The Founder Dependence Index
The Founder Dependence Index is a free 12-question self-assessment from Works that scores how much of the business runs on you, and where AI would take the load off first. One number out of 100. The lower the score, the more the business is an asset that sells without you in it.
Where the dependence concentrates
Each dimension scored 0 (runs without you) to 100 (always you). Sales and institutional knowledge are weighted highest because they move transferable enterprise value the most. The two highlighted bars are your leverage points, the dimensions carrying the most owner-dependence.
What AI would offload first
Each play maps to the dimension carrying the most owner-dependence. These are the kinds of installs Works runs in practice, not generated advice. The Audit confirms which one moves your number most.
A chat tool answers when you prompt it. The difference here is an installed brain: your context, retrieval and decision rules wired into how the team works, so the answer is there without you. This is a directional self-assessment, not a valuation. It reflects your own read of how dependent the business is on you, which is useful for spotting the gap but is not an audited measure.
Get the full Founder Dependence Report
Your index and breakdown are already on screen. Drop a work email to unlock the expanded, printable report: all four offload plays written out, plus the priority order Works would tackle them in. Submitting sends your score and contact details to Works so we can follow up with the printable version.
The full picture: all four offload plays
Every dimension and the matching Works install play, in the order we would usually tackle them. Your weakest two are flagged as the place to start.
Want the real number?
The Works Audit maps exactly what to offload first, in priority order, and the load it takes off you. From $4K, scaling with the number of teams and people in scope.
How the Founder Dependence Index works
The index asks twelve questions across four weighted dimensions: Sales & Revenue (30%), Knowledge & Decisions (30%), Delivery & Ops (25%) and Owner Time & Identity (15%). Every question has the same frame, "who carries this?", answered on a four-point scale from "runs without me" to "always me". Sales and institutional knowledge carry the highest weights because they move transferable enterprise value the most. The result is a single index out of 100. Lower is better: 0 means the business runs as a system, 100 means a buyer would mostly be buying you.
What your founder dependence score means
Your index lands in one of four bands.
How AI reduces founder dependence
A chat tool answers when you prompt it. What actually reduces founder dependence is an installed brain: your context, retrieval and decision rules wired into how the team works, so the answer is there without you. These are the four offload plays Works installs in practice, one per dimension.
A Works Audit (from $4K, sized to the number of teams and people in scope) maps which play moves your number most, in priority order.