SQOOT
Fortress Gold Inc. dba SQOOT

Customer Journey Flows v1.2

Products: SQOOT Pure · SQOOT Bench Prepared: April 13, 2026 Author: Jay Patel, Founder & CEO Distribution: Partners, Advisors, Investors
Product Line 01

SQOOT Pure — Consumer Gold Journey

From first search to repeat transaction — how a consumer or financial advisor moves through SQOOT Pure, with trust signals engineered at every step.

3%
Dealer Margin
Live
Real-Time Pricing
Vault
Inventory-Backed
Plaid ACH
Regulated Rails
Model note: SQOOT Pure is a licensed precious metals dealer selling from vault inventory. Consumers purchase / redeem gold from existing SQOOT inventory — we do not buy scrap gold from consumers, do not accept mail-in metal, and do not run assay / payout flows.

End-to-End Flow

flowchart TD A[Discovery: Newsletter / Content / Advisor / Referral] --> B[Visit getsqoot.com: Live spot price visible] B --> C{Account Created?} C -- No --> D[Sign Up: Email + Phone] C -- Yes --> E[Login] D --> F[KYC Verification: ID + Address + SSN] F --> G[Browse Vault Inventory: Coins / Bars / Fractional] E --> G G --> H[Select Product + Quantity] H --> I[Live Price Lock: 10-min Window at 3 percent margin] I --> J[Confirm Order: Review + Disclosures] J --> K[Plaid ACH Debit from Linked Bank] K --> L{Delivery Choice} L -- Vault Custody --> M[Allocated in SQOOT Insured Vault] L -- Ship to Me --> N[Insured Shipment + Signature Required] M --> Z[Receipt + Holdings Dashboard] N --> Z Z --> R1[Retention Loop] R1 --> R2[Recurring Purchase Plan] R1 --> R3[Advisor Portfolio Tools] R1 --> R4[Referral Rewards] R1 --> R5[Roadmap: Buyback of SQOOT Inventory] R1 --> R6[Roadmap: Gold-Backed Credit + IRA] classDef start fill:#D4A843,stroke:#A8842F,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:1.5px classDef trust fill:#FFF4D6,stroke:#D4A843,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:1.5px classDef money fill:#0F0A1E,stroke:#D4A843,color:#D4A843,stroke-width:2px classDef delivery fill:#E6F2F4,stroke:#127482,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:1.5px classDef finish fill:#5B21D4,stroke:#3D1A9E,color:#FFFFFF,stroke-width:1.5px class A,B,D,E start class F,I,J trust class K money class M,N delivery class Z,R1 finish

Journey Stages

Stage 1

Discovery
  • The Melt newsletter
  • SEO content (blog, Reddit, LinkedIn)
  • Advisor channel referral
  • Jeweler / Bench cross-referral

Stage 2

Onboarding
  • Sign up, verify email / phone
  • KYC: ID + address + SSN
  • Plaid bank link

Stage 3

Purchase from Vault
  • Browse live vault inventory
  • Select product + quantity
  • Live price lock (10 min)
  • Plaid ACH debit

Stage 4

Delivery
  • Allocated in insured SQOOT vault, OR
  • Insured shipment with signature
  • Digital receipt + holdings dashboard

Stage 5

Retention
  • Recurring purchase plans
  • Referral rewards
  • Advisor portfolio dashboard
  • Roadmap: SQOOT buyback, credit, IRA

Trust Signals at Every Step

Live spot price always visible
FinCEN-registered dealer
31 CFR 1027 compliance
Vault-backed allocated inventory
Insured outbound shipping
Plaid ACH rails only
Full audit-trail logging
Licensed dealer, not a marketplace
Product Line 02

SQOOT Bench — B2B Jewelry Repair Journey

The customer is the independent jeweler. The end consumer never interacts with SQOOT — the jeweler keeps the relationship and the retail margin.

Fixed
Per-SKU Pricing
7-10 Days
Turnaround Target
Insured
Both Directions
B2B Only
Jeweler Keeps Customer

End-to-End Flow

flowchart TD A[Discovery: Trade Show / Outreach / Referral / Trade Press] --> B[Jeweler Visits sqootbench.com] B --> C[Portal Signup: Shop Info + Tax ID] C --> D[First Repair Free Offer] D --> E[End Customer Drops Off Repair at Jeweler Shop] E --> F[Jeweler Intake in Portal: Photo + SKU + Notes] F --> G[Fixed Quote Displayed - Jeweler Quotes Retail to Customer] G --> H[Pre-paid Insured Pouch: FedEx / UPS] H --> I[Houston Facility Intake: Weigh + Photo + QC] I --> J{Scope Matches Quote?} J -- Yes --> K[Master Jeweler Performs Repair] J -- No --> J1[Portal Alert + Revised Quote] J1 --> K K --> L[QC Inspection + Master Sign-off if High Value] L --> M[Photograph Finished Piece] M --> N[Ship Back Insured + Signature] N --> O[Jeweler Receives + Portal Marks Complete] O --> P[Jeweler Invoices End Customer at Retail] P --> Q[SQOOT Invoices Jeweler at Wholesale] Q --> R[Retention Loop] R --> R1[Repeat Repairs: Recurring B2B LTV] R --> R2[Training Division Graduate Placement] R --> R3[SQOOT Pure Cross-sell: Scrap Gold Channel] R --> R4[Bench-in-a-Box Equipment Lease] classDef start fill:#127482,stroke:#0C5560,color:#FFFFFF,stroke-width:1.5px classDef customer fill:#E6F2F4,stroke:#127482,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:1.5px classDef work fill:#FFF4D6,stroke:#D4A843,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:1.5px classDef money fill:#0F0A1E,stroke:#D4A843,color:#D4A843,stroke-width:2px classDef finish fill:#5B21D4,stroke:#3D1A9E,color:#FFFFFF,stroke-width:1.5px class A,B,C,D start class E,F,G,O,P customer class I,J,K,L,M,N work class Q money class R,R1,R2,R3,R4 finish

Journey Stages

Stage 1

Discovery & Signup
  • Trade shows (JCK, AGS)
  • Direct sales outreach
  • Trade press (JCK, Rapaport, Instore)
  • Vendor / jeweler referral

Stage 2

First Repair Free
  • Activation offer kills friction
  • Jeweler tests quality risk-free
  • Portal walkthrough

Stage 3

Repair Workflow
  • Jeweler intake in portal
  • Fixed SKU quote
  • Insured mail-in to Houston
  • Master jeweler + QC
  • Return shipment insured

Stage 4

Settlement
  • Jeweler invoices retail customer
  • SQOOT invoices jeweler wholesale
  • Net 30 terms post-Repair #1

Stage 5

Retention & Expansion
  • Repeat repair volume
  • Training Division grad placement
  • SQOOT Pure scrap-gold cross-sell
  • Bench-in-a-Box equipment lease

Trust Signals at Every Step

Fixed pricing in writing
Insured logistics both ways
Photo docs at every handoff
Master sign-off on high-value
Real Houston facility
Jeweler keeps end customer
Portal status transparency
Make-good policy in writing
System View

How the Two Journeys Reinforce Each Other

The same operating company runs both flows. Customers on one side become leads on the other. Fortress Gold's wholesale infrastructure underpins everything.

flowchart LR FG[Fortress Gold: Wholesale Trading 18M per year] SP[SQOOT Pure: Consumer Gold] SB[SQOOT Bench: B2B Jewelry Repair] TD[Training Division] CUST[Consumers] JEW[Independent Jewelers] FG -->|Vault Inventory + Live Pricing| SP SP -->|Sells Gold to| CUST CUST -->|Refers Friends / Advisors| SP JEW -->|Sends Repairs| SB SB -->|Scrap + Estate Gold| FG SB -->|Refers Retail Buyers| SP SP -->|Refers to Local Jeweler| SB TD -->|Placed Graduates| JEW TD -->|Staff Pipeline| SB classDef pure fill:#D4A843,stroke:#A8842F,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:2px classDef bench fill:#127482,stroke:#0C5560,color:#FFFFFF,stroke-width:2px classDef core fill:#0F0A1E,stroke:#D4A843,color:#D4A843,stroke-width:2px classDef extn fill:#5B21D4,stroke:#3D1A9E,color:#FFFFFF,stroke-width:1.5px classDef ext fill:#FFFFFF,stroke:#EAE6D9,color:#0F0A1E,stroke-width:1.5px class SP pure class SB bench class TD extn class FG core class CUST,JEW ext