Days 1–30: establish the facts
Choose the customer segment, interview potential buyers and document the problem. Map competitors and current workarounds. Create a cash forecast and list upcoming commitments. Agree founder responsibilities, decision rights and the first commercial objective. Keep assumptions visible rather than turning them into confident forecasts.
Days 31–60: test a focused offer
Turn the strongest problem into a specific proposal. Define what the customer receives, what it costs and what success means. Test delivery through a prototype, manual service or limited pilot. Record where the work depends on founders and where customers struggle to understand the offer.
Days 61–90: review and choose
Review usage, customer commitments, delivery cost and cash. Decide which customer segment deserves more effort and which features can wait. Build the next plan around the strongest evidence. If a test fails, identify whether the issue is the customer, problem, product or route to market.
Use a small weekly dashboard
Track a handful of measures tied to the current stage: qualified conversations, pilot commitments, completed customer tasks, cash collected and forecast cash balance. Give every measure an owner. A short meeting should end with decisions, named responsibilities and dates rather than a longer reporting pack.
Your next steps
- Set one measurable 90-day objective.
- Assign owners for customers, delivery and cash.
- Schedule a weekly decision meeting.
- Keep a record of assumptions and findings.
- Review the next stage before adding commitments.