Certificates and gates · 15 Academy blueprint

Pass marks, attempts and expiry are recommendations from the Semrush, Google and HubSpot patterns. No certificate or badge says "accredited" or "industry recognised".

Certificate	Requires	Pass	Valid
Maktura Certificate in Visible Expertise on LinkedIn (public; working name, founders confirm)	SSP 101; 20 questions in 30 minutes	80%; three attempts, then a 30-day wait	12 months; verification page; "add to LinkedIn"
Certified Maktura Referrer (partners)	FND 100; FND 102, HOL 101, HOL 102 partner editions; COM 102P; PAR 101 to 103; partner claims exam; Drill 32	Partner exam rules; Drill 32 rubric	12 months, or until a release changes partner claims: delta within 30 days or the referral link pauses
Maktura Seller Certificate	FND 101 to 105; HOL 101 to 203; MTH 101 to 209; SEG 101 and two of SEG 201 to 206; COM 101, 102, 201, 202; PRC 101, 201, 202; product and price exam (25 questions); full claims exam; four gates	80%; claims exam rules; each gate passed twice consecutively	12 months; delta within 14 days of a release
Seller Certificate: Advanced	Seller Certificate; MTH 301; COM 301; HOL 301; SEG 202 or 206; Drills 17, 22, 29; a win, loss or no-decision review of a real deal; one considered deal with a written mutual action plan	Each drill passed; review approved by a founder	12 months
Customer Success Certificate	FND 101 to 105; HOL 101, 102, 201, 203; COM 101, 102; CSM 101 to 204; CUS 101; full claims exam; Drills 27, 35, 36, 43	Claims exam rules; each drill passed	12 months; delta within 14 days
Release ready badge	Any internal or partner holder; 5 to 10 question delta quiz and one scenario	100% on changed prohibited claims; 80% overall	Until the next release

Seller Certificate: Prospecting (for anyone who prospects but does not demo) needs FND 101 to 104, HOL 101 and 102, MTH 101, 202 and 208, COM 102, the full claims exam and Drills 1, 16, 19 and 20. It permits no demos and nothing beyond the published bands. Every founder who speaks to buyers or partners sits the full claims exam and the HOL 202 gate during the soft launch. Assessors are founders, or Seller Certificate holders approved by the academy owner for a named gate.

Seller Certificate gates#

Two consecutive passes on each, scored by an assessor. Score only items that apply; pass is at least 80% of applicable points, rounded up, with no fail line.

Gate	Drills	Format	Scored on
1. Holly-first demo	10	Live role-play	Holly demo rubric, all items
2. Discovery	3 and 21	One 25-minute role-play	Master rubric 1 to 5, 8, 10, 12
3. Price and close	12, 8 and 14	One 15-minute role-play	Master rubric 7 to 12
4. Qualification	39	Written, 15 minutes	3 of 3 summaries right

Inbound role-plays score items 1, 2, 4, 10 and 12; segment role-plays score every item that arose.

Master call rubric#

Twelve items, 0 to 2 each: (1) up-front contract set, "no" made acceptable, the buyer's agenda invited; (2) a peer insight, not a company history, about-us under two minutes; (3) 11 to 14 questions spread through the call, anchored in past events; (4) SPICED captured in the buyer's words; (5) the AI fear named early where relevant; (6) demo led by a finished artefact, Holly first, nine minutes or less, then stop and ask; (7) price stated plainly from the commercial answers, then a pause, never "list price"; (8) objections met with a label and a calibrated question first; (9) one recommendation, risk taken off; (10) a dated buyer action, or an explicit "not a fit"; (11) every value illustration labelled aloud; (12) low self-orientation, no interrupting.

Rule

Fail lines, whatever the score: a RED claim said as something the product does or will do; any launch, go-live, delivery or roadmap date; naming a customer, prospect, partner or client other than the buyer in the conversation; engagement data described as leads, prospects or candidates, or as exportable; a discount or code offered; a price, discount or term not in the commercial answers.

Holly demo rubric#

Ten items, 0 to 2 each; pass 16 of 20, no fail line. (1) A real news item from the prospect's market. (2) Holly drafting for someone in the prospect's role on the demo workspace (voice from pasted posts only with consent on the call, marked test first). (3) The prospect asked whether they would post one. (4) A rule catching a line and the one-click rewrite, as a second pair of eyes, not a compliance sign-off. (5) Approval described as configurable, with the recommendation that a person approves every LinkedIn post. (6) The trust ladder in under a minute, with a starting level recommended. (7) Calendar or campaigns only as far as the buyer cared. (8) Engagement in GREEN wording using the demo workspace's data only: no prospect account is ever connected or logged into, and engagers' names from a colleague's profile are not shown until Karl confirms (D1). (9) Results by person and post a decision-maker would read (reports, share links and the digest are AMBER until D1; the digest is never shown). (10) Stopped by nine minutes to ask a question. Fail lines: as above, plus connecting, logging into or posting to a prospect's account, or the reset checklist not done.