# Marcus Thielen, Director of Operations Excellence at Redford Logistics (540 employees) — read of Process Mining AI, May 19 2026

> 11 years in ops, mostly warehouse and fulfillment. Currently trying to convince my CFO that our pick-pack routing is costing us more than she thinks. Run a team of 6 analysts. Couch-to-5k dropout who now just coaches U10 soccer on Saturdays.

## How I got here

We're paying for Celonis and I hate the renewal conversation every year. I searched "process mining software SMB alternative" and this came up somewhere in the first page of results. Not a sponsored result, just organic. I was hoping for something with actual pricing upfront. Clicked through.

## What I clicked first

The hero looked like a real product. "Find workflow bottlenecks before they cost you" is a fine enough hook, and I noticed the security callouts immediately: "SOC 2 Type II Certified," "SSO / SAML / SCIM Included," "Data residency," "Dedicated CSM." Those are real buying criteria for me. I was leaning in.

Then I scrolled about three screen-heights and read: "Honest disclosure: we don't have live customers on this idea yet. We shipped the strategy package; you ship the customer conversations."

I had to re-read that twice. The SOC 2 badge is for a product with no customers. I don't even know what that means. Is there a product at all?

## Where I paused

The Fermi math section. Year-1 take-home: **-$54,600**. Success odds: **1 in 11**.

I actually respect that they published this. That's not something you see. I sat with it for a minute. Then I realized: they're not selling me a process mining tool. They're selling me a business idea package for $5 to $99. They want me to go build this company. I'm a buyer looking for ops software and I ended up on a pitch deck marketplace.

## What I distrusted

The security trust signals sitting directly above the "no live customers" disclosure. SOC 2 Type II is a real certification that a real company earns after operating for a meaningful period. Listing it as a feature of an unbuilt idea -- even if it's aspirational scoping for the idea -- reads as either confused or deliberately misleading. Someone less careful than me clicks "Talk to sales" thinking this is a live SaaS product.

Also "buyer clarity: 10/10" as a strength score. The page took me four scrolls to understand what was actually being sold. A 10 on buyer clarity is doing a lot of work there.

## What would convince me

Nothing, for my actual use case. I need process mining software, not a blueprint for building it. If I'm grading it on what it's actually supposed to be (an idea package for operators who want to launch a SaaS), then I'd want to see: one founder who bought this package, did something with it, and can name a specific outcome. Not a revenue number. Just "I got 3 design partners from the outreach pack" or "I used the MVP scope to scope a freelance engagement." That would tell me the dossier produces action, not just documents.

## What I'd ask in an email reply

1. The page shows SOC 2, SSO, SAML as features -- are those already built into a code base I'd be getting, or are those in the "aspirational spec" for the idea?
2. Has anyone actually purchased the $99 adopt package and shipped anything? Not asking for a case study, just asking if it happened at all.
3. What does "Operator partnership, custom" actually mean -- are you co-founding with me, doing contract development, or something else?

## Verdict: dismissive

Not because the product is bad, but because I came looking for software and found a business idea kit. The page structure reads like a SaaS homepage until it doesn't, and by then I've already lost trust in the framing. If it led with "this is a launchpad for building your own process mining company," I might have been the wrong audience but I'd have respected the honesty.

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*Memo by skeptic persona, generated 2026-05-19. Studio breaks own self-grading loop.*