Strategy without an opponent
The plan comes out of a workshop with your own people, nobody in the room plays the competitor
The first real counter-move arrives after launch, by then the budget is committed
Test your strategy before it costs money.
AI agents play your customers, competitors and partners against your options. At the end there is a decision with a decision gate.
Starting point
Strategies get built in-house. The market does not play along.
Options without an order
Five growth options on one slide, all plausible, none with proven leverage
So three get started at once and none gets finished
Assumptions without a check
Market assumptions from a strategy paper two years old are still in the slides
Observation, hypothesis and decision sit side by side with equal weight
Impact without a status quo
Measures start without a reference value, whether they worked cannot be proven later
Without a decision gate there is no point at which anything gets stopped or steered
Sound familiar? Tell us which decision is open at your company.
Start with your decision question
We build the arena out of market and company and let AI agents play against your options.
You bring the question that is open in the management team and access to the people who know the assumptions. We fill the company profile from public sources and your documents, set the value goal and the scenario axes and let agents for customers, competitors, partners and regulators react to your options. The AI engine behind it is called Tautiom.
Result
This is what you see after the first round.
The scenario map shows which reactions are likely and which of them need an answer before the decision gate.
Scenario map, run 1
- Dealer counter-move: the leading distributor delists you and pushes the competing brandProbability 62 %, horizon 0 to 18 months, turning point in round 2Red line
- Price pressure in the standard segment from Asia acceleratesProbability 72 %, horizon 0 to 18 monthsAI-narrated
- A competitor builds its own direct channel with a service subscriptionProbability 38 %, horizon 18 to 36 monthsAI-narrated
- Key accounts demand a digital ordering platform or take a second supplierProbability 35 %, horizon 18 to 36 monthsAI-narrated
Probability of occurrence →Act before the gate
The value axis stays empty: for run 1 no reliable assessment exists.
Profile and question
Every run starts with observations, not with a finished diagnosis.
Configure the scenario analysis, step 1 of 4
Check and addStrategySharpenSummary
- Filled from the website
- Profile, products, customers and go-to-market read from public sources
- Value goal
- Revenue in the direct channel without losing the dealer business, margin before multiple
- Decision question
- Build direct sales for key accounts without losing the dealer channel?
Commercial profile
Pre-filled from public sources, corrected by you
Tautiom reads company context, products, customers and go-to-market from your website and your documents. You check and add. Then you set the value goal and the decision question as a shared starting picture.
Evidence status, every statement carries its label
- Key accounts buy direct at delivery times under 48 hMetric: share of direct revenue among the top 20 customersopen
- Dealers tolerate direct sales with revenue protectionMetric: dealer revenue against the status quoopen
- The service subscription carries the cost of the direct channelMetric: subscription rate and contribution margin per segmentopen
Observation, hypothesis, open question and decision stay separate throughout the run.
Hypotheses with a metric
What is visible, what gets checked, what is decided
Every hypothesis gets a wargame question, a metric and the data that can confirm or refute it. The status open is a quality marker here: visible, but not yet presented as fact.
Agents and scenarios
The market from outside, the company from inside. Your options in between.
Wargame arena, who plays against whom
- Customer agentDemand, willingness to switch and willingness to pay per segment
- Competitor agentPrice, product, channel and speed of response
- Partner and rules agentDealers, platforms and regulation
Inside view
Processes and handoversWhat the company can deliver today
Data and systemsWhat is measurable and what is missing
Team and capacityWho can carry it
Agentic arena
Agents that play back
AI agents with clear roles and goals react to your moves: the competitor cuts prices, the customer switches only on conditions, the dealer threatens to delist you. At the same time the inside view checks whether processes, data and team can carry the move.
Scenario axes, step 3 sharpen
Dealers react hardDealers tolerate it
Distributor counter-moveProbability 62 %, horizon 0 to 18 months
Competitor's own direct channelProbability 38 %, horizon 18 to 36 months
Price pressure in the standard segmentProbability 72 %, horizon 0 to 18 months
Key accounts demand a platformProbability 35 %, horizon 18 to 36 months
Direct demand lowDirect demand high
Scenario axes
Two axes that frame the question
The axes that make the difference for your decision question are derived from profile and hypotheses. Every scenario gets a probability, a time window and red flags.
Simulation under pressure
Round by round: your move, the reaction, the turning point.
Run 1, option A: direct sales for the top 20 key accounts
- Round 1, your move
Direct channel for the top 20 key accounts, 48 h delivery, price at dealer level minus 5 %.
- Dealer
The leading distributor announces a shift to the competing brand and demands a revenue guarantee.
- Customers
12 of 20 key accounts switch only with a service guarantee and an ordering platform. Price alone is not enough.
- Turning point
No platform, no switch; with a platform, conflict with the dealer. Red line: dealer revenue below 85 % of the status quo.
Round log
Reactions, turning points, red lines
Every move gets an answer. Where an option tips over, the run marks the turning point and the red line that must not be crossed. So you see before launch which condition an option needs.
Scenario comparison after run 2
| Option | Impact | Red line | Next test |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Full direct channel | high | Dealer revenue below 85 % | not recommended |
| B Direct for subscriptions only | medium to high | Subscription rate below 20 % after 6 months | Pilot with 5 key accounts |
| C Joint dealer platform | medium | Distributor blocks the data | Term sheet with the top dealer |
| D Status quo, hold the price | low | Price pressure above 8 % | Monitoring |
Scenario comparison
Made comparable without claiming precision
Options are compared on impact, feasibility, red lines and the next sensible test. Where no reliable assessment exists, the cell stays empty. Management sees what the run knows and what it does not.
Decision and measurement
At the end there is no report, but a next test with a decision gate.
Decision paper, management session
- Prioritised move
- Direct channel only for service subscriptions and repeat orders, new business stays with the dealer
- Next test
- Pilot with 5 key accounts, 6 months, one region
- Owner
- Head of key account management, sponsor CSO
- Target KPI against status quo
- Subscription rate from 20 %, contribution margin per account, direct revenue today 0 €
- Decision gate
- After 6 months: roll out, go deeper or stop
Beyond the gate no obligation arises.
Decision paper
Move, test, KPI, owner, gate
The result paper connects starting point, scenarios, measures and measurement logic on one page. Not every option gets built. The run shows which one deserves the next test and when to stop.
Four questions before any revenue measure
- Status quoWhich reference value applies before the measure, with period and starting figureset
- Target KPIWhich figure should move, by how much, by whenset
- AttributionWhat is attributable to the measure, which external factors we excludeagreed
- ReviewWhen and how often it gets checked, human approval stays visibleset
Measurement logic
First be able to measure, then build
Without a status quo, impact cannot be proven. So four questions apply to every measure, however small. That makes the decision after the run verifiable and is the basis if you want part of our fee tied to results.
Preview
Play your question through once. Free of charge.
You name the decision that is open at your company and your website. We fill the profile, let the agents play a first round and show you the scenario map and the first turning points.
Put your decision question to us. We come back within two working days with a date.
Rather talk first? We look at your question together and tell you whether a run would answer it.
15 minutes, with a partner.
How we work
We deliver a decision with a gate, not a collection of scenarios.
Bridgemaker runs the whole thing: research, structuring, simulation, result paper and management session. Tautiom is the engine that plays agents and scenarios through in days. You supply context and access. If the prioritised move sits in a recurring commercial process, Commercial OS can follow.
An opponent instead of consensus
Agents with their own goals react to your moves. The uncomfortable answer comes during the run, not after launch.
Evidence status visible
Observation, hypothesis, open question and decision each carry their label. What cannot be assessed stays empty.
Measurable before implementation
Status quo, target KPI, attribution and review are fixed before anything gets built. Part of our fee can depend on them.
Our approach
From go to decision gate it is six weeks.
Before that sits a free preview on your decision question. Scope and dates of the run are set in the kick-off.
01Weeks 1 to 3
Setup and research
The decision question becomes a shared starting picture.
- Kick-off: decision question, scope, sponsor
- Documents and data access, commercial profile
- Market and competitor research from public sources
- Interviews with the people who know the assumptions
02Weeks 4 to 5
Wargame run
Scenarios, reactions, turning points, comparison.
- Sharpen scenario axes and agents
- Simulation over several rounds, stress test of the options
- Document turning points and red lines
- Prioritisation by impact, feasibility, data and time to test
The result: a result paper with the prioritised move and the next test.
03Week 6
Decision gate
Result paper and management session.
- Prioritised move, next test, owner
- KPI and status quo fixed
- Decision: set up, go deeper or stop
Your time
Kick-off 1.5 hours, three to five interviews of 45 minutes, management session 2 hours. We take care of the rest.
Not needed
No new IT system, no complete data room, no finished internal diagnosis, no finished business case.
Your entry point
A free preview on your decision question. We name the terms for the run afterwards.
References
For management teams, boards and PE firms facing a fork in the road.
Mid-sized companies and groups use the run for growth decisions at the customer interface. Private equity firms use it for investment committee briefs, deal gates and value creation strategies. Same arena, different decision question.
“Best of AI 2025”
Capital magazine (01/25) for the Tautiom AI® application by Bridgemaker.
Talk to someone who has been through it.
We connect you with an existing client. 30 minutes, without Bridgemaker in the room.
FAQ
What you probably still want to know.
What does agentic mean in a business wargame?
Classic wargames fill the roles with people in a room: team A plays us, team B the competitor. In an agentic wargame AI agents take those roles. Each agent has a goal, knowledge and room to act: the customer agent knows switching costs and willingness to pay per segment, the competitor agent knows price, portfolio and response patterns, the partner agent knows dealer interests and rules. They react to your moves, in rounds, repeatedly, with variants. That takes days rather than a single workshop day and can be repeated when an assumption changes. The human roles stay: ask the question, supply the assumptions, decide.
What do I get in the free preview?
You name a decision question and your website. We fill the commercial profile from public sources, set two scenario axes and let the agents play a first round. We show you the scenario map, three to four scenarios with probability and time window, and the first turning points. Without your documents and interviews these are outside views. The run turns them into your view.
How reliable are the probabilities and scenarios?
Scenarios are AI-narrated and marked as such. Probabilities are assessments by the agents based on research and your assumptions, not forecasts. Where no reliable assessment exists, the value axis stays empty. The value of the run sits in the order and in the turning points: which option tips over under which condition, and what has to be checked before launch.
How is this different from a scenario workshop?
Three things. First the opponent: agents react to your moves instead of your own team playing the competitor. Second the evidence status: observation, hypothesis, open question and decision stay separate. Third the ending: no report, but a next test with KPI, status quo, owner and decision gate. And the run is done in six weeks.
Does this work for private equity?
Yes, with a different decision question. Before the deal: an investment committee brief in which the target is played under pressure from competition and market rules. After the deal: value creation strategies with the portfolio CEO, preparation for conversations and deal gates. The commercial profile comes from public sources and the data room, the arena is the same.
Where does our data go and how safe is it?
Tautiom runs in the EU. For the preview we use only publicly available sources. Before the run we sign an NDA, share an inventory of the AI models and providers in use with your IT and agree retention and deletion periods. We work with documents and interviews, we need no access to production systems.
What does it cost?
The preview costs nothing. The limited run up to the decision gate has a fixed price, which we name after the preview together with scope and dates. Beyond the gate no obligation arises. Then you decide: go deeper, build, steer differently or stop.
Let's talk.
Fifteen minutes are often enough to find the biggest leverage. Tell us what it's about.