D6 Signal
Findings before funding
Most ideas fail on an assumption nobody tested. D6 Signal is a fixed-fee validation engagement that turns an idea into evidence. A tested prototype, a costed build and a straight go or no-go.
01 · The case
Cheap to be wrong early.
A month spent building the wrong thing costs more than the entire validation that would have caught it. Signal front-loads the expensive question — is this worth building at all — and answers it with real users, real constraints and a real number.
01
5 days
from kickoff to a go or no-go you can take to a board, an exco or a backer.
02
$2,500
the entry price — credited in full against a retainer or venture build.
03
0%
obligation. Signal is standalone. No retainer, no lock-in, no commitment to build.
02 · D6 Signal
What you actually get
Signal is not a workshop and it is not a deck. It is a small senior team applying the six disciplines we use to build companies — strategy, design, software, brand, growth and motion — compressed into a fixed scope at a fixed price. Every engagement includes:
- 01
Problem definition
The assumption your idea rests on, written down and stress-tested.
- 02
Market evidence
Real signal from real buyers — not a competitor grid off a search engine.
- 03
Working prototype
Something clickable people can react to honestly, not a static mockup.
- 04
Technical feasibility
What it takes to build, where the risk sits, what it truly costs.
- 05
Commercial model
Pricing, unit economics and the number this has to hit to make sense.
- 06
Go / no-go call
A written recommendation with our full reasoning — including when the answer is no.
- 07
Costed next step
A phased build roadmap with real numbers, ready to fund, stage or shelve.
03 · Pricing
Three ways in. One price up front.
Fixed fee, fixed scope, no hourly billing and no change-order theatre. Every tier is credited in full against a retainer or venture partnership started within 30 days.
$3,500
≈ R67,000 · 5 working days
Is there something here?
- Assumption and opportunity mapping
- Competitive and market scan
- Concept direction with visual reference
- Viability read and indicative build cost
- Documented go / no-go
Best for: pressure-testing an idea before you commit real budget.
Book a Signal$10,500
≈ R170,000 · 3 weeks
Will it actually work?
- Everything in Signal
- Interviews with five or more real buyers
- Clickable prototype for testing
- Technical architecture and integration plan
- Collaborated business case
- Phased, costed build roadmap
Best for: taking a validated case to a board, a backer or an exco.
Book a Sprint$25,000
≈ R400,000 · 6 weeks
Does it work in the real world?
- Everything in Sprint
- Working pilot deployed to a live environment
- Real users, instrumented against success metrics
- Security, data and compliance review
- Evidence pack for investment or board approval
- Production build plan and team shape
Best for: de-risking a funding round or a major internal bet.
Book a ProofAll prices exclude VAT and are quoted in US dollars. South African clients are invoiced in rands at the prevailing rate. Fees are credited in full against a retainer, fixed-scope build or venture partnership started within 60 days of delivery.
04 · Who this is for
Big ideas with one starting point
Signal works wherever the cost of building the wrong thing is high. Whether that cost is a funding round or a financial year.
You have an idea and a deck. What you do not have is evidence an investor will accept. Signal produces the proof that turns a pitch into a term-sheet conversation.
A consistent way to triage the pipeline: the same fixed scope applied to every idea, so decisions rest on comparable evidence.
Startup mindset. Senior team. Built to move fast.
An outside read on whether the new venture stands up on its own commercials, before it inherits the parent's overheads.
The roadmap item nobody can agree on, settled with a prototype and real users instead of another workshop.
A first step that does not require betting the operation. Proof the digital move pays before the capital goes in.
05 · Process
How a Signal runs
One kickoff, one working week, one decision. We work inside your calendar, not around it.
- 01
Day 1 · Frame
We agree the single question worth answering and what evidence would settle it.
- 02
Day 2–3 · Probe
Market, users, technical constraints and cost — investigated in parallel.
- 03
Day 4 · Prototype
We make the idea tangible enough for someone to react to it honestly.
- 04
Day 5 · Decide
A written recommendation, a costed next step and a straight answer.
06 · Where it goes next
Where it goes next
Signal ends with a decision, not a sales call. If the answer is no, you have saved a year and a budget. If it is yes, there are two ways to build with us — a retainer, where you buy our team's time, or a venture partnership, where we take part of the fee in equity and carry some of the risk with you.
07 · After the Signal · Two paths
Retainer, or partnership.
Both start from the same validated plan. The difference is how much of the risk we take with you — and whether we are your supplier or your partner.
- 01
Retainer
A dedicated senior squad across all six disciplines. Monthly fee, priority capacity, scope agreed a quarter at a time. From $12,000 per month.
- 02
Venture partnership
Reduced fee plus equity. We build alongside you as owners, not vendors.
- 03
Fixed-scope build
One defined product, scoped from your roadmap, delivered to a fixed price.
- 04
Embedded team
Our people inside your team, on your tools, for a defined period.
- 05
Advisory only
Senior access without the delivery, for teams building in-house.
- 06
Or nothing at all
A perfectly good outcome. Signal is built to be worth the money even when the answer is do not build it — and you keep every deliverable either way.
08 · Why Department Six
Why Department Six
Six disciplines under one roof — strategy, design, software, brand, growth and motion. That is not a service list, it is the founding team of a company. We use it to build our own ventures, which means we pressure-test your idea the way an owner would, not the way a vendor would.
Stop guessing. Start at $2,500.
A week from now you could have an answer instead of an opinion. Tell us what you are weighing up and we will tell you whether a Signal is the right size for it.
Common questions
Then Signal did its job. You keep every deliverable and you have a documented reason to redeploy the budget. We would rather lose a build than hand you one you will regret.
Yes. Start a retainer, a fixed-scope build or a venture partnership within 60 days of delivery and the full Signal fee comes off the first invoice. OWNER TO CONFIRM.
You do. Every deliverable — research, prototype, architecture and costings — is yours on delivery, whether or not you build with us. OWNER TO CONFIRM.
Because the scope is fixed and the team is small and senior. There is no account layer, no discovery phase billed by the hour and no change-order theatre. OWNER TO CONFIRM.
A kickoff, access to anyone who understands the problem, and a decision-maker available at the end of the week. That is the whole ask. OWNER TO CONFIRM.
Yes. Send yours or use ours, and we will have it signed before the first conversation. OWNER TO CONFIRM.