The Tier 3 Agreement · distribution for equity
We install distribution. We take ownership, not a fee.
Most companies that fail don't fail on the product. They fail because nobody finds it. Thinktier installs the layer that fixes that — and gets paid in equity when it works.
The deliverable
From Tier 2 to Tier 3. Measured.
Not hours, not a retainer, not a report. A change of state you can verify: the company reaches Tier 3, measured, or the equity doesn’t vest.
The terms
Published, because almost nobody publishes them.
A studio that won't tell you what it takes until the third call is telling you something. Here is the whole deal, before you write to us.
| Component | Term | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | 15–25% | Scales with how much of the machine goes in. It is a layer, not a company built from zero — which is why it isn’t the 30–50% a classic studio takes. |
| Vesting | Against measured tier | Not against time served. The panel says whether the company reached Tier 3; if it didn’t, the equity doesn’t vest. Our incentive and yours are the same one. |
| Operating fee | €300–500/mo | Covers marginal cost, and filters. A deal with nothing due on either side attracts partners with nothing at stake. |
| Term | 12 months | Renewable. Distribution compounds on a quarterly clock, not a monthly one — anything shorter measures noise. |
| Control | Stays with you | No majority, no board seat, no operational control. You keep running your company. |
How the tier is measured
- Source · Your analytics and CRM
- Unpaid share of demand
The share of leads, sign-ups or sales that arrive through channels you don’t pay per visit for — organic search, generative answers, referral.
- Source · The prompt panel
- Answer share
How often the company is named or cited across the thirty-prompt panel, in five engines, month by month.
- Source · Search Console and Bing
- Organic reach
Non-branded visibility and organic visits for the queries your buyers actually use.
Each number gets a baseline at signing and a target written into the agreement. Tier 3 is reached when the targets hold for 3 consecutive months — one good month is noise, not a tier.
What goes in
The layer, itemised.
The same machine that runs the five companies in our own portfolio. Not advice about it — the thing itself, installed.
Entity and schema architecture
A measured prompt panel
Answer-shaped content
Classical search, rebuilt underneath
The automation layer
Who this is for
Four conditions, and we mean all four.
What we look for
- A product that already earnsRevenue today, however modest. Equity in a company with no income is an option on a promise, and we don't take those.
- A Spanish-speaking marketIberia, Latin America, Brazil. We work where we can read the market, the competitors and the queries without a translator.
And also
- An operator who stays in chargeYou run the company. We install a layer and measure it. Thinktier does not manage, does not take a majority and does not want your day-to-day.
- Distribution as the missing layerTier 2: the product works and nobody finds it. If what's missing is the product, we're the wrong partner and we'll say so on the first call.
- Build a company from zero — you bring one that works
- Take a majority, a board seat or the day-to-day
- Compete for a retainer where an agency already has one
- Promise rankings, traffic or a number of citations
If this isn’t your deal
One diagnosis, three ways out.
The tier reading is the same in every case. What changes is what you want to do about it.
You want it fixed, and you can pay
Hire it as a service. Autoridad Digital, inside the group, sells exactly this work for a fee, with no equity involved.
Autoridad Digital ↗You want it fixed, and you’d rather not pay
This page. We install the layer, you keep control, and we get paid in ownership if the tier moves.
Start a conversation →You’d rather sell
We buy Spanish-language digital assets, paid from the asset’s own cash flow. Tell us what you have.
Investment & Acquisition →Questions
Asked before anyone writes to us.
How much equity does Thinktier take?
Between 15% and 25%, scaled to how much of the distribution layer goes in, plus a €300–500 monthly operating fee over a 12-month renewable term. It is always a minority stake: no majority, no board seat and no operational control.
What does vesting against measured tier mean?
The equity is earned by reaching Tier 3, not by time served. Three numbers are baselined at signing — unpaid share of demand, answer share across a thirty-prompt panel in five engines, and organic reach — and Tier 3 is reached when the targets written into the agreement hold for 3 consecutive months. If the company doesn’t get there, the equity doesn’t vest.
Which companies qualify for the Tier 3 Agreement?
Companies in Spanish-speaking markets — Iberia, Latin America, Brazil — that already have a product and revenue, an operator who stays in charge, and distribution as the missing layer. On the Tier scale that is Tier 2: the product works and nobody finds it.
Can I pay a fee instead of giving up equity?
Yes. Autoridad Digital, a company inside the Thinktier group, does the same distribution work for a fee, with no equity involved. Thinktier doesn’t compete for a retainer where an agency already has one.
How is this different from a venture studio or a media-for-equity deal?
A classic venture studio builds a company from zero and takes 30–50% for it; Thinktier installs one layer in a company that already works, so it takes less. Media-for-equity deals trade advertising for a stake, and the traffic stops when the campaign does; the Tier 3 Agreement installs organic distribution the company keeps.
Does Thinktier guarantee rankings, traffic or citations?
No. The agreement promises a measured change of state, not a number of rankings, visits or citations — and the equity only vests if the measurement shows the company reached Tier 3.
Start here
Tell us what you’ve built and who can’t find it.
One paragraph is enough: what the company does, roughly what it earns, and the market it sells into. We read every one that comes with real intent.