Stage One: Design
You are in the process of validating your idea and building your product. You are talking to potential users about your idea.
Leadership:
Leadership starts with you. What are your values, vision, and purpose? Then, leadership moves from me to we - what are our shared values and vision? In the
Design phase of Leadership, there are two waypoints:
- Leading Self
- Vision and Values
I have identified my personal purpose, values, skills, and strengths.
I have assessed my wellbeing, relationships, and contributions. I have a personal plan in place to thrive, connect, and contribute.
We have documented and communicated our foundational values. We are clear on who we are, what we stand for, and why we exist.
We have documented and clearly communicated the vision of our company.
Market:
Every business solves a problem for a customer. But who has the problem? How big is the problem? How urgent? Why has the problem persisted? In the
Design phase of Market, there are two waypoints.
- Problem Exploration
- Customer Discovery
We have conducted 20+ documented (recorded or copious notes) customer interviews to get feedback about the problem.
When asked to rate how bad the stated problem is, the customers predominantly rate the problem as very severe.
We have documented market research including competitive/adjacent solution analysis and market sizing data.
(For B2B): We have a Letter of Intent (LOI) or purchase agreement from at least six reference customers in a single market segment. (For B2C) We have test-sold to at least 20 customers.
Product:
To solve customers' problems, you develop a value proposition. What’s your product or service? How are you different? What’s your unique selling proposition? In the
Design phase of Product, there is one waypoint.
We have conducted 20+ documented (recorded or copious notes) customer interviews to gain feedback about the solution.
We have documented high-risk assumptions related to our product.
Finance:
Every business has to grow profitably and sustainably. How do you sustain your business? How do you generate revenue? How do you keep more of the money you make? What’s your business model? In the
Design phase of Finance, there is one waypoint.
We have used a business model generation process to create a high level business plan. We have documented our plan on a business model canvas.
We have documented and ranked the riskiest assumptions that are critical to the business’ success
We use data to validate our business model assumptions.
1 out of 3
Stage Two: Develop
You have built a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and are talking to early customers. As you gain feedback from actual users, you are iterating.
Leadership:
Leadership starts with you. What are your values, vision, and purpose? Then, leadership moves from me to we - what are our shared values and vision? There are two waypoints in the
Develop phase of Leadership.
- Corporate Governance
- Leadership Plan
We have utilized an investor due diligence checklist. Our company has the appropriate documents ready.
We have a Virtual Data Room to house our important corporate documents. We maintain accurate contracts, legal documents, accounting statements, regulatory filings, human resources documents, intellectual property filings, marketing brand guides, and all company policies.
An attorney has audited our legal decisions and corrected any discrepancies.
We have clearly defined, written, and measurable objectives for each member of our team.
Market:
Every business solves a problem for a customer. But who has the problem? How big is the problem? How urgent? Why has the problem persisted? There are two waypoints in the
Develop phase of Market.
- Go-to-Market Plan
- Key Segment Traction
We have objectively analyzed our strengths and the market opportunities. We have created a written strategy to position our product as unique and valuable.
We have compared marketing channels and identified a viable primary marketing channel. The primary channel fits with objectives, resources, and constraints.
We have documented and communicated a go-to-market plan, including action items with deadlines.
We can consistently identify customers from our primary segment by characteristics such as demographics, psychographics, or behaviors.
The sales cycle and business model for our chosen primary segment are viable. We have evidence from sales, revenue, and profit.
Product:
To solve customers' problems, you develop a value proposition. What’s your product or service? How are you different? What’s your unique selling proposition? There are three waypoints in the
Develop phase of Product.
- Validated Backlog
- Product Plan
- Learning-Ready Version
We have written standards for validating product feature ideas. We have communicated those standards.
We have written standards for estimating time and cost efforts to deploy features. We have communicated those standards.
We use data and metrics to objectively validate feature requests and reduce risk.
Our product team understands and is aligned with our vision, objectives, and product milestones.
We have documented product standards for quality, performance, usability, and security. We have clearly communicated our expectations.
We routinely reinforce our vision, objectives, milestones, and standards.
We have identified key metrics to validate that the product is solving the customer’s severe problem.
We have released a version of our product that collects metrics measuring the customer’s engagement with our product or service.
Finance:
Every business has to grow profitably and sustainably. How do you sustain your business? How do you generate revenue? How do you keep more of the money you make? What’s your business model? There are three waypoints in the
Develop phase of Finance.
- Financial Projections
- Financial Plan
- Seed Financing
We calculate our financial projections by using unit-based cost budgeting and buyer-validated revenue forecasting.
Our financial projections have been validated by a financial expert.
We track Cost of Customer Acquisition (COCA) and Lifetime Value of an Acquired Customer (LTV). We track changes over time as new data is available.
Our fundraising targets are reflected in our financial projections.
We have created an internal term sheet that reflects the investment terms we are willing to accept from investors.
We use our cap table as a communication tool to show how all stakeholders will win when the business succeeds.
We have closed our Seed Financing. We have sufficient funding to reach our next milestone.
2 out of 3
Stage Three: Grow
You have a product with many active users. You are working on growing users, sales, revenue, and profit.
Leadership:
Leadership starts with you. What are your values, vision, and purpose? Then, leadership moves from me to we - what are our shared values and vision? There is one waypoint in the
Grow phase of Leadership.
We have assembled a seasoned, diverse team of advisors for the business.
We have identified business functions and roles. We have written job descriptions.
We have a strategy to attract, recruit, and retain diverse talent.
We utilize a team of advisors to find, vet, and select early hires.
Market:
Every business solves a problem for a customer. But who has the problem? How big is the problem? How urgent? Why has the problem persisted? There is one waypoint in the
Grow phase of Market.
We have achieved profitable, consistent revenue growth greater than 15% month-over-month for four consecutive months
Product:
To solve customers' problems, you develop a value proposition. What’s your product or service? How are you different? What’s your unique selling proposition? There are two waypoints in the
Grow phase of Product.
- Customer-Success Version
- Scale-Ready Version
We have identified key metrics to validate that the the customers are achieving their desired outcomes.
We have released a version of our product that collects metrics measuring customer success.
We are confident that we are ready to scale. We are tracking the right metrics to validate performance, usability, and security.
We have tested system performance to handle spikes in user activity during our high-growth phase.
We have documented user feedback that our product meets or exceeds customer expectations.
Finance:
Every business has to grow profitably and sustainably. How do you sustain your business? How do you generate revenue? How do you keep more of the money you make? What’s your business model? There is one waypoint in the
Grow phase of Finance.
We used comparable A-rounds and exits to determine the size of our A-round.
We have closed A-Round Financing that provides enough runway to reach our next milestone.
3 out of 3
