How to read your Compass report
What each score means, how it is calculated, and how to use the report to plan your company's entry into Brazil.
What this document is
This guide accompanies the International Readiness Report generated from the answers you gave in the Compass diagnostic. Its purpose is full transparency about the method: what each score means, how it was calculated, what each of the ten sections evaluates, and how to use the report to plan your next steps.
Read it alongside the report itself. The report tells you where you stand; this guide tells you how that conclusion was reached — so you can argue with it, which is the point.
The structure of the report
The report has eleven parts, in four blocks:
| Block | Sections | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Cover, contents, 01 | Cover, table of contents and the executive summary — overall score, readiness band, top strengths and top gaps, and the consolidated recommendation. |
| Diagnosis | 02 | The 10-axis radar and a table with your score, what each section evaluates and what your score means in that section. |
| Market | 03–06 | Brazilian market analysis, regulatory and compliance requirements, entry-model ranking with channels and partners, and value proposition and positioning. |
| Action | 07–11 | The annotated canvas, your filled-in internationalization plan, the validation roadmap, your 45-minute session and the method note. |
The 1 to 5 scale
Each of the ten sections is scored from 1 to 5, where each level represents a stage of maturity:
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Absent — the topic has not been worked on. |
| 2 | Initial — there are signs, but no structure. |
| 3 | Developing — a base exists; adjustments are needed. |
| 4 | Consolidated — ready for validation in a real market. |
| 5 | Mature — validated with data and ready to scale. |
Your overall score is shown with one decimal (for example, 3.4) and is the mean of the ten sections, all carrying equal weight.
The verdict and the four bands
The report opens with a verdict — the recommendation in one word. It is derived from the bands, not calculated separately:
| Verdict | When it appears | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Not yet | Pre-internationalization and In preparation bands | Foundations are missing. The priority is closing the critical gaps before committing entry budget. |
| Go — with limited scope | Ready to pilot band | You can test one segment, with a capped budget and a stop rule defined before you start. |
| Go | Ready to scale band | Clarity, resources and validation are in place. The risk becomes dispersion, not readiness. |
Below, the bands the verdict is derived from.
The overall score translates into one of four bands. The band indicates your company's stage of readiness and frames how to read the rest of the report.
| Range | Band | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 – 2.4 | Pre-internationalization | The company is still building foundations. The priority is strategic clarity and internal diagnosis before any market action. |
| 2.5 – 3.4 | In preparation | Relevant foundations exist, but the structure is partial. This is the moment to formalise plans, metrics and owners. |
| 3.5 – 4.4 | Ready to pilot | The company is ready to test entry with controlled risk. The focus is validating hypotheses at low investment. |
| 4.5 – 5.0 | Ready to scale | The company has the clarity, resources, validation and structure to accelerate expansion. |
How the score is calculated
The rubric is deterministic: the same answers always produce the same scores. There is no artificial intelligence and no subjective judgement in the calculation — only transparent rules.
- Each answer receives a score from 1 to 5, taken directly from the option you selected.
- Each section receives the mean of its questions, rounded to an integer from 1 to 5.
- The overall score is the mean of the ten sections, each weighted at 10%. It is the only value shown with a decimal.
So that reading the radar and the section table is direct — each section says "I am at level 3" rather than "I am at 2.87". The overall score keeps its decimal to preserve the distinction between adjacent bands.
Section 4 works in reverse
The Limitations section evaluates how well you know and address your own limitations, not how many limitations you have.
A high score there means:
- you have clearly mapped the main barriers — language, technical capacity, regulatory, capital;
- a formal mitigation plan exists, with owners and deadlines;
- that plan is already being executed and monitored.
A low score does not mean "many limitations" — it means blind spots or no plan for dealing with them. In market entry, blind risk costs more than known risk. This section rewards the maturity of your diagnosis, not the absence of problems.
The ten sections in one line each
| # | Section | What it evaluates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Objective | Clarity, specificity and strategic alignment of the "why" behind entering Brazil. |
| 2 | Outcomes / KPIs | Existence, measurability, deadline and alignment of your success indicators. |
| 3 | Resources | Committed capital, human dedication, partnerships and team experience to sustain the initiative. |
| 4 | Limitations | Awareness of internal and external barriers — and the maturity of the plan to mitigate them. |
| 5 | Target market | Market selection criteria, depth of research and competitive knowledge of Brazil. |
| 6 | Lean strategy | Testable hypotheses, cost compatibility with resources and validation experiment design. |
| 7 | Stakeholders | Ideal customer definition, local network, customer validation and knowledge of acquisition channels. |
| 8 | Value proposition | Adaptation of the offer to the local context and clarity of competitive differentiators. |
| 9 | Cost structure | Budget detail, contingency, validation of estimates and return projection. |
| 10 | Localization | Product adaptation, local operating structure, legal compliance and culturally adapted communication. |
How to act on the report
- Start with the executive summary (Section 1). Look at the overall score, the band, and the three highest and three lowest sections.
- Study the radar (Section 2). It shows quickly where you are most and least prepared. Deep gaps in a few sections are usually more critical than mediocre scores spread evenly.
- Read the market sections against your own numbers (Sections 3 to 5). The entry-model ranking is calculated from your Resources, Cost structure and Stakeholders scores — if you disagree with the verdict, the disagreement is usually about one of those three inputs.
- Use the annotated canvas (Section 7) to see your own words next to the score of the corresponding section. Blocks flagged as a critical gap are the ones blocking progress to a pilot.
- Work the plan (Section 8). The orange fields are the ones still missing. They are the agenda for your session.
- Book the 45-minute session (Section 10). This report is a starting point for a conversation, not a verdict.
Limits of the instrument
The rubric is only as honest with you as you are with it. Because the calculation is deterministic, strategic answers — chosen to maximise the score — produce a false picture of readiness and make the report useless.
Answer with the diagnosis in mind, not the score.
- The free-text answers in the canvas are not scored. They appear in the report as direct quotes and shape the analytical comments.
- The result is a snapshot of one moment. Retaking the assessment every 6 to 12 months measures progress.
- The report does not contain sector market-size estimates. There is no honest TAM figure for your niche without dedicated research, and false precision is worse than no number — so Section 3 gives you the structure to build your own instead.
- Regulatory and tax information is structural and stable, but not legal advice. Confirm every point with Brazilian accounting and legal counsel before signing anything.
Confidentiality and next steps
The report is confidential. It is generated in your own browser and stored only there: none of your answers — neither the scores nor the free text — is sent to any server, and I do not hold a copy unless you send me one. The one exception is if you ask for your result by email on the preview screen: that sends your email address, the overall score and the chosen market, never the answers themselves.
Your purchase includes a 45-minute session with me: a walkthrough of the report, your questions on your case, and the next steps designed together. Book it from the button inside the report, or from the link on the Compass page.
International Readiness Report · Compass · Clara Nogueira