Discovery Call - 60 or 90 mins between Dmitri Sunshine and Christian LeFer _ InstantNonprofit Mar 16, 2026

Discovery Call - 60 or 90 mins between Dmitri Sunshine and Christian LeFer | InstantNonprofit

March 16, 2026, 12:00 pm

General Summary

• Flat Revenue Challenge: InstantNonprofit faces stagnant revenue and needs to fix sales funnels for better conversions.
• Urgent Funnel Fixes Required: Critical technical errors hinder sales; fixing them this week is essential for growth.
• Upsell Potential: With 4,000 active clients, untapped upsell opportunities exist, but team capacity limits effective outreach.
• Need for Operational Leadership: Absence of a CTO and strong operational layer restricts project follow-through and system stability.
• Fundraising Goals: Christian aims to raise $1to$2 million; effective sales pipeline critical for managing investor and client leads.
• Data Asset Utilization: Thousands of past customers represent a missed upsell opportunity; data engagement needs enhancement.

Action items

Christian LeFer

• Review investor materials sent and finalize fundraising deck by lunchtime to meet deadlines (11:13)
• Lead project to develop a conversion-optimized sales funnel page and test lead capture with clear performance metrics; determine if PPC partner Brandon will deliver or if internal management is needed (54:00)
• Provide organizational chart and team capacity details for informed planning (28:14)
• Continue outreach to leads for high-ticket sales and equity capital while funnel issues are resolved (37:23)
• Assign Liz to transition off sales calls and onto customer outreach and webinar facilitation when freed up (26:30)

Jacquelyn Long

• Focus on developing strategy and operational materials for high-ticket offers; optimize recurring revenue product ‘Autopilot’ including take rate, retention, cancellation, and pricing improvements (31:14)
• Support and coordinate team efforts in campaign execution while balancing networking and travel schedule (32:00)
• Clarify requirements for operational support role and differentiate marketing versus operational responsibilities (01:23:01)

Dmitri Sunshine

• Prepare and deliver proposal scoped for immediate funnel and website fixes including automated error detection and conversion optimization (01:28:33)
• Conduct security and technical environment review (backups, credential management, SOP compliance) to prevent operational risks (41:30)
• Provide strategic advice on operational improvements, project management practices, and KPI reporting as part of initial engagement (44:20)
• Upon successful initial engagement, prepare proposals for extended operational and strategic partnership services (01:28:33)

Notes

Business Growth and Revenue Challenges

• The core growth challenge for InstantNonprofit is flat revenue with no year-over-year increase and broken sales funnels that inhibit conversions, requiring urgent fixes to unlock growth potential (13:59).
• Christian LeFer highlighted that despite spending six figures on new branding and funnels, the front end remains overcomplicated and non-converting, causing a revenue plateau.
• The sales funnels suffer from frequent JavaScript errors and technical breakdowns that create friction for potential customers, leading to wasted marketing spend and lost sales.
• Fixing these funnel issues this week is the top priority to improve lead conversion and fundraising viability, as it currently restricts growth and investor confidence.
• The business needs to improve its recurring revenue product, Autopilot, by increasing take rates, retention, and reducing cancellations, with an opportunity to raise prices to boost revenue (30:39).
• Jacquelyn Long sees three growth areas: formations via PPC, high ticket offers, and Autopilot improvements.
• The Autopilot product requires system tweaks and enhanced marketing to increase its contribution to stable revenue streams.
• There is significant unrealized upsell potential within the existing customer base of around 4,000 active clients, but the team lacks the capacity and operational support to pursue these opportunities effectively (30:19).
• Christian described having data and ideas ready for outreach and upsells but limited by time and bandwidth.
• The need to free up key team members like Liz from sales calls is critical to enable focus on higher-value activities.

Operational and Technical Infrastructure Needs

• InstantNonprofit lacks a dedicated technical leader or CTO, causing vulnerability around system stability and project follow-through (22:06).
• The current PPC and funnel specialist, Brandon, is new, and there’s uncertainty around his ability and plan to fix the critical funnel issues, with no clear roadmap or milestones communicated (18:27).
• Past reliance on WordPress has led to ongoing plugin/theme conflicts and broken funnels, with suggestions to migrate to Webflow being questioned due to cost and complexity (20:40).
• Christian has created a potential workaround using HTML injection to bypass WordPress limitations and improve conversion pages without full migration (21:35).
• There is no automated monitoring or alert system for funnel errors; current error tracking is manual and reactive (29:08).
• Catherine reviews Microsoft Clarity reports daily but lacks automated notifications for quick response, risking revenue loss during outages.
• Christian emphasized the need for automated testing and monitoring protocols to maintain funnel stability.
• Project and task management is chaotic with many expired and incomplete tasks; the team lacks a strong operational layer to manage workflows and accountability (57:08).
• The founders are currently managing most projects directly, which limits strategic focus and execution speed.
• They are recruiting an EA with project management experience to help drive task completion and maintain sprint discipline.

Fundraising and Investment Strategy

• Christian is actively working to raise between $1millionand$2 million in equity capital but needs help refining the pitch deck and financial model to align with investor expectations (11:13).
• He expressed uncertainty about using SAFE notes versus straight equity and wants expert support to prepare for investor questions.
• Christian is confident he can raise $500,000to$700,000 within 60 to 90 days by leveraging his network, committing about 10-15 hours per week to fundraising (39:03).
• The sales pipeline must function well enough to handle both investor and high-ticket client leads concurrently for effective lead management (16:57).
• Christian plans to generate 20-30 qualified leads on both fronts and work those pipelines actively.
• Having a basic but functional sales pipeline with automation and clear protocols is critical to support fundraising and sales success.
• The current fundraising efforts and operational upgrades are intertwined, with the inability to grow revenue limiting the ability to hire needed operational roles like a COO and marketing lead (33:34).
• This creates a chicken-or-egg problem where revenue growth is needed to fund hires but hiring is needed to accelerate growth.

High-Ticket Offer and Iconic Impact Development

• There is a clear need to build out the high-ticket offer with AI-enabled systems and evergreen solutions but this is a longer-term project that requires strategic planning and operational support (08:28).
• Jackie emphasized that building the backend AI infrastructure and smart customer experience layers should not consume the founders’ time.
• The high-ticket offer strategy involves creating frameworks and processes that Christian and Jackie can sell and deliver while handing off implementation to operational experts.
• The Iconic Impact initiative is a parallel focus with a goal to raise $500,000 through high-ticket sales within 90 days, complementing equity capital raising efforts (36:11).
• Christian is prepared to close several $30,000-$50,000 deals quickly if operational support frees him to focus on sales calls.
• Jackie views Iconic Impact as needing backend process building and project management support to scale effectively, distinct from funnel repairs.
• Both founders recognize the importance of separating strategic roles and delegating execution to free up their time for growth and fundraising activities (10:57).
• They want an AI-forward operational partner who can manage cross-functional projects and optimize processes, not just do basic SOP tweaks.
• The long-term vision includes integrating AI agents for sales and customer management to reduce burnout and increase efficiency.

Team Structure and Capacity Constraints

• InstantNonprofit currently has about eight half-time employees and contractors, with key roles still unfilled including marketing, operations leadership, and sales (28:14).
• Liz, a domain expert, is overloaded with sales calls and needs to be freed up to focus on higher-value customer outreach and product development (26:30).
• The founders are deeply embedded in day-to-day operations and project management, limiting strategic focus.
• The team lacks a middle layer of operational leadership to manage projects, drive accountability, and optimize performance across departments (46:26).
• Jackie described the need for a “head of operations” who can take 80% ownership of projects with 10% input from founders, streamlining execution.
• This role would also improve KPI reporting, automate accountability, and enhance cross-team communication and efficiency.
• Current recruitment efforts for operational support have been challenging, with a recent $8,000 loss on a failed operator engagement (56:37).
• The company is cautious about spending due to past disappointments but is actively hiring an EA with project management skills to improve task follow-through.
• The founders see value in building internal capacity rather than relying heavily on contractors to maintain institutional knowledge.

Systems and Data Architecture Overview

• InstantNonprofit’s customer data flows from Go High Level for front-end lead capture into ActiveCampaign for CRM and customer management after onboarding (12:09).
• The customer portal built on WordPress with BuddyBoss serves as a centralized hub for client deliverables, resources, and progress tracking (13:26).
• There is a significant data asset of thousands of past customers with no ongoing engagement or surveys, representing a missed opportunity for upsells and feedback (14:19).
• Christian has developed advanced data tools including a bot to extract IRS 990 filings and plans for customer surveys and enhanced reporting, but lacks team capacity to implement these initiatives (14:57).
• The technical stack is fragmented but functional, though the front-end funnel pages require urgent fixes to improve conversion and reduce errors.
• The company has strong hosting and backup protocols via WP Engine, mitigating risk of data loss but has room to improve overall security and credential management.
• The ideal initial engagement scope would focus strictly on fixing funnel pages, ensuring error-free conversions, and implementing automated daily testing and monitoring to prevent revenue loss (17:17).
• Christian and Jackie agree this should be a defined, short-term project owned by Christian with operational help to execute and test thoroughly.
• Further strategic projects like high-ticket offer automation and Iconic Impact process building would follow once this foundation is stabilized.