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The Penny Archive

Every consultant faces the same test: Show me.

Before I build a HubSpot instance for a client, they have every right to ask what mine looks like. This is the answer — a live, production CRM running The Penny Archive's business from day one.

This isn't a demo environment — Every prospective client who fills out a form here moves through my pipeline.

39
custom Properties
5
architecture Layers
4
forms + Intake flow
100%
live in production

THE CHALLENGE

Build it right from the start — or don't bother.

When The Penny Archive launched, my goal wasn't just to use HubSpot — it was to build a client-facing operations infrastructure that could be used as a live proof-of-concept.

That meant intentional property creation, a defined pipeline, documented processes, and a form-to-call flow that can function the same way for a client that it does for TPA itself. The proof isn't theoretical. It's in-practice and operational.


WHAT WAS BUILT

Five layers. Every one of them intentional.

Data Model

39 custom properties across Contact, Company, and Deal objects — designed before a single field was created. Center of Influence (COI) contacts live as real records with relationship-tracking properties, not just attribution tags. Revenue tiers use neutral range labels. Everything maps to the correct object level.

Pipeline Design

A single deal pipeline built around TPA's real client motion — with documented entry criteria, required fields on stage moves, and closed lost reasons configured before the first deal was created. Upsells handled as new deals on existing company records, keeping pipeline math clean.

Four Form Intake Structure

A planned single conditional form was redesigned as a two-stage, four-form system when conditional logic was identified as a tier constraint. The result is architecturally superior: a short universal intake lowers friction at the top, while short, service-specific questionnaires capture deeper intelligence from already-committed prospects.

Lifecycle Stage Automation

Three automated lifecycle transitions eliminate manual status updating for the most common moves: form submitted → Lead and Deal created → Opportunity, Deal won → Customer. A custom Center of Influence (COI) stage tracks referral partners separately from the client pipeline.

Record View Design

The contact record default view was redesigned with three intentional panels — Snapshot, Intake Intelligence, and Relationship Status — and a 7-column list view configured for fast pipeline triage. Built for the person doing the work, not a generic sales team.

WHAT THIS DEMONSTRATES TO CLIENTS

What I build for clients works because I built it for myself first.

Form Architecture

Form Architecture qualifies leads

Reduces friction at the top, captures depth from committed prospects.
Data Model Gold

Data model captures what matters

Right information at the right stage. Nothing duplicated, nothing missing.
Pipeline

A pipeline that means something

Every stage has criteria. No deals sitting in limbo because "it felt right."

Documentation

Documentation to make it transferable

The system runs without me in the room. That's what I build for clients, too.

COMING SOON

BUSINESS CASE: VISIBILITY SPRINT

The Penny Archive runs on more than HubSpot. The monday.com Visibility Sprint case study is in progress — built the same way: live in production, fully documented, ready to show.