Warm-start pipeline for returning clients with tier upgrades and additional deliverables

Existing Client — Resume/Expand

This recipe covers the warm-start path: Meridian Robotics returns for a second engagement. They want to add video backgrounds (a premium-tier feature) and refresh their email sequences. Because we completed Recipe 1, prior client data exists in project memory and we can skip the interview, INTAKE, DISCOVERY, and STRATEGY stages entirely.

This recipe requires a completed Recipe 1 state file at ./output/vandoko-pipeline-state.json and all prior artifacts intact in ./output/. Run New Client — Full Pipeline first if you have not done so.

Command

Terminal

/go-vandoko meridianrobotics.com

Pipeline

Memory Check

The system reads team:vandoko-agency:lastOutput and finds the prior ClientProfile. It presents:

Output

Prior client data found for Meridian Robotics (completed 2026-03-31).
Reuse? (yes / re-interview)

Answer: yes

What Gets Skipped

Because prior data exists and you answered yes, the following are skipped entirely:

Client interview (Q1–Q20) — entirely skipped
INTAKE stage — ClientProfile loaded from memory
DISCOVERY stage — DiscoveryReport loaded from prior run (Exa may refresh market data)
STRATEGY stage — BrandStrategy and Decision Point 1 skipped (previously approved)

New Tier and Deliverables

The system detects this is a new pipeline (no --resume flag), so it creates a new pipelineId but carries forward the ClientProfile. It asks:

Output

Vandoko Intake Summary (from prior engagement)
──────────────────────────────────────────
  URL:          meridianrobotics.com
  Prior Tier:   growth
  Brand status: refresh (prior engagement)

  What would you like to do this engagement?
  [Enter tier and deliverables to continue]

Provide: tier premium, deliverables video_backgrounds, email_templates.

What Changes at Premium Tier

Upgrading to premium unlocks:

5 concepts instead of 3 (adds concept-warm and concept-balanced)
Higher QA thresholds: min_qa_score = 90, min_dimension_score = 80
Mandatory polish pass if QA score < 95
Video backgrounds generated via Gemini for each concept
Inspiration-anchored review at Decision Points 1 and 3

Stages That Run vs Stages Skipped

Stages that run:

CONCEPT (new visual concepts with premium enhancements + video backgrounds)
EMAIL (refreshed sequences with 3 sequences, 3 personas for premium)
BRAND (updated guidelines incorporating video backgrounds)
LAUNCH (new handoff with updated deliverables)

Stages skipped:

INTAKE (reused)
DISCOVERY (reused, possibly refreshed)
STRATEGY (reused, no Decision Point 1)
WEBSITE (not selected in deliverables)
QA (no website to audit)
SOCIAL (not selected)
CONTENT (not selected)

Verification

New pipelineId generated (different from Recipe 1)
vandoko-pipeline-state.json shows tier: "premium"
Stages marked "skipped" in history: INTAKE, DISCOVERY, STRATEGY, WEBSITE, QA, SOCIAL, CONTENT
5 concepts generated (check {output_root}/concepts/ has 5 subdirectories)
Video background PNGs exist in concept directories
Email output has 3 sequences instead of 2
project-lineage.json has a new set of stage entries appended

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
"No prior client data found"	State keys cleared or different project	Provide the prior state file via `--resume` flag instead
Concept gallery shows 3 not 5	Tier not correctly updated	Verify `pipelineState.tier` = `"premium"` before CONCEPT stage
Video backgrounds not generated	Gemini extension issue	Check `gemini --list-extensions` includes nanobanana; verify API key

Existing Client — Resume/Expand

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