Guide · Layer 5

Communication Layer

Written for: seed / Series A scientist-founder

The first four layers built an engine you trust: Layer 1 fixed the shape, Layer 2 put physical numbers on the flows, Layer 3 collapsed them into one figure — the levelized cost, ~$800/t for our example plant — and Layer 4 found the two or three drivers it rides on. This layer gets that number out of your spreadsheet and into someone else’s head without losing its meaning on the way, and without giving away the trade secret that produced it.

One honest challenge runs through all of it: what you choose to show — which metric, which scenario, gross or net — can mislead even when every number is true. So compress without distorting: cut enough to fit a slide and protect the IP, keep enough that the figure survives a hard question.

The work has three destinations, and a finished TEA travels to each as its own artifact:

1. 5.1 — The internal dashboard — the go-to place inside the model that captures the headline metrics and graphs, so you and the team read off one consistent set of numbers. It stays in-house.
2. 5.2 — The deck — what gets a non-specialist to look closer: build the trust first, then reveal the number.
3. 5.3 — The shareable model — a separate artifact for the data room that holds up when their technical team digs in. Never your real working file.

Who this is for. The guidance here is written for communicating to an investor. Talking to your own team or a commercial partner are real audiences too, but they’re on the backlog for now — this layer stays on the investor case.

Start with 5.1 — The internal dashboard →