liminal

CASE STUDY · DARK HORSE POLITICAL

A consulting firm, rebuilt so its judgement no longer waits on its paperwork.

CLIENT
Dark Horse Political
WHAT WE BUILT
The site, the operating platform, the AI staff and the founder film
DISCIPLINES
Software · AI · Voice · Film · Web
STATUS
Live at dhpolitical.com
The Dark Horse Political homepage: the firm's name in heavy condensed type beside a portrait of its founder, under the line All signal. No noise.

THE PROBLEM

A firm that sells judgement can only sell as much as its principals can carry.

Every prospect has to be answered, qualified, met, contracted, signed and onboarded. Every campaign needs a plan, a message and a response at two in the morning. In a small senior firm, all of that lands on the same few people, and the business of the business quietly eats the hours meant for the campaigns.

WHAT WE BUILT

One system behind the whole firm, from the first hello to the signed engagement.

  1. 01
    A pipeline that enforces itselfEvery prospect moves through nineteen stages, from new intake to active engagement, and the system only allows the moves that make sense. Contracts, e-signature and onboarding happen inside it.
  2. 02
    An operator agentMARCUS is the chief of staff the principals talk to: what needs me today, draft this, what is late. It can answer out loud, too.
  3. 03
    A studio of AI capabilitiesTen of them, from qualifying a prospect to reviewing a contract. Every output is graded by a second, different AI before a person reads it, and the whole studio runs under a hard monthly spend cap.
  4. 04
    Every door locked by roleEach person sees exactly what their role allows, and anything not explicitly allowed is refused. The owner can view the system as any role to check it.
Chat with MARCUS: the operator asks what needs them today, and MARCUS lists a confirmed call, an unsigned contract with a drafted nudge, and a retainer that landed overnight.
MARCUS. The morning, in three items, with the follow-up already drafted in the principal’s voice.
The pipeline: prospects by office, jurisdiction, cycle and stage, from new intake to active engagement.
The pipeline. Every prospect, where they stand, and what happens next.
The Studio: AI capabilities grouped as new business, race work, message, growth and legal, with this month's spend against its cap.
The Studio. Ten capabilities, and exactly what they have cost this month.

THE FILM

Now you know my name.

A founder film written as political horror colliding with deranged Americana. An operative sprints down a Capitol corridor in the red emergency light. An aerobics class freezes while its instructor bellows a name. Lincoln rides a unicycle. Then the war room, and the man it has all been about.

Two minutes and twenty-one seconds, vertical, with dialogue and score, cut for the phone it will be watched on.

The film. 2:21. Sound on.
A still from the film: the founder in a leopard-lapel bathrobe and pink bunny slippers, watering a dead lawn with a cigar.
“Christopher Gergen?” “That’s the rumor.” A dead lawn, a leopard-lapel robe, bunny slippers.
Motion on the site. Short loops that carry the firm’s story as the visitor scrolls.
And the close. The same art direction from the first frame to the last.
The Dark Horse Political logo: a single waveform crossing a line, above the letters DHP and the firm's name.

All signal. No noise.

191 of 193admin endpoints locked by role, refusing by default
19pipeline stages, with only the sensible moves allowed
10AI capabilities, each checked by a second AI
2:21of founder film, written, cut and scored

Platform screens are shown with fictional prospects and conversations.