Zero to Founder

Validate a Business Idea

Optional. If you haven't formally validated yet, start here. 5 paying customers or 20+ user interviews with documented pain signals are the proof bar — not gut feel or compliments.

3 milestones

1. 1Problem interviews done
2. 2Solution validation
3. 3Pre-sales confirmed

Get Your First 10 Paying Customers

The single most important milestone. 10 paying customers (not free users, not followers) proves the problem is real and the solution works.

3 milestones

1. 1First paying customer
2. 25 customers
3. 310 customers

Grow a Business to $1,000 MRR

$1K MRR is the first proof that you have repeatable revenue — not just 10 friends who paid to be supportive.

5 milestones

1. 1Validate the problem with 10 real conversations
2. 2Build and launch your minimum viable solution publicly
3. 3Collect your first payment from a stranger
4. 4Reach $100 Monthly Recurring Revenue
5. 5Hold $1,000 MRR for 30 consecutive days

Get Into an Accelerator

Optional. Apply once you have paying customers and at least some MRR. Accelerators (YC, Techstars, On Deck) are most valuable before a public scale push — they give you network and capital when the compounding still matters.

3 milestones

1. 1Identify target accelerators and write the application
2. 2Submit applications and attend interviews
3. 3Receive an offer — acceptance decision and rationale

Launch Your First Product Publicly

A public launch that drives organic traffic proves you can get attention without a paid marketing budget.

5 milestones

1. 1Define what 'launched' means before building
2. 2Build the minimum that does the one thing
3. 3Get strangers to use it without your help
4. 4Measure whether it is working
5. 5Document the launch and publish it publicly

Grow Your Product to 1,000 Users

1,000 users means you have a distribution strategy, not just a product.

4 milestones

1. 1Identify one channel that works repeatably
2. 2Build one repeatable acquisition loop
3. 3Reach 500 users and interview word-of-mouth arrivals
4. 4Reach 1,000 users and document what changed

Find Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is the hinge. Retention data and NPS prove it — everything before this is hypothesis testing.

3 milestones

1. 1Define the PMF signal you are targeting — and why
2. 2Cross the PMF threshold — evidence from the target signal
3. 3Describe the segment with PMF — and the segment without it

Grow a Business to $10,000 MRR

$10K MRR is the graduation milestone. At this point you have a real business, not a side project.

3 milestones

1. 1Reach $1K MRR — payment processor screenshot
2. 2Reach $5K MRR — describe what changed in your growth approach
3. 3Reach $10K MRR — describe what would stop this from continuing

Make Your First Hire

Optional. Hiring your first person is a milestone in itself — it forces you to define the role and write it down.

3 milestones

1. 1Define the role — why this person, why now, what success looks like
2. 2Run the hiring process — sourcing, interviews, and reference checks
3. 3First hire joins — 30-day review and 90-day outcome documented

Build and Exit

Optional. Not every founder exits, and not every exit is a VC-backed acquisition. This milestone covers any structured exit — acqui-hire, asset sale, PE buyout, or IPO — with documented terms as proof.

3 milestones

1. 1Business reaching $500k+ ARR
2. 2Acquisition conversations initiated
3. 3Deal closed