Guide 06
Phase playbooks
Each phase has a clear goal, key actions, and a concrete outcome that unlocks the next step.
Setup phase
1 week
Founder: 3 to 5 hrs/wk | Coach: 5 to 8 hrs/wk
Goal: establish your startup's professional presence and working tools.
Key actions
- Build a simple website with vision and call to action.
- Create LinkedIn and social profiles.
- Set up hiring, team comms, and dev tools.
Outcome
Branding and infrastructure ready for recruitment and collaboration.
Kick off phase
2 to 3 weeks
Founder: 5 to 10 hrs/wk | Coach: 8 to 10 hrs/wk
Goal: build the initial team and establish daily rhythm.
Key actions
- Hire first volunteer developers and designers.
- Set up repos, workflows, and onboarding docs.
- Start daily standups and assign first tasks.
Outcome
Developers onboarded, daily meetings running, work started.
Proto dev phase
8 to 10 weeks
Founder: 8 to 10 hrs/wk | Coach: 5 to 8 hrs/wk
Goal: move from setup to building real features in a working environment.
Key actions
- Focus on core product features and UX.
- Continue hiring as the backlog grows.
- Hold meetings every second day and run demos.
Outcome
Development environment running with visible product progress.
Product dev phase
8 to 10 weeks
Founder: 8 to 10 hrs/wk | Coach: 3 to 5 hrs/wk
Goal: deliver a stable product ready for early users and scale the workflow.
Key actions
- Focus on quality, security, and production readiness.
- Introduce CI/CD and production environment.
- Share early preview demos with testers.
Outcome
Stable product in production ready for early users.
Launching phase
4 to 6 weeks
Founder: 5 to 10 hrs/wk | Coach: 1 to 3 hrs/wk
Goal: release the product, onboard first customers, and start promotion.
Key actions
- Feature freeze and release plan.
- Select first customers and service them closely.
- Marketing and promotion to build momentum.
Outcome
Product live with early customers and public traction.