What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26On 20 Jan 2025 Tidecombe Housing's champion Natasha Pryor said she is leaving. Finance Director Luke Kitching asked whether to renew at all. The call ended with a verbal path to renewal at the same Starter price, subject to finance sign-off.
What happened: Daniel Okafor opened the renewal conversation. Natasha Pryor said she is moving to another role and that the wider team has not pushed adoption.
Customer view: Luke Kitching called Natasha the champion and said the rest of ops had not bought in. Natasha said the brain is solid but creates no value if nobody is asking.
Commercial: BB-Demo proposed renewing the Starter subscription on the same terms, a handover from Natasha and a training day for her successor at no extra cost. Luke needs finance sign-off and Gemma Yates asked for the paperwork.
Watch: The evidence does not show that the renewal was signed. Usage depends on one person, and the successor starts without her context.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Daniel Okafor to send the renewal paperwork that week.
- Natasha Pryor to hand over to her successor, with Daniel scheduling the training day once the new person starts.
- Luke Kitching to obtain finance sign-off and return the signed paperwork.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The only active champion is leaving and the rest of ops has not adopted the brain.
- Luke Kitching asked whether to renew at all, and finance sign-off was still outstanding at the end of the call.
- The successor will not have Natasha's context on the dashboards and use cases.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A handover from Natasha and a training day can embed the brain with the new person.
- Gemma Yates saw a same-terms renewal as an easy sell, so the Starter renewal is close to agreed.
Transcript
- Daniel Okafor NoneHi everyone. Thanks for the time. I wanted to sit down and talk through your renewal: contract runs through 28 February, and we're thinking about the next year. How's Tidecombe been getting on?
- Natasha Pryor NoneGood question. The brain's worked well for the housing data team, but I'll be honest, I'm about to move on to another role, and I think that's created a bit of a knowledge gap here.
- Tom Ashdown NoneWe'd heard there might be some change, is there someone coming in to replace you?
- Natasha Pryor NoneYeah, someone's starting soon, but they won't have the context I've built up with the brain. That's not a reflection on the brain itself, I'm just moving to another role, and the team here hasn't been, how to put this, they haven't pushed the adoption the way I would have.
- Luke Kitching NoneThat's fair. Natasha's been the champion really. When she asked questions, the brain was useful. But the rest of ops hasn't bought in the way we hoped.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI see. So when Natasha's not asking questions, the brain sits quiet. Can you tell me what changed, was there something we could have done differently?
- Luke Kitching NoneI think there was an expectation it would just, work, for everyone. But turns out you need a champion. Natasha got it, she built dashboards, she asked the questions. Nobody else had the bandwidth to pick it up.
- Natasha Pryor NoneAnd to be fair, I was the one advocating for it. Once I'm gone, I'm not sure anyone pushes it. The brain itself is solid, but if nobody's asking, it's not creating value.
- Daniel Okafor NoneRight. So the platform works, the data's flowing, but you've lost momentum internally. Natasha, what would help the new person succeed, what would it take?
- Natasha Pryor NoneHonestly? They'd need to know the use cases before they start. I'd want a handover, a list of the questions we're trying to answer, maybe a training day.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's something we could do. Daniel, would you be able to run a training day with the new person?
- Daniel Okafor NoneAbsolutely. We offer that as an add-on: a day on site or virtual, depending on what you prefer. We'd walk the new person through the dashboards Natasha built, the queries, the whole setup.
- Gemma Yates NoneHow much does that cost?
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt's an add-on, but in this case, it'd be part of the renewal conversation. Nothing on top of the base subscription cost.
- Luke Kitching NoneOkay. So the question is, do we renew at all? Is there value here if Natasha's leaving?
- Natasha Pryor NoneThere's definitely value. The brain answered my questions faster than any other way. But the bigger question is whether the business will use it without me pushing it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCould you brief the new person, give them a handover on what you've set up?
- Natasha Pryor NoneYeah, I can do that. I'm not leaving immediately, there's overlap. I'd be happy to get them up to speed.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's really helpful. So I think the path forward is: you renew, Natasha does a handover with her successor, and we run a training day to lock in the knowledge. Same terms as you've got now, Starter, eighteen thousand five hundred twenty-five a year.
- Luke Kitching NoneThat's the current price, right?
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. Same tier, same price, one-year term. Contract runs through 28 February, renews 1 March.
- Gemma Yates NoneAnd you'll include the training day?
- Tom Ashdown NoneWe'll build it in. No extra cost, it's part of making the renewal work.
- Luke Kitching NoneOkay. I'll need to get sign-off from my finance team, but I think we're good to move forward. Gemma, are you comfortable?
- Gemma Yates NoneYeah, same cost, same terms, easy sell. Send me the paperwork.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI will. Just to close the loop, Natasha, are you okay to do that handover?
- Natasha Pryor NoneYeah, absolutely. I want this to work for them.
- Daniel Okafor NoneBrilliant. So I'll get you renewal paperwork this week. Same eighteen thousand five hundred twenty-five, no change. Training day we'll schedule once the new person starts.
- Luke Kitching NoneSounds good. We'll get this signed and back to you.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThanks all. Appreciate your time.
- Daniel Okafor NoneBest wishes, everyone. Speak soon.