Build Partners

How external engineering capacity gets engaged when a COE cohort produces validated work that needs production-grade delivery.

Why this matters

A COE cycle can discover a real opportunity, map a workflow, and validate a prototype. But turning a validated prototype into a production system — with real data pipelines, proper integration, monitoring, and operational support — takes engineering capacity the cohort itself doesn't have.

Balsam has internal pod capacity, but it's limited. France has committed a practical path for COE-validated work, but the pods won't absorb every initiative. External build partners close the gap.

How engagements get triggered

A cohort cycle ends with a handoff package. For initiatives that need production engineering, the package contains:

  • The workflow map and the validated prototype.
  • Requirements — what the production system needs to do.
  • Evidence — what the cohort tested, what worked, what didn't.
  • A recommended engagement model (partner, timeline, rough budget).
  • The business case the Operating Council will use to fund the work.

The Operating Council decides whether to fund the engagement. If yes, the COE scopes and manages it.

Partner options

Internal pods (France's team)

Best for work that sits close to Balsam's existing systems and where the build pattern is familiar. France has committed 20% of pod capacity for COE-validated initiatives during the founding period.

Fit: smaller projects, work close to existing Balsam infrastructure, knowledge-transfer projects where the code needs to be maintained internally.

Spatialedge

A South African data and AI engineering firm. 170 people, 10 years operating, 23 PhDs on staff. Strong in data engineering, ML lifecycle, and enterprise AI reliability.

Fit: data engineering problems (pipelines, transformations, master-data management), ML models (forecasting, classification), and enterprise-grade AI systems that need to actually work reliably, not just demo. Goose Group can scope an engagement and manage the partner directly, so Balsam does not need to create a separate vendor relationship.

Pricing reference:

  • Pod engagement: $20–25k per week for a 3–4 person team
  • Typical project length: 6–12 weeks
  • Platform fees (if their data systems product is used): $10–20k/month
  • Ongoing operations (keeping things running): ~$20k/month

A focused Balsam project in their wheelhouse is likely in the $80–150k range, scoped as a project, not a retainer.

Specific Balsam fits based on the sprint findings:

  • PIF-to-retailer format translation (Bob McDonald's team)
  • Reference SKU matching for inventory planning
  • PIF version control and governed production data layer
  • API-level integrations between Figma, CMS, and adjacent systems

Goose Group contractors

Occasional for narrow, short projects where neither pod capacity nor a partner engagement fits. Goose Group brings in a trusted developer or ML engineer for a few weeks. Priced at cost plus a management fee; transparent to Balsam.

Technology vendor direct support

Sometimes the right answer is pulling in a vendor — Snowflake forward-deployed support, Databricks solutions engineering, Anthropic implementation support. Goose Group can organize these conversations. No cost from the vendor beyond what's in existing contracts.

How Goose Group manages partner engagements

When a cohort validates work that needs an external partner:

  1. Scoping. Goose Group writes the engagement brief — what the partner needs to build, how it connects to Balsam systems, what success looks like.
  2. Partner selection. We recommend a partner based on fit. Balsam approves.
  3. Engagement setup. Partner contracts with Goose Group or directly with Balsam, depending on procurement preference.
  4. Delivery oversight. Goose Group stays in the work — sprint reviews, customer check-ins, weekly updates. The cohort's core owners stay in the loop so the knowledge transfers.
  5. Handoff. When the engagement ends, the code and documentation land in Balsam's systems. Any ongoing maintenance goes to internal pods or a separate ongoing arrangement.

Pricing transparency

All partner engagements are transparent to Balsam. No hidden margin, no undisclosed subcontracting, no bill-padding. The partner's rate is the partner's rate. Goose Group's scoping and management work during an engagement is covered by the COE retainer, not by a markup on partner fees.

Where Goose Group brings a subcontractor under its own paper for convenience, the rate is disclosed and Balsam sees what the subcontractor is charging.

When a partner gets engaged

Partner engagement follows the work, not the other way round. A cohort cycle surfaces a validated initiative; the initiative reveals whether the build needs internal pod capacity, a specialist partner, or a technology vendor. The Operating Council approves the engagement and its budget as part of its monthly priority call.

For Cohort 1 (Product Data), the most likely candidates for follow-on build work are PIF-to-retailer translation, reference SKU matching, and PIF version control. All three are data-engineering problems that fit Spatialedge's profile. Whether the right move is Spatialedge, an internal pod, or something else is a call for the Operating Council once the cohort has validated what needs building.