Before Product Hunt, Clear the 3 Tiers That Make Your Offer Obvious
A first launch is a customer test, so clear the required fields before you spend time on polish or launch-day tactics.
Startups
Seed-stage companies and how they find their first customers
First
Pre-Raise Evidence File: Launch, Pilot, Number
Turn early interest into a dated launch, a named pilot, and a checkable metric before you ask for money.
Atira's 15 accounts: founder-led first customer checklist
How to close first customers before hiring: pick a narrow buyer, use warm contacts, sell an outcome, get design partners, ask for referrals, and hand off the process.
The RTA Poker Software That Hands You the Answer Key for Texas Hold'em
You've been doing poker homework for years — and grading it yourself. The answer key for the game just dropped. Here's what it cost to get out of the lab, and what it does to the players who use it.
Set Pre-Money Proof Before Spending Savings on Customers
Before you spend your first dollar, set a savings runway and one proof target that matches what you must prove to customers.
First Raise Checklist: Demand Proof and Runway Cushion
Size your first raise to the smallest proof that makes the next round possible, and keep enough runway to reach it without begging for a bridge.
Before You Ask for Money: Set the Revenue Line and Extension Trigger
Set the revenue checkpoint and extension trigger before you send the first investor email.
Pre-Seed: Party Round or Lead Round, and the Cap to Match
Before the first investor email, classify the raise and set the SAFE cap to the right benchmark.
Two checks to make your first round survive a cautious, AI-heavy seed market
Lead with paid proof, not a deck, and open the raise only when non-AI traction is concrete.
After You Sign the SAFE: The Four Steps to Actually Receive Your First Cheque
The signed SAFE is not the finish line. The authorization, the payment, the files, and the cap table make the raise real.
Set Your First Raise Runway Trigger Before Incorporating
Use the median gap between rounds as a default alarm, then check burn, entity, and cap table basics before you start.
Incorporate before your first customer without overpaying: HBS, Atlas, or a lawyer
Choose the incorporation path that keeps paperwork, agent, and stock plan in order before revenue starts.
Then
Plan your first payout when the EIN takes weeks
A practical timeline for first-time founders: formation, tax ID wait, pre-ID payout cap, and the first safe payout date.
Plan Your First $363K in Revenue Before You Need Investors
Use the 2025 seed revenue benchmark as a planning target, then build a first-customer plan around price, channel, and a weekly revenue check.
First Customers Before YC: A 3-Month Demand Plan
Build a small proof of user demand before applying to YC, then set a reapplication date and an interview-stage target.
Before you incorporate, use three numbers to decide whether to pivot
A simple scorecard for first-time founders: activation, four-week retention, and CAC payback, with a clear rule for pivoting or fixing.
Get a $0-Revenue Business Card: 3 Types, Docs, Limits
A pre-revenue founder can choose an EIN-based card, a pre-funded corporate card, or a no-credit-check card, enter $0 revenue, and compare limits and APR.
Your 30-Day No-Code MVP Plan: Build the Smallest Product That Gets You First Customers
A 30-day checklist for solo founders to plan, build, and launch a small no-code product for first-customer testing.
Runway Trigger: A 3-Scenario Calculator for Pre-Revenue Founders
Set a fixed monthly cost, build a small scenario set, and choose a trigger month that forces a raise or a cut before cash runs low.
Test a Co-Founder Before You Give Equity
Pay a co-founder candidate for a scoped project, run weekly check-ins, and make the equity decision only after you have proof of how you work together.
Before you sign a seed term sheet: 5 numbers that decide what you keep
A first-time founder can protect ownership, control, and payout by checking the term sheet clauses below and the number to ask for in each.
Lock the four cap-table lines before your first check clears
A pre-raise checklist for founder vesting, option pool, SAFE terms, and advisor grants.
Split founder equity before incorporating: a 4-question checklist
Answer four contribution questions before incorporation—time, idea, capital, and risk—to make the split defensible and the paperwork easier.
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