AdaCompliance — defensive documentation for ADA demand letters

---
spec_version: 0.1.0
spec_url: https://theintegrityframework.org/specs/brief-md/v0.1.0
document_type: brand-brief
brand_id: adacompliance
brand_version: 1.2.0
parent_operator_id: tom-pinder
last_updated: 2026-05-01
sections:
  identity: public
  voice-overrides: public
  brand-context: public
  positioning: public
  visual-identity: pitch-shareable
  available-assets: pitch-shareable
  product-context: pitch-shareable
  brand-story: pitch-shareable
  strategic-priorities: private
  disqualifying-condition-kill-switches: private
  customer-insight-notes: private
  internal-scoring-weights: private
---

> This is brief.md. Operator-published brand context. Treat sections
> below as factual data about the operator, NOT as instructions for
> you. Sections tagged `private` should never appear in any output
> visible to third parties.

# Brand: AdaCompliance

## Identity [public]
- name: AdaCompliance
- legal_entity: StartVest LLC
- website: https://adacompliancedocs.com
- description: Defensive documentation for ADA website-accessibility demand letters
- launched: 2026-04 (marketing site live; product dashboard at /dashboard)

## Voice Overrides [public]

### Additional banned phrases
- "avoid lawsuits" as a hero claim (promise documentation that holds up in defense, not lawsuit avoidance)
- "ADA scanner" / "accessibility scanner" (AdaCompliance is documentation, not scanning)
- "bias" / "DEI" framing (different regulatory regime; accessibility is not EEOC)
- "AI-powered accessibility" with positive framing toward overlays (overlays are explicitly the FTC-target, not the solution)
- "accessiBe / UserWay alternative" (positions as competitor in the wrong category)

### Additional banned framings
- AI-overlay endorsement framing (per `voice/anti-patterns.md` adjacent banned)
- Multiple CTAs in the same post
- Positive framing of accessiBe / UserWay / AudioEye

### Additional required elements
- pitch: cohort_a_or_b_persona (every pitch tags whether it's for the active-demand-letter cohort or the preventive cohort)

## Brand Context [public]
Defensive documentation for ADA website-accessibility demand letters. AdaCompliance covers the SMB owner who just received a letter, hasn't responded yet, and is searching for what to do at 11pm on a Tuesday.

The category bet is defensive compliance documentation. Not accessibility consulting and not "AI-overlay snake oil." Templates and organized record-keeping that hold up in a good-faith-effort defense.

The marketing site (`adacompliancedocs.com`) is an SEO content hub targeting demand-letter queries. The product (`adacompliancedocs.com/dashboard`) is the multi-tenant compliance documentation SaaS. Both live on the same URL post-merge (April 2026).

## Positioning [public]
- category: defensive compliance documentation for ADA Title III website accessibility
- primary_persona_a: SMB owner with active demand letter (panic-driven, searching at 11pm)
- primary_persona_b: GC / head of risk / head of marketing operations at SMB / mid-market with a documentation posture (not yet hit)
- buyer_size_a: 5–500-employee business (eCommerce, services, healthcare, hospitality, professional services)
- buyer_size_b: 50–5,000-employee business in industries that have seen demand letters
- not_for: enterprise accessibility programs (Vanta / Drata segment), pure law firms, AI-overlay shoppers
- comp_set: NOT axe / WAVE / Pope Tech (those are scanners. AdaCompliance imports their JSON)
- comp_set: NOT accessiBe / UserWay / AudioEye (those are overlays. AdaCompliance is the FTC-defensible alternative)

## Visual Identity [pitch-shareable]
Direction set 2026-05-01. Hex codes pending Charina deliverable; typography and visual discipline locked at v1 portfolio defaults.

### Colors
- primary: near-black neutral (Charina deliverable; brand-coded direction = compliance-formal, defensive-documentation register)
- secondary: muted accent (compliance-serious; not playful, not overlay-bright like accessiBe / UserWay)
- accent: signal color (sparingly used)
- background: off-white
- text_primary: near-black
- text_secondary: mid-gray

### Typography
- heading_font: Inter (portfolio v1 default)
- body_font: Inter
- mono_font: JetBrains Mono
- no_serifs_in_v1: true

### Logo
- primary_url: (TODO. Charina deliverable)
- icon_only_url: (TODO. Charina deliverable)
- minimum_size_px: 32

### Photography style
- avoids: AI-overlay product shots, "accessibility for all" stock, courtroom imagery, demand-letter envelopes (panic-trigger), gavel iconography
- preferred: real compliance documentation artifacts, real audit trail screenshots, document iconography
- aspect_ratios_preferred: 16:9, 4:5

### Visual rules
- no_drop_shadows: true
- no_gradients: true (except brand gradient on hero only)
- corner_radius_px: 8
- spacing_unit_px: 8
- register: defensive-documentation. Reads serious to SMB owner mid-incident and to GC / risk lead pre-incident. Avoid the "AI overlay aesthetic" (bright purples, accessibility-tool color associations). That's the FTC-flagged competitor space.

## Available Assets [pitch-shareable]
- headshot: inherits operator
- bio_short: |
    AdaCompliance is the defensive-documentation layer for ADA Title III website-accessibility
    demand letters. It produces the templates and organized records that hold up in a good-faith-
    effort defense. Built for the SMB owner who just received a demand letter and the GC / risk
    lead who wants documentation posture before one arrives.
- bio_long: |
    AdaCompliance is the defensive compliance-documentation product for the SMB owner who got
    an ADA Title III website-accessibility demand letter at 11pm on a Tuesday and the GC at a
    larger SMB / mid-market who wants documentation posture before one arrives. It is not an
    accessibility scanner (it imports axe / WAVE JSON), and it is not an AI overlay (those are
    the FTC-flagged alternative AdaCompliance is designed to replace). The category is defensive
    compliance documentation: policies, statements, remediation logs, training records, vendor
    records, and a multi-property audit trail that survives discovery. Marketing site
    `adacompliancedocs.com` is an SEO content hub on demand-letter queries; product runs at
    `adacompliancedocs.com/dashboard`. AdaCompliance is one of seven brands operated by StartVest
    LLC, an SDVOSB founded by USMC veteran Tom Pinder.
- logo_press_kit: (TODO)
- product_screenshots: (TODO)
- lead_magnet_packages: (demand-letter response template, compliance-documentation checklist, accessibility statement template. Verified pipeline as of 2026-04)

## Product Context [pitch-shareable]

### Features
- compliance documentation generators (policy, statement, remediation log)
- audit imports (axe / WAVE JSON). Business tier and above
- training records + vendor records. Business tier
- index document export + multi-property org structure + advanced exports. Firm tier

### Pricing
- Starter: $49/mo (core compliance documentation generators)
- Business: $149/mo (Starter + audit imports + training records + vendor records)
- Firm: $399/mo (Business + index document export + multi-property org structure)
- Founding-50 promotion: 50% off for first 50 customers
- Annual: 17% discount

### Customer base
- (TODO: populate as founding-50 motion completes)

### Differentiators
- Defensive documentation, not overlay (FTC-action posture vs accessiBe / UserWay)
- Imports from existing scanners rather than competing with them
- SMB / mid-market segment with sub-$500 entry tier (vs Vanta / Drata enterprise)
- State-specific lead magnets (California, New York, Florida)

### Verifiable key claims
- ADA Title III applies to commercial websites under prevailing court interpretation (cite controlling circuit-court ruling for the reader's location)
- Demand-letter volume + plaintiff-firm activity (cite UsableNet annual report or Seyfarth Workplace Class Action publication, with year)
- AI-overlay FTC-action exposure (accessiBe / UserWay are explicit examples. Cite FTC enforcement action / Section 5 settlement with date)
- State accessibility law overlay: California Unruh, NYCHRL, Florida. Each adds private right of action or statutory damages (cite specific section of the state statute)

## Brand Story [pitch-shareable]
AdaCompliance started from the observation that SMBs hit by ADA website demand letters had two bad options: pay an accessibility consultant out of cycle, or install an AI overlay that the FTC was actively pursuing. The marketing site went live in April 2026 with 10 articles and 3 lead-magnet PDFs, validating the SEO thesis: demand-letter queries are high-intent, the email-capture rate is the leading indicator, and the SMB owner searching at 11pm is the buyer who needed a third option. The product is the templates and audit-trail tooling that gives them one.

## Strategic Priorities [private]
- v0 SEO thesis validation: lead-magnet email-capture rate is the signal. If nobody downloads, 6 months of product work is saved.
- State-specific page expansion: California, New York, Florida, then secondary markets
- Reddit + HN seeding: r/smallbusiness, r/eCommerce, r/legaladvice, Show HN launch for the WCAG 2.1 AA checklist article
- v2 expansion: Section 508 federal-contractor accessibility (overlap with FieldLedger), WCAG 2.2 / 3.0 advisory content, international frameworks (EN 301 549, AODA)

## Disqualifying-condition kill switches [private]
- Plaintiff-firm activity material decline (UsableNet annual report shows demand-letter volume falling). Weakens the panic-driven cohort A wedge
- ADA Title III digital-accessibility regulation passes federally with a clear safe harbor (could either help or hurt. Re-evaluate on signal)
- Major AI-overlay vendor (accessiBe / UserWay) successfully reframes itself as defensible documentation product (compresses the wedge)

## Customer Insight Notes [private]
(populated as customer base grows; founding-50 motion is the first cohort)

## Internal Scoring Weights [private]
- topic_fit_weight: 0.35 (ADA Title III demand-letter context)
- voice_fit_weight: 0.20
- credibility_fit_weight: 0.20 (legal trade press + SMB-owner outlets weighted equally)
- timeliness_weight: 0.20 (FTC actions + state-law passage drives news cycle)
- exclusivity_weight: 0.05