Intelligence is upstream of persuasion.
An issue of how the Engine is pacing — what we shipped, what we are building, who we are hiring, and the questions still open. Prepared for our investors.
The math holds. 500 videos, 60M impressions, $1.1M deployed against a thesis of intelligence over persuasion.
Parallax tests whether intelligence-first communications can reach audiences traditional political advertising no longer can.
The 2026 frame is unchanged: a national signal-testing program at the scale required to learn, not perform. Every decision — hires, state scope, paid spend — inherits from the four numbers on the right.
The 2026 measure.
- Videos shipped500 / yr
- Impressions60M+
- Content streams6 active
- Editorial cadence12–14 / wk
- Paid spend (validated)$1.1M
- State pilots running2–3
- Operational independenceBy 30 Jun
Where the engine stands at the close of Q1.
The April scoreboard, refreshed each issue. Where we’re gating, the gate is named — not hidden behind the bar. As of 06 May MMXXVI
What changes the day Trilogy closes.
Three meters above read low because they’re gated, not failing. Trilogy closes the week of 13 May. The moment paid spend goes live, the engine reorders. Forecast based on confirmed contract pipeline
- Videos shipped65 / 500
- Impressions12K · organic only
- Paid spend deployed$0 (gated)
- Editor capacity1 (Aaron)
- State surfaces liveCO + AK + PA
The reading above — honestly. Three meters held by a single contract signature.
- Videos shipped~110
- Impressions20M+ · paid live
- Paid spend deployed$200K & ramping
- Editor capacity2–3 onboard
- State surfaces liveCO + AK + PA + MA
First $200K of validated paid spend live within 14 days of contract close. Editor #2 onboard. CO V2 clipping tool in test.
Strategy, on a page, in four parts.
I.National SignalR&D budget · 500 videos · 60M+ impressions
◐ Emerging- Polaris
- Six content streams. Paid only behind validated cuts. Learning loop closes on every release.
- Status
- 65 videos shipped · streams 1–2 fully active · 3–4 spinning up · paid spend gated on Trilogy.
- Vector
- Editors #2–3 onboard · CO filmmaker on retainer · stable activated · first $400K national paid wave.
II.State SurfacesThree live · CO as exemplar · MA exploring
◐ Emerging- Polaris
- Partnership model proven in multiple states. Replicable playbook by year-end.
- Status
- CO live · AK live · Project 26 active in PA · MA exploring. Four surfaces post-close.
- Vector
- MA decision · CO V2 clipping tool · PA legislator template scaling · cross-state pattern.
III.Product & TechPIP built · Training live · Resonance in build
◐ Emerging- Polaris
- Closed learning loop on every release. Training portal for creators + partners. Resonance Model quantifies what moves which audience.
- Status
- Training portal · live. PIP V1 · architecture built. Resonance Model · active build (riskiest engineering call).
- Vector
- Resonance first calibration on paid signal · clipping tool ships to CO · PM hire · technical advisor.
IV.Org & CompanyParallax Innovations · Delaware C Corp
◇ Investor attention- Polaris
- Operationally independent by 30 June. Brand established. Advisory council seated. CoS + CTO in seat.
- Status
- Incorporated · 3 MSAs in flight · CoS + CTO in active sourcing · JH formal transition Sep · Board: Sam Marr, Marc Merrill · Director: Neal Simon.
- Vector
- Operational independence (Jun) · CoS + CTO onboarded · brand reveal · advisory council · 2027 raise.
What we build alongside what we ship.
PIP V1Parallax Intelligence Platform — closes the learning loop
Architecture BuiltSystem of record for every video. Performance signals, audience segmentation, and the learning loop that decides what gets paid. Architecture built; ready to calibrate the moment paid signal returns.
Resonance ModelElastic Net regression — content-to-audience scoring
In Active BuildMeasurement layer underneath PIP. Riskiest engineering call on the roadmap. Tells us which content moves which audience on which platform — feeds the paid decision and the next creative brief.
Clipping ToolCO partner volunteers · empowerment build
Next UpFirst empowerment tool. CO partner volunteers clip and remix Engine content under brand-safe rails. Proves infrastructure travels back to partners, not just outputs.
Creator PortalManage the influencer stable
In BuildContracts, briefs, deliverables, performance against rates for the creator stable. Closes the production loop on stream #3.
Training PortalLive — creators, partner volunteers, state operators
LiveIn use by the creator stable today. Rolling out to CO partner volunteers next. Decoupled from PIP — ships on its own clock.
Microbrand StableVoter Freedom · We Pay We Vote · MECA · LAVA
ActiveThe portfolio is the product. Voter Freedom is the anchor; We Pay We Vote and MECA active; LAVA in development. Showcase below.
Two surfaces, live today.
Click in. Same infrastructure your team uses to learn the craft and ship the work.
The work, itself.
The build, by hand.
Filled · The Cast
- Executive DirectorNick TroianoFilled
- President · Parallax InnovationsJonathan HillerFilled
- Lead EditorAaronFilled
- Supervising Producer · NationalKarissaFilled
- Tech Build · EngineeringAudra + ChrisPay step-up pending
- Senior AdvisorTed DelicathFilled
In Flight · The Sequence
- Chief Technology OfficerOpenActive search
- Chief of StaffIn sourcingQ.II
- CO Filmmaker · RetainerIn sourcingDay 1 priority
- Editor #2OpenQ.II
- Editor #3OpenQ.II–Q.III
- Editors #4–6OpenQ.III–Q.IV
- Tech PMOpenDecision in 60 days
- Technical AdvisorOpenOpen question
Rate-limiter sequence: Create → Produce → Edit → Ship → Track. Today “Create” is the bottleneck. Each hire migrates it downstream. Costs are already obligated; not hiring leaves capacity on the table.
What we name, before you have to ask.
Already Decided
- Scope held. 500 videos / 60M impressions / $1.1M paid. Not reduced.
- Trilogy as paid gate. All paid spend flows through Trilogy (12% commission). Hard gate.
- State pilots. CO + MA + AK. PA absorbs strike-team work.
- Entity. Parallax Innovations. Delaware C Corp. JH formal transition Sep MMXXVI.
- Six-month contractor-first staffing. Deliberate. Roll-back requires conscious decision.
Decision Needed
- Alaska reset. $250K committed, structurally misaligned. Nick + JH call before CoS onboards.
- LAVA microbrand. Confirmation in Kyle’s architecture memo.
- State #2. MA as comms-engine pilot first; ballot upside second.
- Technical advisor. Seat open; Resonance Model is the riskiest call.
- Tech PM hire. Add in 60 days, or hold for V1 ship.
Open Question
- Founder-dependent create rate. Aaron is sole editor. JH + editorial meeting are the only Create surface today.
- Contractor-first vs. FTE. Stewardship limits speed; we’ll name it when investors ask why we’re slow.
- V1 → V2 hand-off. Does the learning loop hold when scaled to partners?
- Cycle compression. Q.IV is short and load-bearing. Buffer is thin.
Three concrete asks.
Three people we’re looking for.
A documentary editor (we’re hiring four). A technical advisor with applied-ML and content-measurement scars. A Colorado-anchored filmmaker. Warm intros > cold leads.
Soft commits for ’27 follow-on.
One large raise in Q.IV beats three smaller ones across the cycle. Soft signals — even non-binding — let us sequence against operational independence in June.
One hour, on measurement.
If you’ve built a measurement system that survived a campaign cycle — or watched one fail at scale — we want one hour. Resonance is our riskiest call.
What we are actually building.
This is not a campaign. It’s the construction of an instrument — one we intend to keep operating, refining, and pointing at the largest civic conversations of the next decade. The math (500 / 60M / $1.1M) isn’t a target; it’s the minimum volume at which the instrument learns. Below that line we’re guessing. Above it we’re measuring. 2026 is staying above the line, hiring ahead of bottlenecks, and refusing to perform when we’re still supposed to be learning.
What we ask of you: patience through June, pressure after. June is operational independence. After that, the answer to almost every question becomes “ship.” We’ll write again at the close of Q.III with what shipped, what didn’t, and what we changed our mind about.