A portrait of Alek Olson at the workspace — wood-paneled studio, single overhead lamp, monitor and keyboard on the desk. Cinematic warm light, calm and considered.
[ WATERTOWN · APR 2026 ] / SONDER ADVISORY NETWORK
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Index
Sonder Advisory·A Private Advisory Practice

You paid for a website. Do you know what it’s doing for you?

  WEBSITES · SYSTEMS · AUDITS · ADVISORY

Most owners can’t answer that. Not because they’re careless — because nobody handed them the keys. Sonder builds sites and marketing systems that report what they’re doing. Flat rate. Fixed scope. Delivered ready to own on your stack, not rented back to you.

01/ 04Ship

Built to ship. Not to bill.

The last website cost you money and produced silence. The last agency went dark after launch. The proposal was $8,000, then $2,000 a month, then a line item every time you asked a question. Sonder is the opposite of that. One flat rate per engagement. Fixed scope. Delivered ready to own on your stack — keys, code, and analytics in your name at handoff. If it isn’t the right fit, we say so early and point you somewhere better.

[ 01 ]

Website builds.

A site designed to be found by humans, search engines, and AI models — not just to look nice. Structured content, real SEO, honest speed. Delivered ready to own on Netlify, Squarespace, or your stack.

  • Starter, Growth, or Signature
  • Search & AI visibility built in
  • Flat rate, from $997
See packages →
[ 02 ]

Marketing systems.

The plumbing behind the marketing. CRM, forms, automations, follow-up, analytics — wired so leads don't leak and the team doesn't drown in tools. Built on HubSpot, Zapier, or the stack you already have.

  • CRM & lead capture
  • Automations & follow-up
  • Included in Signature package
See Signature →
[ 03 ]

Visibility audits.

An honest read of how your business shows up online — in classic search, in AI answers, and in the eyes of the buyer you're trying to reach. Delivered as a written brief with prioritized fixes. Optional follow-through.

  • Search & AI presence
  • Structured brief, not a deck
  • Prioritized fixes
Request an audit →
[ 04 ]

Ongoing retainer.

For clients we've already shipped for. Standing counsel, warm intros where they fit, and hands on the marketing when it matters. A short bench, on retainer, by the hour, or by the quarter.

  • Standing office hours
  • Curated, contextual intros
  • Post-ship follow-through
See advisory →
The Developer's Playbook

Everything I know about
shipping a site that gets found.

Thirty-four pages. Twelve sections. Every step from first principles through the 100-point audit scorecard I use before any Sonder site goes live. $37, or read the first five pages free.

  • AI search visibility — getting cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude
  • Technical SEO, structured data, performance, accessibility
  • The pre-launch and quarterly audit checklists we run internally
  • A weighted 100-point rubric to score any site against the playbook
Get the Playbook — $37
$37 for all 34 pages, or read the first five pages free.
02/ 04Advisory

The retainer side of the practice.

Once the site ships and the system runs, most vendors disappear. That’s the moment most clients wish they hadn’t. Advisory is what stays — a short bench, a small number of retainers at a time, for clients we’ve already shipped for and a handful of principals who arrive by referral. Not a rolodex you can rent. A room where the person who built the thing is still in it.

[ 01 ]

Strategic connections.

The right room, the right table, the right person to call before the next decision. Curated over years, not compiled from a list.

  • Operators & principals
  • Capital & partners
  • Category expertise
[ 02 ]

Warm introductions.

A specific person, a specific reason, made carefully. Both sides walk in knowing why the introduction happened.

  • Vetted & contextual
  • Discreet by default
  • Followed through
[ 03 ]

Market research.

Primary research on a category, a competitor, a buyer, or a market you're weighing. Delivered as a written brief you can act on.

  • Category & competitor
  • Buyer & landscape
  • Written brief
[ 04 ]

Visibility audits.

An honest read of how your business shows up online — in classic search, in AI answers, and in the eyes of the buyer you're trying to reach.

  • Digital footprint
  • Search & AI presence
  • Prioritized fixes
v.

Consulting & advisory.

Most engagements start with a brief or an audit. Most of them keep going. A visibility audit surfaces the fix worth making. A market brief surfaces the move worth making. When it makes sense to stay in the room and see it through, we do — on a short retainer or by the hour, whichever fits.

  • Ongoing counsel
  • Post-audit follow-through
  • Standing office hours
What advisory is not

Not a cold-outreach service. Not a rolodex you can rent by the month. Not publicity for the sake of publicity. Retainers exist so we can stay in the room and think with you — not so we can bill you for having lunch. If you need one specific intro or one specific decision, we can also work by the hour.

03/ 04Philosophy

A short bench. On purpose.

The best work happens out of frame.

Sonder is a small practice with two doors. Ship is the front door — websites, systems, and audits, productized enough to scale, priced flat, delivered on schedule. Advisory is the back door — a retainer bench for clients who want us in the room after we’ve built the thing. Most people come through the front. A few end up walking through both.

The work is straightforward. Read the digital footprint honestly, so the right buyers can find you and the wrong ones don’t. Build the site, wire the system, and hand you the analytics that answer “is this working” in a sentence. When it makes sense to stay in the room afterward, we do — on a retainer or by the hour.

Technology is part of the practice. AI is used the way a good analyst uses a spreadsheet — to see further, faster — not to replace judgment. Every recommendation still comes from a person who owns it.

If it isn’t the right fit, we say so early and point you somewhere better. The bench is short because the work is meant to be.

80+
Sites shipped
01rate
Flat, per engagement
12yrs
Building on the web
00extras
No line items, no drip retainers
/ FAQQuestions

Plain answers.

+How much does a website cost?

Three flat-rate packages. Starter is $997 for a fast, focused site — ideal for a solo operator, single service, or landing page. Growth is $3,500 for a full multi-page site with real SEO, structured content, and lead capture. Signature is $6,597 and includes the marketing system underneath — CRM, forms, automations, analytics — wired end to end. Full breakdown at /pricing.

+How fast can you ship?

Starter sites ship in about two weeks. Growth ships in three to four. Signature ships in four to six, depending on how deep the systems work goes. Fixed scope means fixed schedule — if we agree it, we ship it.

+Do you build on Netlify, Squarespace, or something else?

Yes to all three. Default is Netlify with custom HTML/CSS for sites that need to be fast, well-structured, and easy to find. Squarespace when the client needs to manage the site themselves without touching code. Occasionally something else if that's what the stack calls for. Whatever we build, you own it — keys, code, and access at handoff.

+What comes with a Signature build?

The site plus the marketing infrastructure that makes it useful. CRM installed and structured (HubSpot by default, or your existing one). Forms wired to the CRM. Follow-up automations built out. Analytics and tag manager configured. A working system on day one — not a stack of tools you have to figure out how to connect.

+What is The Developer's Playbook?

A 34-page PDF covering everything I've learned about shipping a site that gets found — technical SEO, AI search visibility, performance, accessibility, and the 100-point pre-launch audit rubric I run before every Sonder launch. $37 for the full PDF, or read the first five pages free. Refund if it doesn't save you five hours on your next site.

+Do you offer ongoing support after launch?

Yes — the Care Plan is $99/month for hosting, updates, security, and quarterly SEO reviews. Optional add-on on any package. For clients who want strategic input on top of maintenance, that's what the Advisory retainer is for.

+How does the Advisory side work?

Retainers are for clients we've already shipped for, and for a small number of principals who arrive by referral. Standing office hours, warm intros where they fit, market briefs when they're needed, and hands on the marketing when it matters. Retainer, hourly, or quarterly — whichever fits. Not a rolodex you can rent by the month.

+Who do you work with?

Owners, operators, and decision-makers across industries. Common ones: professional services, financial services, construction and trades, coaching and consulting, therapy and healthcare, technology, defense, education, and athletics. If your business needs to be found and trusted online, that's the fit.

+Discretion?

Default posture. NDA before any material discovery if you'd prefer. Clients are not named publicly without permission.

+Where are you based?

Sonder Advisory Network, LLC. Watertown, Wisconsin. Nationwide.

Contact

Say hello.

A few details is enough. Tell us what your site is doing well and what it isn’t. We reply within one business day, usually same-day. No pitch, no pressure — a short exchange to see if the fit is right.

Received.

We'll be in touch within one business day. Expect an email at the address you provided.

Goes directly to Alek. Not shared, not sold, not added to any list.