Go-to-Market Playbook

Build a Sales Process from Scratch

Elective — B2B track. A repeatable sales process documented end-to-end: ICP definition, outreach sequence, discovery script, objection log, and 5 closed deals with signed contracts as proof.

Build a Marketing Engine from Scratch

Elective — demand-generation track. 100+ qualified leads per month from a documented, repeatable marketing system. The system (not the leads alone) is the proof — document what you do every week.

Build a Content-Led Business

Elective — content track. 10,000 monthly readers from organic content with a documented publishing cadence. Traffic analytics export is the proof artifact.

Launch on Product Hunt

Elective — community launch track. Top-20 Product Hunt launch or 200+ upvotes in a single launch day. Screenshot of final ranking with timestamp is the proof.

Get Your First Press Coverage

Elective — earned-media track. A feature (not a mention) in a publication your target customers actually read. Cold-pitched with no paid placement — the published URL is the proof.

File a Patent

Elective — IP track, primarily for deep-tech, hardware, and biotech founders. A successfully filed and published patent application with USPTO or equivalent national office. The patent number is the proof.

Free certifications in inbound marketing, sales enablement, and content marketing. The Sales Enablement and Inbound Sales courses are directly relevant to the sales process and marketing engine milestones.

Free, long-form essays on go-to-market from First Round's portfolio founders. The 'Sales' and 'Marketing' sections have the most credible free content on early-stage GTM at the startup stage.

Free. The only accurate source of organic search traffic data for your content. Required tool for the content-led business milestone — traffic analytics from GSC is the accepted proof artifact.

Free guidance on provisional patent applications — the fastest path to filing with a USPTO filing date. A provisional gives you 12 months to file a full utility patent at a fraction of the cost.

Free source for earned media opportunities — reporters actively looking for founder quotes and expert sources. The fastest path to a legitimate press mention without a PR agency.