Founder Guide
Test ideas like a pro.
Practical guides on validation, market sizing and financials. They are the same methods our 4 to 12 AI experts apply in every assessment. Free, no sign-up.
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Validating a business idea: the 5-step test
How to find out in two weeks whether your idea holds up, before you invest money and months.
Read article →4 min read
Before you spend money
Find out whether the idea holds up at all. This is the cheapest moment for a no.
MVP
How to build an MVP: the smallest version that proves something
Four build types, five steps and the one question that has to be answered before a single line of code.
Read article →7 min read
First customers
Getting your first 10 customers, one at a time
Why reach is the most expensive route to ten customers, and which five paths work in weeks instead of months.
Read article →7 min read
Interviews
How to run customer interviews that tell you the truth
Why a friendly yes proves nothing, and the five questions that get you answers worth acting on in twenty minutes.
Read article →7 min read
Risks
The 7 most common reasons business ideas fail
And how to spot each one early, before it costs you money.
Read article →4 min read
Understand market and business model
How big is the market, who already serves it, and how do you earn money in it?
Audience
How to define your target audience in four steps
Why "everyone" is the most expensive answer, and how one afternoon gets you to a group you can count and reach.
Read article →7 min read
Channels
Marketing channels for founders: which channel for which audience
Eight channels with lead time, cost and limits, and the single number you measure all of them by.
Read article →7 min read
Local search
With calculatorLocal SEO for small businesses: the listing, the reviews, the page
The six fields in a map listing that decide the order, what the rules are around reviews, and what puts the listing at risk.
Read article →8 min read
Website
With calculatorWhat a founder's website needs: structure, legal basics, one action
Six blocks in the order the questions arrive, one button instead of five, and which legal items depend on what the site actually does.
Read article →8 min read
Outreach
Cold outreach rules for founders: what you may send, and to whom
Email, phone, messenger, post: which route is open without consent, and what a violation costs.
Read article →8 min read
Referrals
How to ask for referrals: the moment, the question, the reward
Why most satisfied customers never refer anyone, when the window is open, and the question that produces names instead of nods.
Read article →7 min read
Email list
With calculatorBuilding an email list: signup, proof, deliverability
Why a signup only counts once the confirmation link is clicked, what has to be logged, and the three domain records that decide whether the mail arrives at all.
Read article →9 min read
Measuring
With calculatorMeasuring marketing without analytics: four numbers, one sheet
Why visits are the wrong number, which four numbers make the right one, and why your own time is the largest invisible cost.
Read article →8 min read
Competition
Competitor analysis in 5 steps, on no budget
Who you actually need to compare, where the data sits for free, and how to turn it into your own position.
Read article →6 min read
Positioning
Unique selling proposition: how to find and phrase yours
Why "high quality" is not a differentiator, and how four steps get you to a sentence no competitor could sign.
Read article →6 min read
Business model
The Business Model Canvas, explained simply
The nine building blocks of your business model, with a worked example.
Read article →3 min read
Value proposition
Value Proposition Canvas: making offer and customer meet
Six boxes, two halves, one question: does what you offer meet what the customer actually needs to get done?
Read article →6 min read
Market
TAM, SAM, SOM: sizing your market realistically
Why "the market is huge" convinces no one, and how to do better.
Read article →3 min read
Do the maths, fund it, write it up
When does the idea pay for itself, where does the starting capital come from, and how do you convince a bank?
Business plan
How to write a business plan: structure, content, pitfalls
The nine chapters, what belongs in each and the mistake banks and funding bodies trip over most often.
Read article →7 min read
Finance
With calculatorUnderstanding break-even, with an interactive calculator
When does your idea pay for itself? Work it out yourself in 60 seconds.
Read article →3 min read
Pricing
Startup pricing: five steps to your first price
Cost sets the floor, value sets the ceiling. How to find a price in between and put it to the test.
Read article →6 min read
Funding
Startup funding and grants: the overview
Grants, subsidised loans, coaching support: which pots exist and where to knock first.
Read article →5 min read
Legal structure
Choosing a legal structure: liability, capital, admin
Sole trader, partnership, LLC or corporation: four questions settle it, and limited liability ends earlier than most people think.
Read article →7 min read
Registration
Registering a business: the order, the offices, the deadlines
Which office tells the others (almost none), which deadlines start on day one, and what each step costs.
Read article →8 min read
Insurance
Business insurance for founders: what is required, what can wait
Why your personal policies stop paying on day one, which three covers actually matter, and what the rest costs per year.
Read article →8 min read
Founding team
With calculatorFounder agreements and vesting: equity, exit, what to write down
Why splitting equity by headcount is the most expensive minute of the project, and the four points that belong in writing before you start.
Read article →9 min read
Invoicing
With calculatorWriting invoices and VAT: mandatory details, small-business rule, e-invoicing
The ten details an invoice has to carry, when the small-business exemption ends mid-year, and the date a PDF stops counting as an invoice.
Read article →9 min read
Tax & bookkeeping
With calculatorVAT returns and simple bookkeeping: rhythm, reserve, profit
The two numbers that decide between monthly, quarterly or nothing at all, how much of every euro that arrives is not yours, and why your profit is not what the bank account says.
Read article →9 min read
Getting paid
With calculatorGetting unpaid invoices paid: default, reminders, court order
Why a date on the invoice beats any reminder template, what the four stages up to an enforceable title cost, and the part of the loss you get back without the debtor.
Read article →9 min read
To look things up
Not an article to read through, but a reference to dip into.
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