems, developing and deploying an MVP or GTM strategy, and articulating the specific quantitative skills that will be most meaningful for our clients. We then help our clients hire for their internal quantitative teams, a process which includes transitioning our services to internal data science stakeholders.
  Read more about fractional C-level leadership.

• Retainer Work - ongoing, $5k+/month
  Gordian Data strives to deliver systems that our clients can service independently, but many clients choose to continue to engage us at the termination of our initial work. Reasons vary, but all are rooted in the excellent ROI that our clients enjoy through leveraging our services. These longer-term retainers can take many forms, and the only fundamental requirement is a long-term (6 months or more) commitment to use a minimum amount of our services per month.

We understand the vicissitudes of cash availability for early stage companies and are willing to offer significant discounts on our cash rate to clients who have raised at least $1 million in angel funding in exchange for convertible notes, SAFEs, or preferred shares.

In some cases, we might insist that a portion of our compensation is in the form of common stock or stock options in order to fully align incentives and reward Gordian Data for substantial contributions that can not be adequately remunerated in cash. In this case, we are happy to tie this compensation to performance targets.