Optro practice portfolio
Three pilots. Holding the line on fixed-price margin.
Prepared for: Optro Practice principal · Period: YTD through May 2026 · Cadence: monthly
Revenue contracted
$2.48M
Across 3 active engagements
Blended margin (actual)
49%
vs 55% estimated — 6 pts below
FDE pod utilization
81%
Q2 forecast · 0.8 spare pod-weeks
Time to next pilot capacity
12 weeks
After Borealis T-0 in Aug
Active engagements
Helios Robotics
$855K
Price
52%
Margin (-5)
Remed.
Stage
Borealis Health URGENT
$1.08M
Price
41%
Margin (-18)
Testing
Stage
Spectrum Capital
$540K
Price
53%
Margin (+3)
Scoping
Stage
Blended margin trend · YTD by month
Drift: Borealis testing-phase overruns drove a ~6-point blended margin slip over the last two months. Helios is also running 5 points below its engagement estimate. Spectrum's still in scoping and contributing positively. Recommendation: escalate Borealis to Practice principal (see Risk flags).
Risk flags · this week
RED
Borealis Health
Margin running 18 pts below estimate · 3 unresolved testing exceptions · customer pushing back on remediation deadline · T-95 days
Margin running 18 pts below estimate · 3 unresolved testing exceptions · customer pushing back on remediation deadline · T-95 days
AMBER
Helios Robotics
Margin -5 pts vs estimate · walkthrough plan reset with Deloitte added 2 weeks of FDE time · stable but watch
Margin -5 pts vs estimate · walkthrough plan reset with Deloitte added 2 weeks of FDE time · stable but watch
GREEN
Spectrum Capital
Just-kicked-off · margin +3 pts vs estimate · scoping work on track for T-9 sign-off
Just-kicked-off · margin +3 pts vs estimate · scoping work on track for T-9 sign-off
FDE pod capacity forecast · next 4 quarters
Pod
Q2 2026
Q3 2026
Q4 2026
Q1 2027
Pod A (Helios)
Pod B (Borealis)
Pod C (Spectrum)
Three FDE pods running concurrently. Pod B opens up Q4 after Borealis files — that's the next available slot for a fourth pilot engagement. Sales should hold off on closing a Q3 start.
The operating-model thesis
Optro Practice can profitably deliver fixed-price 12-month pre-IPO SOX engagements at 50% blended margin using small FDE pods + Midship delivery — without the brand-tax overhead Big 4 firms carry.
The three pilots are the proof. Helios (mid-engagement) is holding 52%. Spectrum (just-kicked-off) projects to 53%. Borealis (testing peak) is the stress test — running 18 points below estimate and the playbook adjustment opportunity. If we resolve the Borealis testing pattern (likely via FDE-pod-load-balancing in Q3), blended margin returns to >50%.