Startup Readiness¶
Updated: 2026-06-05
Checklist of what is missing before the company is truly ready to sell and deliver reliably.
Operating Rule¶
Do not wait for perfection, but do separate what is required before the first real sale from what can mature later.
Required Before First Sale¶
| Area | Minimum needed | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Target customer | Clear ICP: who we serve first, their pain, and why we can win. | Terry |
| Service packages | 2-3 sellable offers with scope boundaries and example deliverables. | Terry + Sales |
| Pricing | Internal pricing guidance and minimum acceptable project size. | Terry + Finance |
| Proposal/SOW | Simple template covering scope, timeline, price, acceptance, payment, and change requests. | Terry |
| Legal/admin | Entity path, bank/payment method, invoicing flow, tax/accounting support, and basic contract terms. | Terry |
| Security/privacy | Secrets handling, client data rules, access control, and incident contact. | Terry + Dev |
| Delivery model | Acceptance criteria, handoff process, support expectations, and feedback loop. | Terry + Dev/Consulting |
| Sales assets | Website or intro page, intro deck, case-study template, FAQ/objection bank. | Sales |
| Finance records | Budget, invoice record, expense categories, and monthly review cadence. | Finance |
Internal Launch Round¶
Start with Launch Kit v0. This is the first internal launch artifact and should produce the minimum commercial front door:
- ICP hypothesis
- 2-3 service packages
- pricing bands and minimum project size
- intro page outline
- FAQ and objection bank
- proposal/SOW template
- internal proof case study
Can Wait Until Later¶
| Area | Why it can wait |
|---|---|
| Full brand system | Useful, but basic positioning and credible assets are enough for first sale. |
| Formal HR process | Not needed until teammates or contractors are active. |
| Enterprise compliance | Start with practical security; add compliance only when a client requires it. |
| CRM software | wiki/sales/pipeline.md is enough until lead volume grows. |
| Semantic wiki search | Index-first retrieval is enough for v1. |
| Automated agent orchestration | Human-triggered workflows keep cost and risk controlled. |
Monthly Readiness Review¶
At the monthly company review:
- Mark each required area as
ready,partial, ormissing. - Pick the top 1-2 readiness gaps for the next month.
- Log strategic decisions in Company Knowledge.