Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Define the waitlist value proposition
1 week (5–8 hrs)
Write a one-paragraph product brief for your pre-launch landing page: what problem you're solving, who it's for, and why the timing is now. Test this brief with at least 5 people in your target audience — not friends or family — and record their immediate reaction (confused, intrigued, skeptical, excited). Revise the brief based on what fell flat. The brief becomes the copy backbone of your waitlist page.
Proof required
Submit your final one-paragraph product brief, notes from the 5 conversations (anonymised, one paragraph each), and a short note on what you changed after the feedback and why.
What gets checked
- Brief uses a concrete before/after framing ('right now you have to X, with [product] you can Y') — not a category descriptor.
- At least two feedback notes record confusion or skepticism — purely positive feedback means the wrong people were asked.
- Change log explains what the original phrasing was, what reaction it got, and why you changed it — not just what you changed to.
Common mistakes
- Testing the brief with people who already understand the problem — they'll be enthusiastic regardless of copy clarity.
- Brief describes features rather than the problem being solved — common for technical founders.
- Feedback sessions become pitches — the goal is to observe initial reactions, not to persuade.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Ask the founder to state the brief aloud without reading it — if they struggle, the copy isn't clear enough for a landing page.
- Ask what the most common confusion point was in feedback — they should have a specific answer.
- Check that the people interviewed were genuine target users, not colleagues or friends.
Launch the landing page and collect first 50 signups
1–2 weeks (build + outreach)
Build and launch a waitlist landing page (a single static page is sufficient — Carrd, Webflow free tier, or hand-coded HTML). The page should include your brief, a clear call to action (email signup for waitlist), and at minimum one social proof element (even a quote from a beta tester is enough). Post the page in 3 relevant online communities where your target audience spends time. Document each post: platform, community, date, message, and signups attributed.
Proof required
Submit a screenshot of your waitlist page, your email list export showing at least 50 signups (redact personal data to name + first 3 chars of email), and your outreach log showing the 3+ community posts with signups attributed to each.
What gets checked
- Signups are from the email form, not manual entries or friends added by the founder — the export must come from the signup tool.
- At least 2 of the 3 communities are places where your ICP actually exists — not general startup communities.
- Outreach log shows attributable signups per post, not just a total — even an estimate is acceptable if the method is explained.
Common mistakes
- Posting in startup communities (IndieHackers, ProductHunt) when your ICP is not founders — high noise, wrong audience.
- Landing page copy that describes what you built, not what the user gains — technical product descriptions lose non-technical audiences.
- Counting email addresses manually added by the founder or team as signups.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Ask the founder which community drove the most signups — if they don't know, they didn't track attribution.
- Verify that the email list export comes from the signup tool, not a manually curated list.
- Ask what the page's conversion rate was (signups ÷ unique visitors) — if they don't have traffic data, the tracking wasn't set up.
Reach 100 signups and interview 10 waitlist members
2–4 weeks (outreach + interviews)
Grow the waitlist to 100 signups through continued outreach, content, or referrals. From the 100, contact at least 20 and interview 10 who respond. Use the interviews to validate: (a) the problem is real and present for them, (b) they have tried something else to solve it, and (c) they can articulate what would make the product worth paying for. Write a one-page validation summary from the interviews.
Proof required
Submit your email list export showing 100+ signups, interview notes from 10 waitlist members (anonymised), and your one-page validation summary covering the three questions above, with direct quotes from at least 5 interviewees.
What gets checked
- Validation summary specifically addresses all three validation questions — a general 'people liked it' summary doesn't pass.
- At least one interview surfaced a concern or disconfirming view — purely positive interviews indicate social desirability bias.
- Direct quotes in the summary are attributed to a consistent anonymisation system (e.g. 'Interviewee 3') so verifiers can trace them to the interview notes.
Common mistakes
- Interviewing only the most enthusiastic waitlist members — self-selection produces validation theatre.
- Validation summary that describes what you heard without addressing whether it changes your plans.
- Treating 100 signups as validation in themselves — the signups are the access mechanism, the interviews are the validation.
Resources
Foundationstart here
What a verifier looks for
- Ask the founder what the most surprising disconfirming thing they heard was — if nothing surprised them, the interviews were too comfortable.
- Check that all three validation questions are answered in the summary, not just the ones that came up naturally.
- Ask whether reaching 100 signups changed anything about their plans — if nothing changed, either the product was perfectly designed (unlikely) or the interviews weren't genuinely exploratory.
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