MLAI VALUES DISCUSSION RECORD — 11 September 2026
Guide: https://mlai.au/articles/featured/how-to-assess-cofounder-values-match-before-you-commit
Fictional worked example: Alex and Morgan, their answers, permission checks, work, time log and decisions are invented. These are not interviews, observed founder outcomes or a validated compatibility assessment.

FOUR COMPLETED FICTIONAL CONVERSATIONS
Ambition
Question: What are we agreeing to now, and what would make us stop?
Alex: I want to explore a business, but first I want to learn how we work together.
Morgan: I can agree to a learning exercise, not a company or full-time role.
Follow-up: Would both of us still value the exercise if we never launch?
Decision/unknown: Agree one learning exercise only. Whether to form a business remains unresolved.

Capacity
Question: What time and response windows can we actually offer?
Alex: Up to six hours total, with some weekday evenings and a Sunday debrief.
Morgan: Up to six hours total, mostly Saturday; I cannot promise weekday replies.
Follow-up: Can we exchange written reviews on Sunday without assuming instant responses?
Decision/unknown: Choose a written review and agreed Sunday debrief. Stop or reduce scope at the time limit; no extra hours are presumed.

Data and evidence
Question: What may we use to make this demo realistic?
Alex: Invented records are enough to test the workflow.
Morgan: An old employer's customer file would be realistic, but I have not established permission to use it.
Follow-up: What decision can synthetic records answer without importing that file?
Decision/unknown: Exclude the employer file entirely. Use an invented event card; do not claim that a discussion grants data rights.

Disagreement
Question: What if the demo has a known error when our time runs out?
Alex: I would keep the flawed version as evidence and show a smaller corrected mock-up.
Morgan: I want the error and any retest recorded, not hidden behind a polished demo.
Follow-up: What can we leave unfinished without misleading someone?
Decision/unknown: Keep the original replies and correction record. No public launch; unresolved work can remain unfinished.

COMPLETED DECISION RECORD
Decision or working situation:
Whether to undertake one synthetic event-information exercise together, not whether to become business partners.

My preference and why:
Alex: I want to explore a business, but first I want to learn how we work together.

Their preference in their own words:
Morgan: I can agree to a learning exercise, not a company or full-time role. These are authored fictional words, not an approved real quotation.

Concrete example each person offered:
Alex proposes invented records; Morgan raises an employer file without established permission. The file is excluded before any work. Each describes a six-hour maximum but different response windows.

What we agree on:
Synthetic card only; no sending, real registration, purchases or production access. Written review followed by a Sunday debrief. Either may stop.

What remains different or unknown:
Longer-term ambition and availability are unresolved. Agreement in conversation does not show that the boundary will be followed in practice.

Boundary each person needs respected:
Alex: preserve known errors in the record. Morgan: no assumed weekday replies or extension of the time limit. Neither is asked to disclose private finances or family circumstances.

Next conversation or observation:
Check whether both can explain and review a small mock-up under these limits. Agree the trial brief first; no actual trial or participant consent is established by this record.

Decision date, including permission to stop:
Fictional planning checkpoint before the exercise; no historical meeting date claimed. Explore the bounded task only; pause any larger commitment. Either can stop without a character judgment.

BLANK COPY — fill separately, then check each person's wording
Decision or working situation:
My preference and why:
Their preference in their own words:
Concrete example each person offered:
What we agree on:
What remains different or unknown:
Boundary each person needs respected:
Next conversation or observation:
Decision date, including permission to stop:

Next-stage brief and debrief: https://mlai.au/articles/featured/how-to-test-for-a-cofounder-values-match-before-you-commit
Save privately and agree access before using a real version. Do not upload identifiable cofounder notes to AI tools or publish another person's words/work without appropriate permission. No notes are submitted to MLAI; this is not an event registration, matching service or legal agreement.