Agend - Product Marketing Foundation
Ground truth for every agend-gtm skill. Read this before writing any page copy. Facts here carry a source; do not add unsourced claims. Last reviewed by Glen: GAP(Glen): not yet reviewed.
Positioning
Agend is an association management platform: a branded member app (iOS, Android, web and desktop) paired with a staff dashboard, a unified data gateway, and a learning management system, built specifically for membership associations rather than as a general-purpose chat tool or app builder. Staff run comms, learning and CPD, events and a member directory from one dashboard; members get one app that already carries their association's name, logo and colour, with real-time channels, direct messages and threads underneath it (source: CLAUDE.md).
The company has spent eighteen months building this platform. The 2026 ASA proposal we responded to asked for courses and CPD with server-side quiz scoring and certificates, events with calendar export, a searchable member directory, push notifications with per-member preferences, and tenant branding driven from configuration rather than a code change - and all of it already exists in production rather than on a roadmap (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md, July 2026; CLAUDE.md).
Two things differentiate it from a generic team-chat app or a website with a login: the learning/CPD module is unusually deep for a member app (video, PDF, HTML and SCORM content, quizzes scored server-side, certificates, offline download), and the real-time messaging and community layer (channels, DMs, threads, reactions, polls, presence) is, in the proposal's own words, "the most mature part of our codebase" - an association asking for a private committee space already has most of it built. A hub-and-spoke connector model (built and live for the Upbeat CRM, proven at around two thousand contacts) means an association's existing system of record stays in place; the app is a spoke that reads from Agend's platform rather than needing direct access or duplicated data entry (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md, sections 2, 3 and 7).
GAP(Glen): confirm the one-liner Glen actually uses with prospects.
Audiences
Buyers
Association CEOs / GMs, membership managers, comms managers. Risk-averse, non-technical, report to volunteer boards, measured on engagement and retention (source: docs/specs/2026-07-13-agend-gtm-design.md).
Users
Members of those associations (the app), association staff (the dashboard) (source: docs/specs/2026-07-13-agend-gtm-design.md).
The product surface
Member app: iOS, Android, web and desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux via
Electron) (source: CLAUDE.md). Production App Store submission is
underway: build 7 was delivered to the correct App Store Connect record
(au.com.agend.app) and TestFlight build 9 has been submitted, as at the
dates in the cited notes - not yet a public store listing (source: memory:
asc-app-records-ios-submit.md, 12 Jul 2026; MEMORY.md).
Dashboard: staff manage branding, content, comms and CRM/CPD
configuration centrally - for example Settings -> Site Builder -> Brand & Theme for tenant branding (source: pages/personalise-your-app/sections.html;
memory: tenant-branding-phased-strategy.md).
Unified gateway: one API surface at api.agend.com.au fronts CRM, LMS,
CMS, events, directory and Loop for client apps, under a standard response
envelope. Real-time chat (channels, DMs, threads, presence) is served
directly by Supabase, not the gateway (source: memory:
gateway-data-layer-alignment.md; memory: production-environment-verified.md).
Tenant branding (three phases): Phase 1 - post-login accent colour, logo and short/full name, chosen from four curated accents (Lavender is the Agend default, plus Mint, Coral, Lemon) - is live and verified end-to-end in production for WDAA, accent set to Mint. Phase 2 - a branded sign-in screen before login - is planned with no committed date. Phase 3 - an association's own app store listing - is a commercial, paid tier, gated by Apple's requirement that each association hold its own Apple Developer organisation account (guideline 4.2.6) (source: memory: tenant-branding-phased-strategy.md).
Feature inventory
Loop / community and messaging
| Feature | Status | Horizon | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channels, direct messages, threads, reactions, presence and typing indicators | Live | - | CLAUDE.md; docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md |
| Push notifications for channel messages, @mentions, thread replies, direct messages | Live | live in production since 13 Jul 2026 | pages/push-notifications/sections.html; memory: push-notifications-live.md |
| Loop community feed (read-only activity feed, its own tab) | Live | - | memory: loop-community-feed-architecture.md |
| Comments, likes or composing inside the Loop feed itself | Coming soon | no committed date; the backend has no post-detail comment/like/compose endpoints yet | memory: loop-community-feed-architecture.md |
| Push notifications for association-wide announcements (admin broadcast) | Coming soon | no committed date | pages/push-notifications/sections.html; memory: push-notifications-live.md |
LMS / Learn
| Feature | Status | Horizon | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course catalogue, enrolment, lesson playback (video, PDF, HTML, SCORM), quizzes with server-side scoring, certificates, progress tracking | Live (built) | - | CLAUDE.md; docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md |
| Offline download of course content, learning paths | Live | 30-day content expiry | CLAUDE.md |
| Lesson content loading in production | Blocked | as at 12 Jul 2026, gated on a cross-repo build break (dashboard issue #851) reaching the main/production deploy | memory: lms-deploy-blocked-server-only.md |
| Real per-member CPD targets, compliance pace (met / on track / behind), deadline countdown | Coming soon | no committed date; the compliance engine exists on the backend, mobile still shows a hardcoded 40-point fallback target | memory: cpd-compliance-engine-disconnected.md |
Events
| Feature | Status | Horizon | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing, filtering, detail pages, registration, calendar (iCal) export | Live | - | docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md; memory: nav-4-tab-header-decision.md |
| Push notification reminders for events a member has registered for | Coming soon | no committed date | pages/push-notifications/sections.html |
Directory
| Feature | Status | Horizon | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member directory (people: name, role, bio, connect/message), searchable, with detail pages | Live, per-tenant mode | - | memory: directory-polymorphic-by-membership-type.md; docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md |
| Business/listing-style directory (for tenants whose membership type is organisation-based) | Built (member mode proven live for WDAA; business mode not yet live for a tenant) | - | memory: directory-polymorphic-by-membership-type.md |
Notifications (member controls)
| Control | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Per-type on/off switches (channel messages, mentions, thread replies, DMs) | Live | pages/push-notifications/sections.html |
| Quiet hours, in the member's own timezone | Live | pages/push-notifications/sections.html |
| Per-channel mutes | Live | pages/push-notifications/sections.html |
| Sound on/off (silent delivery) | Live | pages/push-notifications/sections.html |
| System-level device permission, always respected | Live | pages/push-notifications/sections.html |
| Preference matrix enforced server-side at the moment of sending, never just hidden on the device | Live, negative case verified | memory: push-notifications-live.md |
Membership status (plan, tier, renewal date, benefits, invoice history) is also live today (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md, section 2).
Proof points
WDAA (Web Developers Association of Australia): tenant branding Phase 1 is live end-to-end in production, accent set to Mint, verified via the app and Playwright (source: memory: tenant-branding-phased-strategy.md, 12 Jul 2026). WDAA is also the fullest production reference tenant: 54 directory members, courses, articles and CRM contacts live (source: memory: production-environment-verified.md, 6 Jul 2026).
GAP(Glen): confirm the current client count (the "~30 clients" figure has no independent source) and how to phrase it on pages. GAP(Glen): which clients can be named on pages, and in what words. GAP(Glen): any engagement numbers we are allowed to cite.
Note: the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) received a detailed proposal in July 2026 (docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md) that shows platform maturity against a real association's requirements list. ASA is a prospect, not a signed client - do not use it as a case study or proof point unless Glen confirms otherwise.
Governance & privacy facts (for governance-block sections)
Who can send notifications today: only real member activity - a channel post, an @mention, a thread reply, or a direct message. Nothing is manufactured to bring people back into the app for its own sake, and there is no admin broadcast tool yet (association-wide announcements are Coming soon) (source: pages/push-notifications/sections.html; memory: push-notifications-live.md).
Member controls: each notification type has its own switch, honoured at the moment of sending rather than only hidden on the device - see the Notifications table above for the full list. The preference matrix (loop notification preferences, channel mute state, conversation mute state, quiet hours and sound) is enforced server-side; the negative case (a muted member correctly not paged) is verified live (source: pages/push-notifications/sections.html; memory: push-notifications-live.md).
Security: authentication tokens are held in the device keychain (iOS) or keystore (Android), never in unencrypted storage; row-level security applies throughout; account deletion is supported in-app to meet Apple's guideline 5.1.1(v) (source: CLAUDE.md; docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md; memory: prelaunch-fixes-2026-07.md). The push pipeline re-fetches each message by id rather than trusting the request payload, so a forged notification payload cannot be used to leak message content (source: memory: push-notifications-live.md).
Data hosting: the production Supabase project (Agend-Dashboard) runs in the ap-southeast-2 (Sydney) region, and the production gateway blocks traffic from outside Australia as a deliberate product constraint (source: memory: production-environment-verified.md; memory: gateway-firewall-blocks-app.md).
GAP(Glen): confirm the exact Australian data residency wording we can stand behind. Agend's own proposal language to date has been "we'd confirm [it] as part of Phase 0 - our infrastructure supports it, but we'd rather verify than assert" (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md), which is not yet a claim made unprompted.
Competitors & alternatives
GAP(Glen): who Agend actually loses to (status quo email? Higher Logic? MemberPress? local AMS players?) and the honest differences.
Sourced context: in the one detailed proposal on file (ASA, July 2026), Agend explicitly recommended against three things prospects sometimes ask for - a member-facing chatbot (consistently low uptake and a permanent governance burden, in the proposal's assessment), embedding third-party social feeds (breaks when platform APIs change without warning), and recreating the association website inside the app ("an app that's a shrunken website gets deleted") - in favour of the things a phone is good for: notifications, offline access and quick lookups (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md, section 9).
Objections & answers
Member spam fear ("will this annoy our members?"): every notification traces back to a real action by a real person - a post, a reply, a message
- never manufactured to pull someone back into the app for its own sake; and every type has its own switch, honoured at the moment of sending rather than just hidden on the device (source: pages/push-notifications/sections.html).
Rollout effort ("what does this cost us in staff time?"): tenant
branding takes three inputs - short name, full name, and one of four
curated accent colours (a logo is optional) - handed over by email or set
directly in the dashboard (Settings -> Site Builder -> Brand & Theme),
live within about an hour, no app update required (source:
pages/personalise-your-app/sections.html).
Half-built roadmap perception ("is this actually finished, or a pitch deck?"): be specific rather than reassuring - state plainly what is live today versus Coming soon, and why, the way the ASA proposal does ("we've been deliberately blunt about all three") rather than blurring the line (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md, section 1).
Board reporting ("what do I tell my board this achieves?"): until real metrics exist, use an honest proxy rather than an invented number - for example, "members who enable notifications come back to conversations they would otherwise have missed" (source: docs/plans/2026-07-13-agend-gtm-system.md, Task 3).
Packaging & pricing notes
White-label (an association's own app store listing) is a paid, commercial tier - Phase 3 of tenant branding - built only once sold, because it requires the association to hold its own Apple Developer organisation account (Apple guideline 4.2.6, roughly $99/year plus a D-U-N-S number). Comparable vendors (Clowder, Mighty Pro, RD Mobile, Engagefully) price similar white-label tiers at roughly $10,000+/year, which is the anchor Agend is working from rather than conceding the tier (source: memory: tenant-branding-phased-strategy.md).
No pricing appears on client-facing pages (source: docs/plans/2026-07-13-agend-gtm-system.md, Task 8 hard rules).
Ongoing support, hosting and maintenance sit under a standard managed service agreement (source: docs/RFP/ASA-PROPOSAL-RESPONSE.md, section 10).
GAP(Glen): tier names and what is included where.
Voice
Defer to writing-as-glen (instructional register) + the hard rules in design-system/patterns.md. Nothing voice-related lives here.