Question 1

What is Extraordinary? (And why is everyone grinning?)

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary builds software, websites, and apps for founder-led companies. you own every account, asset, and line of code. We are builders with 20+ years of experience across 500+ companies. Five engines run under the hood: brand, media, growth, comms, and incentives.

Question 2

What does Extraordinary actually build, besides awkward small talk?

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary builds five connected engines. Brand sharpens the story. Media publishes it. Growth turns attention into pipeline. Comms aligns external messaging with internal culture. Incentives reward the behaviors that move the business forward.

Question 3

What does the Comms Engine include?

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary's Comms Engine connects external messaging and internal culture. It includes customer, investor, partner, and press messaging; newsletters and launches; leadership updates; team rituals; onboarding communication; and change or crisis playbooks, all in one voice and cadence.

Question 4

What does the Incentives Engine include? (Other than paying us.)

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary's Incentives Engine aligns rewards with the result the company wants. It includes compensation and bonus design, referral and partner programs, customer loyalty, team scorecards, recognition rituals, and incentive modeling so leaders can see the likely behavior and payout before launch.

Question 5

Is the comedy thing real, or is that a bit?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Extraordinary produces Arizona After Dark, a live variety comedy show in Tempe, Arizona hosted by Aaron Bare and Forbes Shannon. It also produces the Extraordinary Stories podcast and hosts Extraordinary Friends, a weekly online meetup. Extraordinary runs its own engines before selling them.

Question 6

Do I really get improv training? What's the catch?

Accepted Answer

Every Extraordinary client gets improv training as part of the engagement. Founders and teams learn to think on their feet, say 'yes, and,' and communicate under pressure, the same skills Extraordinary uses on stage at Arizona After Dark. There is no catch; funny is a strategy.

Question 7

What is Extraordinary Friends? (It's not a cult. Probably.)

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary Friends is a free weekly online meetup hosted by Extraordinary. Attendees are introduced to people worth knowing and bring one real problem, which the room solves live. Clients and future clients are both welcome. Sign up from the Extraordinary home page.

Question 8

How long does an engagement take? Six months or six years?

Accepted Answer

Neither. Timelines are set by product, not by calendar padding. Websites ship in 30 to 60 days, software in 60 to 90 days, apps in about 90 days. Scope is fixed per product and the price is fixed too, quoted after the free 100-point audit so nobody is guessing. At handover you own every account, asset, and line of code. If you want us to keep going after that, we can, as an ongoing partnership, not a retainer you forget you are paying.

Question 9

Who is Extraordinary for? (Be honest with yourself.)

Accepted Answer

Founder-led companies with existing revenue, a real product, and a founder with something to say. It fits leaders willing to be on camera and on the page who would rather own one engine than rent five.

Question 10

Who runs Extraordinary? Three people walk into a bar...

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary is led by Aaron Bare, who runs strategy, innovation, and AI implementation; Forbes Shannon, who runs production, narrative, and storytelling; and Christine Butler, Editor in Chief. They lead a specialist bench that builds every strategy into working infrastructure.

Question 11

Does the client own the work, or do you hold it hostage?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every asset, account, automation, and dashboard is built in the client's own accounts and owned by the client. Extraordinary does not hold logins, audiences, or data hostage, and the system keeps running after the engagement ends.

Question 12

Do I have to keep paying after the work is delivered?

Accepted Answer

No. You buy a product with a fixed scope and a fixed price, quoted after the free 100-point audit: a website, software, or an app. It ships on the timeline for that product, ownership transfers at handover, and you can walk away owning all of it. Plenty of clients keep us on afterward as an ongoing partnership. That is a choice you make once you have the thing, not a subscription we sneak in first.

Question 13

How does someone start working with Extraordinary?

Accepted Answer

Book a thirty-minute call with Aaron Bare and Forbes Shannon at joinextraordinary.com/contact. The call covers what the company sells and what it wants next. There is no pitch deck, and the output is a short list of the one thing to focus on.

Question 14

What kind of clients has Extraordinary worked with? (Name-drop away.)

Accepted Answer

Work spans large brands and public agencies through to founder-led companies, including Coca-Cola, Walgreens, NFL Alumni, and Arizona Department of Public Safety. Case studies and video testimonials are published at joinextraordinary.com/proof.

Question 15

What is Extraordinary Stories?

Accepted Answer

Extraordinary Stories is Extraordinary's podcast and research engine. Roughly 500 conversations with founders and leaders shaped Extraordinary's point of view: fund one priority, build a weekly media habit, and keep one partner accountable for the number.

Good stories.
Bad filters.

“Dreams Don't Have an Expiration Date.” | The Extraordinary Story of Amy Robbins

Listen badly.
Think better.

“Beliefs are Lies We Tell Ourselves To Be True” | The Extraordinary Story of Dr. James Leathem

“Today’s the Day I Beat Him” | The Extraordinary Story of Eamonn Kichuk

“Dissatisfaction is a Creative State” | The Extraordinary Story of Ben Dixon

“Let It Be… and If It’s Not in Front of You, Let It Go.” | The Extraordinary Story of Emily Nguyen

“Don’t Feel Like an Outsider” | The Extraordinary Story of Lawan Hawizy

“Self-Belief is Overrated. Generate Evidence.” | The Extraordinary Story of Bethany Graver

“Just Say Yes and Go” | The Extraordinary Story of Nicholas VandenNieuwenhof

“I Just Wanted to Feel Confident” | The Extraordinary Story of Brianna Ransbottom

“Take a Walk Before You Say Something You Regret” | The Extraordinary Story of Brandon Gerson

“The Scariest Thing You Do Becomes the Best Thing” | The Extraordinary Story of Alan S. Adams

“Your Body was Communicating 20 Years Ago” | The Extraordinary Story of Lucia Harmeling

Two shows.
Zero beige.

Extraordinary Stories

Don't Die Ordinary

The True Healing Experience

Bring the bit you usually leave out.