How We Built 5L: Video First, Then the System

By Bill Sitzmann · October 22, 2026

Most boutique consultancies suffer from an obvious credibility gap online.

Their partners have spent decades in the trenches doing real, transformative work. But you wouldn't know it from their digital footprint. What you usually find is a generic WordPress template, stock photos of handshakes, and a collection of blog posts written strictly for search engines instead of real-world CEOs.

5L Performance Group had the hardest part mastered. Co-founders Rick Faber and Jesse DePriest had built a battle-tested leadership operating system centered on five distinct pillars:Love, Listen, Learn, Lead, and Lean.

They had undeniable client results to back it up—including taking one mid-market client from $2M to $7M in top-line revenue over two years, with that same business now pacing toward $16M.

What they lacked was an integrated digital presence that did justice to that caliber of work. No prospective client could actually feel their energy or experience the methodology before getting on a sales call.

We closed that gap. But we didn't start by wireframing a new homepage.

We deployed an intentional sequence:Video first, then the website, then a proprietary interactive assessment engine—all operating as one managed ecosystem.

Here is why that order mattered, and how it completely changed the economics of their growth.

Phase 1: Video Before Anything Else

A website is fundamentally a container. If you build the container before you have compelling, authentic media to put inside it, you end up launching an empty box and spending the next twelve months apologizing for it.

So before writing a single line of web code, we put Rick and Jesse in front of the lens.

We launched The Business Sherpas, a standalone, studio-produced video show designed around deep-dive conversations with real founders and operators. Each episode anchors to a specific business transformation, followed directly by Jesse and Rick breaking down the operational mechanics.

By the time the site was ready to build, we had shot the first three episodes and pushed the pilot live. That gave us an immediate working cadence: full-length discussions paired with weekly, vertical "Field Note" clips cut specifically for LinkedIn and mobile feeds.

Starting with video unlocked three massive advantages right out of the gate:

• Instant Executive Authority: When a prospective CEO watches Jesse diagnose a real-world Lean bottleneck on camera with zero fluff, the sales process is already halfway won before the discovery call begins.

• A High-Impact Content Bank: Even with just three shoots in the can, we didn't have to source stock photography or draft hollow placeholder text. We had native, broadcast-quality frame grabs and video clips ready to anchor every layout.

• Operational Clarity: Articulating your framework out loud, on camera, under production deadlines forces you to tighten your message. The core language around the 5 L's, their primary calls to action, and their brand positioning were battle-tested in the edit bay long before we drew a wireframe.

Guest conversations stayed intact, while the hosts' recap analysis became an engine of bite-sized tactical insights. Every clip pointed straight back to one of the five core pillars.

Phase 2: Building the Site Around the Content

With the production rhythm established and the pilot episode live, the purpose of 5L's website became remarkably straightforward: give that growing video library a high-converting home and drive every visitor toward one of two specific actions:

1. Take the 5Levate Assessment

2. Book an executive Strategy Call

No competing popups, no distracting secondary offers. Two clear paths site-wide.

We engineered 5lperformancegroup.com from scratch. Rather than leaning on an off-the-shelf corporate theme, we opted for an editorial, magazine-style layout featuring crisp typography (Inter paired with Tiempos) and an exact, vector-rendered representation of 5L’s signature five-triangle mark.

The video assets did the heavy lifting across the entire experience:

• An interactive vertical shorts slider right on the homepage.

• Think Better Business, an insights hub structured like an executive publication rather than a dusty reverse-chronological blog feed.

• Editorial pull-quotes directly tied to real client impact, paired with a verified client logo marquee.

We also migrated their historical articles into the new architecture, implementing clean 301 redirects across every URL so zero organic equity was lost. We archived low-performing legacy posts so that any executive reading an article post-assessment encounters clear, authoritative thinking—not generic SEO filler.

We pushed the site live on October 20, 2026. Launch was an operational milestone, not a finish line: rather than waiting for every future case study to be finalized, we toggled unfinished modules off and shipped what was ready.

Phase 3: Turning the Framework into an Interactive Product

A digital brochure merely tells a prospect what you can do. A software product lets them experience it for themselves.

Jesse came to us with a comprehensive diagnostic blueprint: 5 Levers, 26 Keys, 103 diagnostic statements, and 130 maturity descriptions. We engineered that rubric into a dual-tiered application powered by a unified scoring engine.

1. The Public Snapshot

The frictionless front door for prospective clients. In fifteen statements and roughly three minutes on mobile, a leader receives:

• An overall maturity rating across 5L’s scale (Languishing through Legendary).

• Individual scores across the 5 Levers.

• Their single highest-leverage operational gap.

• An automated, personalized one-page PDF report delivered straight to their inbox alongside a direct scheduling link.

At the exact same moment, 5L’s team receives an automated lead alert detailing the prospect's profile.

2. The Enterprise Assessment

The private application 5L deploys inside client organizations.

• Customized internal campaign links segment responses by organizational tier, allowing executive leadership to identify perception gaps across departments.

• A built-in three-response anonymity floor protects psychological safety so employees can answer candidly.

• 5L reviews and synthesizes the data before presenting the final deliverable.

• Annual re-assessments provide transparent, side-by-side benchmarking of cultural and operational progress over time.

Because the scoring algorithm executes client-side for the Snapshot and via serverless edge functions for enterprise reports, the assessment logic never drifts. The entire rubric lives in a centralized database, meaning 5L can update assessment language or rubrics on the fly without writing code.

Managed and Integrated, or It Doesn’t Count

Traditional agency engagements typically split this scope across three different vendors: a video production shop, a web design firm, and a custom software agency.

That model creates fragmented brand messaging, siloed data, and three separate dashboards where qualified leads slip through the cracks.

We unified the entire stack:

• A Snapshot completion records directly to Supabase, computes scores, generates a dynamic PDF, delivers it via Resend, and notifies 5L immediately.

• Lead statuses are managed inside a lightweight admin interface custom-built for how their team actually works—no bulky CRM required.

• Community huddles synchronize automatically to an active calendar feed that members never have to manually re-download.

• The video show, the brand identity, the assessment, and the site all draw from an identical visual and verbal design system.

More importantly, we didn't hand over an admin password and walk away. FASTER actively manages the operational infrastructure—from video mastering and publishing cadences to production deployments. Rick and Jesse focus entirely on coaching, consulting, and running client engagements. They don't have to run tech operations.

The Order Is the Strategy

Here is the bottom line:

1. Video created verifiable authority, captured the voice, and supplied the asset bank.

2. The website gave that media an editorial home and focused user attention on a single goal.

3. The assessment converted high-level philosophy into an interactive product prospects could test in 180 seconds.

Each phase reduced the friction and cost of the one after it.

If your consulting firm possesses a powerful framework but your digital footprint looks like an outdated business card, stop trying to write website copy in a vacuum. Turn on the camera first. Even a handful of studio sessions will clarify your thinking, stock your library, and make building the rest of the machine effortless.

FASTER Studios engineers and operates integrated media-and-software engines for a select roster of consultancies and category leaders. If you’re ready to turn your methodology into an authority engine, start a conversation with our team.