Workstream
The company already has a credible parent-brand lineage and a live launch expression, but the product name, endorsed-brand stance, and company identity are not fully locked. That makes this one of the founder-decision-heavy blockers between internal momentum and broader market activation.
Why this matters
Brand posture here is not cosmetic. It determines whether the new business unit feels like a serious venture with backing, or like an internal experiment that has not been fully stood up.
Because the product is emerging from Empathy Research inside the <un>known umbrella, the launch has to communicate both heritage and separation without confusing who the buyer is actually engaging with.
Current state
The repo is strong on narrative identity. <un>known is defined, the endorsed-brand rules exist, and the website work already applies a coherent platform naming system across <un>peel, Research Architect, Research Guard, Trust Centre, and Insight Navigator.
What remains open is more fundamental than polish: <un>peel is still explicitly a working placeholder, the endorsed-brand line is not fully settled, and the company-operating layer is incomplete. No final BU legal/entity pack or contract-facing company profile exists yet.
Checklist
Foundation
The minimum decisions and assets needed so the launch story is coherent rather than aspirational.
Choose the exact parent-brand reference used on the reporting site, website, and first sales assets.
Private preview
The hardening work required for founder sharing, pilot conversations, and limited buyer-facing use.
Create the minimum company-facing scaffolding: legal entity wording, contracting identity, company bio, and procurement-safe footer copy.
Early selling beta
The repeatable selling and operating layer needed to move beyond one-off founder conversations.
The product and tool naming system is coherent, but the parent/product name itself is still explicitly provisional.
What exists
The repo already explains what <un>known is, why the <un> device exists, and why this product naturally sits inside that lineage rather than appearing out of nowhere.
Naming has been treated as a commercial system, not just a creative exercise. The repo covers Research Architect, Research Guard, trademark distance, and why stronger SKU names matter more than generic assistant labels.
The website project overview and decision register already capture how the spinout is currently being represented publicly, including the placeholder <un>peel name, platform taxonomy, and still-open founder decisions.
What is missing
Open strategic questions
Decisions to be made
Appendix briefs
Source evidence