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Begin with a brief. We will respond with a serious read.

Asta engages selectively. The fastest path in is the structured brief on the right. We respond with a written read on shape, scope, and likely fit, usually inside one business day. If the fit is plausible, the next step is a thirty-minute unbilled conversation with the senior principal who would own the engagement.

What to expect

How an inquiry becomes an engagement.

Asta engages selectively. The brief is the front door, and the path from brief to engagement letter is short, named, and direct.

i. The written read.

Within one business day of your brief, a senior principal sends a written response with our read on the shape of the work, the likely scope, and whether the fit is plausible. If it is not, we say so directly and, where useful, point to a firm that fits better.

ii. The thirty-minute conversation.

If the fit is plausible, we follow up with an unbilled thirty-minute call with the senior principal who would own the engagement. The objective is mutual: confirm whether Asta is the right firm for the work, and give you a useful read on the next ninety days regardless of outcome.

iii. The engagement letter.

If we proceed, we send a one-page engagement letter that names the fee, the scope, the deliverable, and the start date. Mobilization is typically inside seven to ten days of signature.

Direct

Email

info@asta1.us

All inquiries route to senior principals directly. Calendar booking is by invitation, not self-serve. We hold our calendars for engagements that are already qualified.

The brief

Send a brief.

A short, structured brief that lets us understand the work before we speak. We respond with a written read on shape, scope, and likely fit, usually inside one business day.

By sending a brief you agree we may contact you about the inquiry. We do not sell or transfer contact details. Briefs are read only by Asta's senior principals and any affiliate brought into the engagement, under confidentiality. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Frequently asked

The questions buyers ask before engaging.

Honest answers below. Longer answers in the conversation. The questions are grouped: pricing and timing first, then scope and posture, then the regulatory and operating frame.

Pricing and timing

What does an engagement cost?

Project work is fixed-fee, typical range from a few thousand U.S. dollars for a focused deliverable to multiples of that for an investor-grade pitch with model and diligence. Retainer and fractional-executive engagements are quoted monthly, with rates that reflect senior-only delivery rather than blended team-leverage pricing. AI Transformation engagements have a clear baseline (the diagnostic and design phases) plus an outcome-based component where appropriate (the implementation phase, scoped against named success metrics). Every engagement letter names the fee, the scope, and the deliverable up front. There are no hourly billing surprises and no end-of-month reconciliations against a moving timesheet.

How fast can you start?

For most engagements, within seven to ten days of a signed engagement letter. For AI Transformation diagnostics, the first one-week sprint can begin inside a calendar week. M&A and Re-Startup engagements have longer mobilization windows by nature, but never longer than three weeks from signed letter. The mobilization time covers principal calendar alignment, any necessary affiliate engagement, and the data-gathering required before the first working session.

How long does an engagement run?

Engagement length depends on the scope. Strategy and Planning engagements typically run four to ten weeks. Fundraising and Capital engagements run six to fourteen weeks depending on stage. Mergers and Acquisitions engagements run six to eighteen months including the integration phase. Re-Startup engagements run six to eighteen months across assessment, redesign, alignment, and execution. Fractional Executive engagements are continuous, typically twelve to twenty-four months, with a defined transition plan to a full-time hire. AI Transformation is sequenced: a two-to-four-week Process Diagnostic, followed by Architecture and Implementation phases scoped to the diagnostic's findings, with continuing engagement for the first two quarters of execution.

What are the payment terms?

Project work is invoiced 50 percent on signature and 50 percent on delivery. Retainer engagements are invoiced monthly in advance. Fractional Executive engagements are invoiced monthly in advance against a stated time-share commitment. The engagement letter names the invoice cadence and the net-payment terms (typically Net 15 from invoice date). Asta does not bill for travel, meals, or expenses unless agreed in advance and itemized; the headline fee in the engagement letter is the engagement cost.

Scope and geography

Where does Asta work geographically?

Asta is headquartered in Virginia, USA. Engagements run across the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The senior principal works remotely with clients in any time zone; the curated bench of global affiliates is selected per engagement to match the geography, sector, and language of the work. For cross-border engagements that involve regulated activity in a specific jurisdiction (securities transactions, certain employment matters, jurisdiction-specific tax structures), Asta works alongside the client's local counsel and accountants rather than substituting for them.

Will I work with a senior principal or a junior consultant?

You will work with a senior principal. Asta is structured around senior-led delivery: the principal who hears the brief is the principal who delivers the engagement, attends the working sessions, and presents the work to the board if needed. There is no junior layer beneath the principal. When discipline depth beyond the principal is required, named global seasoned affiliates are brought in by name and by track record, in addition to the principal, not in substitution. The senior-led posture is the structural commitment of the firm; it is not a marketing claim.

Does Asta work alongside other advisors and firms?

Yes, routinely. On most engagements that involve regulated transactions, the client retains separate counsel (legal, tax, accounting) and, for sell-side or buy-side M&A above the lower-middle-market threshold, a registered investment bank. Asta's role is the strategic, operational, and analytical advisory work that sits around those engagements. The roles are complementary; we have collaborated successfully with attorneys at firms ranging from large national practices to small boutique firms, with bankers at established middle-market houses, and with tax advisors at major accounting firms. We do not displace any of those professional advisors; we do work that is structurally distinct from theirs.

What about confidentiality and conflicts?

Every engagement is governed by a written engagement letter that includes confidentiality obligations on both sides. Where the work involves third parties (investors, acquirers, affiliates) who are not parties to the engagement letter, separate non-disclosure agreements are executed before any client information is shared. Asta does not take engagements where there is a material conflict with an existing client; the conflict is named to the prospective client before the engagement is accepted, not after. If a conflict surfaces during an engagement, Asta promptly discloses it and proposes a mitigation that the client may accept or use as grounds for terminating the engagement on a defined notice period.

Regulatory and operating frame

What does Asta not do?

Asta is a management advisory firm. Asta is not registered as a broker-dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or any state securities regulator, and is not registered as an investment adviser. The firm's advisory work does not meet the definition of providing investment advice for compensation as set forth in Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Asta's compensation is fee-based, retainer-based, or fractional-executive-based, and is not contingent on the completion of any securities transaction, the raising of any capital, or the closing of any merger or acquisition. Asta does not hold, receive, transmit, or have access to client funds or securities. Founders and clients conduct their own investor outreach and transaction execution; Asta does not solicit, contact, communicate with, distribute materials to, or pitch specific investors on behalf of any client. Any references to securities, capital markets, or investment matters in our advisory work are incidental to a broader management consulting engagement and are not provided as standalone investment advice. Asta does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice; clients should retain qualified independent professionals for those matters. Asta does not write code at scale. The full regulatory disclosure appears in the footer of every page on this site.

Who owns the work product?

The client owns the deliverables produced under the engagement once the engagement is paid in full. Asta retains rights to general methods, frameworks, templates, and know-how that are independent of any specific client's confidential information; this is the standard professional-services-firm posture. The engagement letter names the IP allocation explicitly and the parties' respective rights to use the deliverables after the engagement closes. Asta does not retain any covert claim to client output, and the firm does not use client confidential information to benefit any other client.

What about engagement letters and NDAs?

An engagement letter is required before any billable work begins. The letter names the principal who is responsible for the engagement, the scope, the deliverables, the fee, the cadence, the start date, and any specific terms (replacement clause, time-share commitment, termination rights). For pre-engagement conversations and the briefing stage, the brief itself is treated as confidential by Asta's senior principals; for sensitive briefings, a mutual NDA can be executed before the brief is shared. The brief form on this page is not a substitute for a signed NDA; it is an inquiry channel.

If your question is not on this list, send a brief or write to info@asta1.us with "Pre-engagement question" in the subject line. The senior principal will respond within one business day.

Affiliate inquiry

For senior operators interested in joining the affiliate bench.

Asta operates with a small, curated bench of global seasoned affiliates brought into engagements by sector, stage, and discipline. The bench is small by design and admission is selective. The path below is for senior operators who want to be considered.

What we look for.

Twenty or more years of senior-operator experience in a defined discipline (CFO, CMO, COO, M&A advisor, AI architect, or similar). Demonstrable record of outcomes that go beyond reputation. Comfort working alongside a senior principal rather than independently. Willingness to engage on a per-engagement basis under Asta's engagement letter, not as a sub-contractor or as a name on a roster. Reference checks with three or more prior buyers willing to speak directly. Geographic distribution preferred; Asta operates across the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific.

What we do not look for.

Generalists, retired executives looking for occasional advisory hours, junior consultants seeking partnership, or operators whose primary employment elsewhere creates a conflict with the engagements Asta accepts. The bench is not a marketing roster, a referral network, or a way to broaden Asta's apparent footprint without senior delivery behind it; affiliates are the people who actually do the work alongside the principal when discipline depth is required.

How to inquire.

Write directly to info@asta1.us with "Affiliate Bench Inquiry" in the subject line. Attach a brief operating biography (one to two pages, plain text or PDF) covering: the discipline you work in, the engagements you have led, the named outcomes you can speak to, three references (name, role, contact), and the geographic and time-zone footprint where you typically operate. The senior principal reviews every inquiry personally and responds within ten business days, regardless of fit.

Bench admission is competitive. Most inquiries do not result in admission. Those that do typically begin with a single co-engagement at the principal's recommendation before the affiliate is invited onto the standing bench.