# Success Milestones

> Status: draft v0.1 — 2026-07-16. The ladder from legal shell to "ok.com is a
> rational acquisition". Intermediate rungs keep the mythic endpoint from
> distorting the present.

## Success ladder

| Rung | Milestone | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| S0 | Legal vessel exists | ✅ done (2019) |
| S1 | Company is administratively clean | ⬜ in progress (Phase 1) |
| S2 | Company has an active operating system | ⬜ started (this repo) |
| S3 | First internal dogfood loop works | ⬜ |
| S4 | First external offer published | ⬜ |
| S5 | First paid revenue | ⬜ |
| S6 | Repeatable productized service | ⬜ |
| S7 | Software-supported delivery | ⬜ |
| S8 | Multiple customers | ⬜ |
| S9 | Operational Knowledge rename makes sense | ⬜ |
| S10 | Category identity emerges | ⬜ |
| S11 | OK becomes a serious brand | ⬜ |
| S12 | ok.com becomes a rational acquisition | ⬜ |

## Rename readiness criteria (gate for S9)

Rename to **Operational Knowledge GmbH** when most of these are true:

- [ ] First repeatable offer exists
- [ ] Clean accounting/admin operations
- [ ] Website and messaging are coherent
- [ ] At least one paying customer or serious pilot
- [ ] Ecosystem map is understandable to outsiders
- [ ] Dogfood evidence exists
- [ ] Product direction is narrower than the full idea cloud
- [ ] "Operational Knowledge" clearly describes what is being sold

## Rule

Milestone status changes are founder decisions, recorded in
`DecisionQueue.md` with evidence.