Startup Prep Framework

Purpose: prepare for a 1:1 with a coach, mentor or investor by answering the essentials and planning concrete next steps. Timebox: 45–60 minutes. Bring your best guesses — evidence beats opinion, and a quick test beats a long debate. Where it goes: the answers here map directly onto stack/ sections. Fill this in first if the full stack feels like too much.

Snapshot


Your name / programme / year
Startup / working title
Stage	☐ Idea ☐ Prototype ☐ Pilot ☐ Early revenue
Links (site / drive / deck)
Top 1–2 goals for this session
The #1 question you want answered

→ stack/CONTEXT.md

Problem and customer


Primary customer segment — be specific
Job to be done: "When `[context]`, `[customer]` needs to `[job]` so they can `[outcome]`."
What they do today instead
How often does this come up?
What happens if it is never solved?

→ stack/02-customer/customer.md

Insight and differentiation


Unique insight — what do you know that others missed?
One-liner: "Unlike `[alternative]`, we `[benefit]` for `[segment]` by `[how]`."
Unfair advantage (pick 1–2)	☐ IP ☐ Data ☐ Distribution ☐ Community ☐ Timing ☐ Cost ☐ Regulatory know-how

→ stack/03-market/market.md

Solution and evidence so far


What exists today
What good looks like in 12 months
Evidence: conversations (n=?), pilots, pre-orders, prototypes, lab data, testimonials

→ stack/04-product/product.md

Top three assumptions and two-week experiments

Riskiest first. Desirability, feasibility, viability, compliance — whichever is most likely to kill you.

#	Assumption (risky belief)	Experiment	Metric	Success threshold	Owner	By when
1
2
3

→ worksheets/experiment.md for the full design

Market size and beachhead

	Value	Source / arithmetic
TAM — what market are you in?
SAM — who can you actually serve near-term?
SOM — year-one beachhead, and why that niche

Show the arithmetic. count × price = size beats a nine-digit number from a report.

→ stack/03-market/market.md

Competition and alternatives

Alternative / competitor	Who they serve	Why customers pick them	Your edge
1
2
3
Doing nothing

Include the incumbent doing it badly, the adjacent platform that could absorb you, and the informal alternative. Those three are the ones founders leave off.

Go to market — land, expand, scale


Land (first 3 months) — channels to test, initial offer, early adopters you can reach now
Expand (6–12 months) — adjacent segment or feature, partnerships
Scale (12+ months) — the repeatable channel, the pricing motion
Pricing hypothesis
If regulated — claim or approval constraints to respect

How many prospects are on your list right now? ____ If that number is under 100, that is your assignment before the next session.

→ stack/05-gtm/gtm.md

Business model and unit snapshot


Who pays?	☐ User ☐ Buyer ☐ Sponsor ☐ Other
Price → cost → gross margin %
Target cost to acquire a customer
Payback target
Retention driver — why do they stay?

→ stack/07-money/money.md

Milestones


3 months — evidence, product, GTM (e.g. 20 interviews, prototype v1, 2 pilots signed)
6 months — paying users, validation metrics, partnerships
12 months — revenue, expansion, certifications, IP

Risks and mitigations

Risk	Mitigation
1
2
3

Money


Cash in the bank today
Monthly burn
Runway, in weeks
If you hit zero, what is plan B?

Answer the last one. Not because it is likely, but because a founder who has thought it through keeps the decision; one who has not, has it made for them.

→ stack/07-money/money.md

The ask


What help do you need now?	☐ Intros ☐ Mentors ☐ Pilot sites ☐ Lab/tech ☐ Design ☐ GTM ☐ Funding ☐ Other
Specific requests

Specific. "Introductions to hospital procurement teams in my region" gets an introduction. "Advice on growth" gets nothing.

Attach if you have it

☐ One-slide overview or one-page brief
☐ Prototype, video, or repository link
☐ Customer interview notes (3–5)
☐ Early metrics or lab readouts
☐ Draft two-week experiment plan