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Launch Playbook
7. Operational Infrastructure

Operational Infrastructure: Configuring the Tech Stack

Rationale for Prioritization:

Before a single participant is onboarded or a consultant assigned, the digital environment must be rigorously configured. In a remote-first, high-volume TA program, "Situational Awareness" is not achieved by walking around an office; it is achieved through the correct configuration of data signals. If the infrastructure is flawed, the Team Lead is blind. The "Situational Awareness" required to manage 50+ concurrent engagements cannot rely on memory; it must rely on automated alerts and structured data visualization.

This module details the specific configuration requirements for ClickUp (Project Management), Nutshell (CRM), and Harvest (Financial Compliance) to support the workflows of Team Leads in Modules 8 and Participant Management in Module 9.

7.1 The "Single Source of Truth" Architecture

The operational integrity of Launch Industries relies on the synchronization of three core platforms. We do not tolerate "shadow systems" (e.g., side spreadsheets, personal notes). If data does not exist in one of these three systems, it does not exist for the purpose of contract compliance. This "Triad of Truth" ensures that the qualitative journey of the participant is inextricably linked to the quantitative expenditure of contract funds.

The Triad of Truth:

  • Nutshell (CRM): The "Who." It holds the truth about the Participant’s identity, status, and journey stage. It acts as the system of record for eligibility and relationship history.
  • ClickUp (Project Management): The "What." It holds the truth about tasks, deliverables, and the actual work being performed. It serves as the evidence repository for the "work performed."
  • Harvest (Time & Budget): The "When” and the “How Much." It holds the truth about effort expended, burn rates, and financial compliance. It is the primary interface for "Time and Effort" reporting required by 2 CFR 200.430.

7.1.1 Integration Protocols

To reduce data entry fatigue and transcription errors, specific integrations must be active. Manual entry is the enemy of data integrity; automation ensures that the "digital thread" remains unbroken between systems.

Automation Bridges

This is an example from the CORE Sacramento TA Program. This example will be used throughout.

  1. When an individual submits a CORE Verification Application (opens in a new tab), a Jotform automation triggers four automations.
  1. When a Program Registrant submits a CORE Technical Assistance Program Registration Form (opens in a new tab) to receive services, a Jotform automation triggers four automations.
  • Harvest x ClickUp: The Harvest time-tracking extension must be enabled within ClickUp. This allows consultants to track time directly against specific deliverables without switching software programs. This is not merely for convenience; it ensures the audit trail links specific hours to specific outputs, a requirement for substantiating "reasonable costs" under federal guidelines.
  • Nutshell x Email: All consultant email correspondence must sync to Nutshell. This provides a timestamped record of communication that is essential for proving "good faith effort" in cases where a participant is unresponsive or non-compliant. Emails will sync when a team member CCs “core@launchmycannabiz.com”, since this email address is programmed to sync to Nutshell.
  • **Fathom x Nutshell:** Fathom is a free software that attaches to a consultant’s Zoom account and joins meetings automatically when properly configured. Consultants should therefore add <core@launchmycannabiz.com> to all meetings. Then, after the meeting, when the notes are sent out, because <core@launchmycannabiz.com> has been invited to the meeting, a copy of the email will automatically be posted to Nutshell, which contains the meeting summary and recording. No further action is required by the Consultant in these circumstances.

7.2 Nutshell CRM: Configuring for "Total Situational Awareness"

Nutshell is the central nervous system for Participant Lifecycle management. It is not just a rolodex; it is an automated engine that ensures visibility of activities occurring on Participant accounts. The configuration of pipelines and automations in Nutshell determines the Team Lead's ability to visualize the flow of participants through the program.

7.2.1 Pipeline Architecture

The "CORE Sacramento" pipeline must be configured with specific stages that mirror the participant journey. These are hard-coded gates that control the flow of work.

Stage 1: No Contact Made

  • This is the default stage and all eligible CORE Businesses were pre-loaded into this stage when the program started.
  • The additional ~400 CORE-verified individuals were not added due to sheer volume of eligible participants. If a CORE-verified individual is considering the TA program, they should be manually added to the CORE Sacramento Pipeline.

Stage 2: Outreach Complete

  • Once we have made contact with the individual, the Lead should be moved to this category.

Stage 3: Informal Chat Complete

  • If an informal chat has occurred with an eligible CORE-verified participant, they should be moved to this stage in the pipeline.

Stage 4: Registration Form Received

  • Once a person has filled out a registration form (application), this is the end of the Pipeline. The Lead can now be “marked” as “Won!” and attention can be turned to management of the Participant in ClickUp.

7.2.2 The "Stale Lead" Protocol

A primary failure point in TA programs is the "silent drift," where a participant stops engaging, and the Community Outreach team stops reaching out. Unfortunately, we do not have any automations currently set up to detect this drift, thus the Team Lead must manually check on this Pipeline weekly. A task is on the Team Lead’s Weekly Checklist in ClickUp to do this.

Steps to take:

  1. The Team Lead runs a report in Harvest for “Community Outreach” to see what new activity has taken place.
  2. If no activity has occurred, the Team Lead assigns a member of the Team to reach out to the individuals in the Nutshell Pipeline. Our programmatic goal is to reach out approximately every 14 days until the Lead asks us to stop.

Why this matters: This ensures that no Lead goes two weeks without a documented interaction. It forces the Team to either log activity (resetting the clock); if the engagement has stalled, the Team Lead can intervene before the relationship completely severs.

7.3 ClickUp: The Execution Environment

ClickUp is where the goals of each participant are converted into concrete tasks. The hierarchy must be rigid to allow for "Roll-up Reporting" across the entire portfolio. A disorganized ClickUp workspace leads to lost deliverables and an inability to prove "scope completion" during an audit.

7.3.1 Hierarchy Standards

Launch Industries utilizes a specific ClickUp Hierarchy to manage TA programs effectively. This structure allows for permission fencing (keeping client data secure) while enabling aggregate reporting. Here is an example.

  • Space: "TA CORE Sacramento" [Program Name]
  • Settings: Public to all management. This Space serves as the container for all contract-funded activity.
  • Folder: "CORE Program Participants”
  • Purpose: Groups all participants in a specific funding tranche. This allows the Finance team to archive an entire "Cohort" of Participants once the contract period expires. It also allows the sharing of a complete group of participants to be provided to the Project Managers so they can access the tasks of all clients and fluidly move from project-to-project.
  • Settings: Public to all TA Project Managers and Consultants.
  • List: "Last Name, First Name - Business Name", or simply “Business Name”
  • Rationale: Every participant gets their own List. This allows for granular task management without cluttering a master view. It also allows us to share a specific List with a client (via Guest access) without exposing other clients' data.
  • Task: Specific Deliverables (e.g., "Draft Cash Flow Forecast," "Configure POS System").
  • Inactionable Task Warning: Do not use vague task names like "Consulting" or "Meeting." Tasks should describe what specific action needs to occur (“Meet with Slayman to create Project Goals”), or noun-verb pairs describing an output or outcome (i.e. "Draft Forecast"). If a task is vague it must be because the sub-tasks provide all the detail (i.e. Meet with Slayman with subtasks like “Create Project Goals”, “Discuss Project Resources, etc.” This specificity is required for audit defense.

7.3.2 The TA Program "Dashboard" View (ClickUp)

The Team Lead and Program Manager require a "Dashboard View" to monitor the health of 50+ simultaneous engagements. This is achieved via a custom Dashboard in ClickUp, which aggregates data from all the individual Lists.

Required Widgets:

  1. AI Summary

  2. Total Tasks

    • Unassigned
    • In-Progress
    • Completed
    • Workload by Status
    • Tasks Completed this Week

  3. Open Tasks by Assignee (Bar Chart):

  • X-Axis: Consultant Name.
  • Y-Axis: Number of Open Tasks.
  • Insight: Identifies who is hoarding tasks and who has capacity. If one consultant has 40 open tasks and another has 5, the Team Lead knows where to assign the next incoming case.
  1. Tasks Due this Week or Overdue (List View):
  • Filter: Due Date is "This Week” or “Due Date” is “Overdue”
  • Grouping: Group by Assignee.
  • Insight: An early warning system for consultant disengagement. A growing pile of overdue tasks often precedes a resignation or "ghosting" event.
  1. Stagnant Projects (List View):
  • Filter: "Date Updated" is > 14 Days Ago.
  • Insight: Highlights participants who are being ignored.

  1. Discussion

    • This card allows you to submit chats right on it that will be seen by folks in the space’s chat group.

  2. Latest Activity

    • This card shows recent activity on the board.

7.3.3 Template Management

To ensure standardization, ClickUp users can maintain templates that ensure steps are completed uniformly without dropping anything out. For example, one common template used is “New CORE Participant Onboarding” which contains the standard onboarding tasks (e.g., "Add to Harvest," "Verify Eligibility," etc.) and standard subtasks for common deliverables. When a new participant is onboarded, this template is applied to their list, ensuring no administrative steps are missed. This reduces the cognitive load on consultants, allowing them to focus on high-value advisory work rather than administrative setup.

7.3.4: Needs Assessment (The Diagnostic)

  • Goal: Identify the root cause of business distress.
  • Gatekeeper Requirement: The "Business Health Check" file must be attached to the lead before moving to the next stage. This enforcement mechanism ensures that no consultant skips the diagnostic phase.

7.4 Harvest: Financial Compliance & Budget Caps

In contract-funded programs, "Budget" does not usually mean money collected from the client; it means "Hours Allocated" by the contract maker. Harvest is the enforcement mechanism for these caps. Proper configuration here prevents the "Double Billing" risk and ensures compliance with 2 CFR 200 time-tracking mandates.

7.4.1 Project Configuration for Contracts

When setting up a new Participant Project in Harvest, the following settings are mandatory to prevent over-servicing (giving too many hours to one client) or under-servicing (failing to utilize contract funds).

  • Client Name: The Funding Agency (e.g., "City of Seattle"). Note: We do not list the Participant as the "Client" in Harvest, as they are not paying the bill. The Participant is the Project.]
  • Project Name: "[Last Name, First Name - Business Name]” or simply [Business Name]
  • Project Code: The Contract Number (essential for invoicing for certain contracts)
  • Budget Method: "Total Project Hours."
  • Operational Directive: Do not use Fee-based budgets for TA programs unless specified by the contract. Hourly budgets provide clearer visibility into "remaining capacity" for the consultants.
  • Budget Amount: Enter the capped hours (e.g., 15 Hours). This hard cap is the primary financial control.

7.4.2 The "80% Alert" Protocol

To prevent awkward conversations where a consultant works for free because they didn't notice the budget ran out, automatic alerts must be configured.

Step-by-Step Configuration:

  • In the Project Settings, locate the "Permissions" section.
  • Check "Show budget to all people on this project." (Consultants must see their remaining hours to self-manage).
  • In the "Budget" section, check "Send email alerts if the project exceeds% of budget."
  • Set the threshold to 80%.
  • Why 80%? This provides a "buffer zone" of 2 hours (on a 10-hour contract) or 10 hours (on a 50-hour contract) to begin the "Wrap-Up" phase. If the alert triggers at 100%, it is too late to manage the exit gracefully, leading to abrupt service termination or unbillable overages.

7.4.3 Capacity & Workload Reporting

The Team Lead must utilize Harvest’s "Team Capacity" view during the Friday Audit. This view visualizes which consultants are approaching their weekly maximums (to prevent burnout) and which are underutilized (indicating a need for more caseload).

  • Blue Bar: Tracked time is within capacity.
  • Red Bar: Consultant is over capacity/burnout risk.
  • White Bar: Unused capacity.

Protocol: If a consultant shows greater than 20% utilization for two consecutive weeks, the Team Lead must initiate a "Caseload Review" meeting. Conversely, if a consultant is consistently in the red, rebalancing is required to prevent quality degradation.

6. Project Closure & Account Growth8. Leadership, Caseloads, Reliability