# 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`](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