Research

Copy/paste the following questions in your note-taking app and write down your answers beneath each of them.

Competition

If your idea solves more than one problem, repeat the following for each.

What is the problem my idea solves?

What keywords would I use to search on internet to solve my problem?

When I use those keywords in Google, what are the competitors that come up?

A competitor is someone who solves the same problem

Reality-check: Why is my idea better than what the competitors offer?

Who are my competitors' customers or target market?

Market

How big is the market?

How can I acquire new customers?

How much would it cost me on average to acquire a new customer?

How much revenue can each customer bring?

Team

Starting a startup costs time and dedication and money; not everybody is ready to sacrifice all three... After answering the questions below, you will be able to draw your own conclusions and identify the right founding team.

What can I do and who can help me do what I cannot do?

Function	Owner
Growth/Marketing
Programming & Infrastructure
Design & Branding
Financial & Accounting
Legal
Business strategy & fundraising
Customer Support

Define the salary requirements for each person from the table above

• Salary needed = What is the minimum monthly salary this person needs to live & is willing to accept

• 1st Salary delay = How many months can each person live with their current savings (or is willing to) before they need their first salary

Name	Salary needed	Delay to 1st salary

Finances

With this team in place, how many months before you can bring the first revenue (aka the 1st paying customer)?

How much money is required in your bootstrap budget?

1. Start with a bootstrap budget of $1,000

2. Take your estimated delay to the first paying customer and double it, this will be your "delay to revenue"

3. For each person in the team, is the delay to revenue < delay to 1st salary?

   If the answer is negative: 1. Calculate the difference: difference = (delay to revenue - delay to 1st salary) x salary needed 2. Add the amount to your bootstrap budget: bootstrap budget = bootstrap budget + difference

4. If you know any other costs you will have (licenses, outsourcing, etc.), add them to your budget

With this team in place, how long before you can bring enough revenue to pay everybody's salary?

How much money is required in your seed budget?

1. Take your estimated delay to "enough revenue" and double it, this will be your "delay to profitability"

2. For each person in the team, is the delay to profitability < delay to 1st salary?

   If the answer is negative: 1. Calculate the difference: difference = (delay to profitability - delay to 1st salary) x salary needed 2. Add the amount to your seed budget: seed budget = budget + difference

3. If you know any other costs you will have (licenses, outsourcing, etc.), add them to your budget

4. Substract your bootstrap budget from your seed budget

Do you need to raise money?

Your bootstrap budget is the money you need to start the business. It is brought to the table by the founders. If the founding team doesn't have enough to cover the bootstrap budget, the team needs to change or you need to find ways to bring this initial funding (personal/family loans)

If there is any required seed budget, you have two solutions if you want to continue:

• The founding team covers the seed budget and you effectively stay a "bootstrapped" startup with all the equity and business decisions belonging to the founders

• You raise money from a seed investor and you become a "funded" startup with other people than the founders holding equity and involved in the decision making process

Before you give up on your idea due to lack of funding, always consider alternative solutions to your biggest costs

Transition

If after your research, you are more confident than ever with your idea, you may now proceed to validate your idea.