Independent Research Advisory · Est. 2026

We answer the questions before you write the check.

Dynamic Advisory is an independent research and diligence firm working with founders and operators of life-science, supplement, and wellness brands. Every engagement is fixed-fee, scoped to a specific question, and ends with a written deliverable under NDA.

A note on how we work

We do not take vendor commissions, referral fees, or affiliate arrangements. Our income comes from the firms that hire us and nowhere else.

Most engagements run two to six weeks. Inbound queries from retainer clients are answered within 24 to 48 hours.

Practice areas

Three lines of work, one written deliverable on every engagement.

We organize our practice around the three questions founders most often retain outside counsel to answer. Every project resolves to a fixed-fee scope and a written report you can put in front of a board, an investor, or a partner.

i.

Vendor & Supplier Diligence

Independent review of supplier credentials, quality systems, certificates of analysis, batch traceability, and historical regulatory posture. Output: a red-flag matrix, scored remediation list, and recommendation memo.

ii.

Regulatory Framework Review

A walk-through of applicable federal and state frameworks for your category and your sales channels. Label-claim audit, marketing-language review, and a pre-launch checklist tailored to your structure.

iii.

Strategic Research Advisory

Research-roadmap counsel for founders deciding what to investigate next. Competitive landscape assessment, protocol-design review, and a prioritized agenda of what is worth your time and what is not.

How an engagement runs

Our methodology, end to end.

We have refined a five-step process that keeps engagements predictable for founders and rigorous on our side. You see scope before you see an invoice. You see findings before you see a final report. Nothing surprises you.

  1. 01

    Scoping conversation

    A 30-to-45 minute call, on the record, to understand the question you need answered, the decision it informs, and the timeline you are working against. We come prepared with a one-page brief on what we already know about your category.

    Day 0 · complimentary
  2. 02

    Written proposal

    A two-to-three page proposal: defined scope, named deliverables, fixed fee, and timeline. NDA executed before any work product changes hands. If the scope shifts mid-engagement, we issue a written amendment — never a surprise invoice.

    Day 1–2 · fixed fee
  3. 03

    Diligence window

    We review documentation, conduct supplier interviews where authorized, consult our reference network of formulators and former regulators, and pressure-test claims against primary sources. You receive weekly status updates.

    Week 1–3 · weekly check-ins
  4. 04

    Findings preview

    Before the final report, we share a draft of preliminary findings on a 30-minute call. This is the moment to flag scope gaps, raise objections, or redirect. Most clients use this call to commission a follow-on workstream.

    Final week · verbal review
  5. 05

    Written deliverable & follow-up

    A final written report, formatted for board distribution, delivered with a walkthrough call. Thirty days of follow-up support are included on every engagement — clarifying questions, supplemental memos, and revisions are absorbed into the original fee.

    Final day · 30-day support
Recent notes

A small sample of how we think.

Excerpts from anonymized written notes prepared for clients over the past quarter. Names and identifying details have been removed; the analytical posture has not.

Diligence Memo
Note 04Q1 2026

When a contract manufacturer's CoA history tells you what their reps will not.

The supplier presented a clean current-quarter certificate package. Three quarters earlier, however, the same facility had filed an amendment to a prior batch attribution that no representative referenced in our intake call. The omission is the finding, not the amendment itself…

Regulatory Brief
Note 07Q1 2026

Three label claims a founder should retire before a Series A close.

Two of the three claims are defensible under current substantiation but become reputational liabilities under the heightened scrutiny that a priced round invites. The third claim is not defensible and should have been retired the moment the marketing team adopted it…

Strategic Memo
Note 11Q1 2026

The research roadmap question most founders ask in the wrong order.

Founders default to asking what to investigate next. The more useful question, almost always, is what to stop investigating — which active workstream is consuming senior bandwidth without a clear path to an investor-grade answer?…

The most expensive mistake a founder makes in our category is paying a vendor before they have read what an independent reviewer would have written about that vendor. Our practice exists to compress that gap.

— From the firm's engagement brief
Engagement structure

Scope-priced. Written. Fixed-fee.

Engagements are scoped per question and priced to the work, with a clear ladder from single-item desk reviews up through standing retainer relationships. The exact figure is set in writing during the proposal step and does not move once agreed.

Engagement typeTypical bandWhat you receive
Desk item · single document or question$40 – $250Per-item rate card for narrow tactical work that does not warrant a full engagement letter. Common items: single-document review at $40, fifteen-minute founder consult at $80, one-question written response at $120.
Briefing call & written summary$250 – $750A 60-minute conversation followed by a one-to-three page written summary. Used by founders preparing for an investor meeting, a board update, or a partner conversation. NDA executed before the call.
Research note$750 – $1,500A short-form written note (5–15 pages) on a defined question. Often a regulatory framework summary, a competitive landscape brief, or a label-claim audit. Delivered in one to two weeks.
Diligence engagement$1,500 – $15,000A full diligence cycle on a vendor, a regulatory question, or a strategic decision. Includes scoping, documentation review, reference interviews, draft preview, final written report, and 30 days of follow-up support.
Retainer advisory$3,000 – $25,000 / quarterOngoing relationship for founders who want a standing line to senior counsel. Includes a 24–48 hour response window on inbound questions, a monthly review, and a quarterly written briefing.

Desk items invoice from the published rate card. Engagements invoice fixed-fee against a written engagement letter. No hourly creep. Retainer clients receive 24–48hr response on inbound questions.

How we are different

What we will and will not take on.

Yes — Work we take
  • Founder-direct engagements where the decision-maker sits in the scoping call
  • Diligence on suppliers, contract manufacturers, and category vendors
  • Regulatory framework reviews and label-claim audits
  • Pre-investment and pre-acquisition vendor review for operators and acquirers
  • Strategic-research counsel for founders deciding what to deprioritize
  • Standing retainer relationships for two to four founders per quarter
No — Work we decline
  • ×Vendor placement, broker relationships, or any commission-bearing referral
  • ×Litigation support, expert-witness work, or anything tied to active disputes
  • ×Marketing claim drafting, copywriting, or creative direction
  • ×Engagements where we cannot present findings directly to the founder or board
  • ×Hourly billing arrangements without a defined scope and ceiling
  • ×Engagements that ask us to validate a decision that has already been made

Considering a question worth getting right?

The scoping conversation is complimentary. The proposal is fixed-fee. The deliverable is in writing.

Common questions

What founders ask before the first call.

Who is the firm's typical client?+

Founders and operators of US-based life-science, supplement, and wellness brands — usually post-revenue, usually pre-Series-B, often weighing a vendor decision, a category expansion, or an investor conversation.

Why fixed-fee instead of hourly?+

Hourly billing rewards the slowest answer. Our work product is a written deliverable on a defined question; the right structure prices the question, not the time.

What does an engagement actually cost?+

Most briefing and research-note engagements settle between $250 and $1,500. Most diligence engagements settle between $1,500 and $15,000 depending on supplier count and documentation depth. Retainer relationships are custom-priced quarterly.

How long does a typical engagement take?+

Briefing calls and short-form notes deliver in three to ten business days. Standard diligence engagements run two to four weeks from signed proposal to written report.

Do you take vendor commissions or affiliate arrangements?+

No. Ever. The firm's revenue comes exclusively from the founders and operators that retain us.

Is everything covered by NDA?+

Yes. An NDA is executed before any sensitive material changes hands — typically alongside the written proposal in step two of our methodology.

How are payments structured?+

Briefing calls and short-form notes are invoiced in full on engagement. Larger engagements are invoiced 50% on signed proposal and 50% on delivery. Retainer relationships are invoiced quarterly in advance.

How do I start?+

Send a brief note through the form below. One paragraph describing the situation is sufficient — we will respond within one business day to schedule the complimentary scoping conversation.

Begin an engagement

Tell us about the question.

One paragraph is enough. We respond within one business day to schedule the complimentary scoping conversation.

All inquiries are received under our standard confidentiality posture.
contact@dynamicadvisory.com