90-Day Curriculum
90 days · Problem validation to Demo Day
Month 1: Conviction
The Forge of Conviction — problem definition, team, Lean Canvas.
Week 1
- Day 1
The Founder Persona
Self-assessment of risk and resilience
Socratic: Identifying 'Founder Aptitude' and outliers. Why are you the right person to spend the next ten years on this specific problem?
- Day 2
Why a Startup?
Separating imaginary blockers from real ones
Socratic: Probing the 'Why now?' and personal motivations. What is preventing you from starting today?
- Day 3
Market Credibility
Assessing industry-specific expertise
Socratic: What CREDIBILITY do you have in this market? Why should customers trust you?
- Day 4
The Hard Road
Recognizing the marathon nature of startups
Socratic: Stress-testing the 10-year commitment horizon. Are you prepared for the trough of sorrow?
- Day 5
Gaps and Skills
Identifying missing core functions in the team
Socratic: Mapping internal skills vs. market demands. What critical skill does your team lack?
- Day 6
Personal Suitability
Evaluating the founder's 'edge'
Socratic: Identifying unique abilities others lack. What can you do that no one else can?
- Day 7
Orientation Completion
Goal setting for the 90-day sprint
Socratic: What does Day 90 look like for you? Define your success criteria.
Week 2
- Day 8
Identifying Dissatisfaction
Defining the essence of user pain
Socratic: What is the essence of their dissatisfaction? How do you know it's painful enough?
- Day 9
Frequency and Intensity
Measuring the problem's lifecycle
Socratic: How frequent and how intense is this problem? Do they experience it daily or yearly?
- Day 10
Vitamin vs. Painkiller
Categorizing the solution's necessity
Socratic: Is this life/death, or a pain they've lived with? Would they pay to solve it today?
- Day 11
Existing Workarounds
Identifying how users solve it today
Socratic: What have they tried to do to solve this? Why do current solutions fail?
- Day 12
The Atomic Unit
Distilling the problem to its smallest unit
Socratic: Identifying the 'riskiest assumption' in the unit. What must be true for this to work?
- Day 13
Problem Statement
100-word definition of the customer pain
Socratic: Forcing clarity through radical constraint. Can you explain it to a 10-year-old?
- Day 14
Assumption Mapping
Listing counts-on behaviors
Socratic: What behavior are you counting on? What happens if users don't behave as expected?
Week 3
- Day 15
Co-Founder Matching
Assessing alignment and values
Socratic: What truth do very few people agree with you on? Are you and your co-founder aligned?
- Day 16
The Equity Equation
Justifying equal splits vs. staggered
Socratic: Highlighting 'Equity Mistakes that Kill Companies'. Why is your split fair?
- Day 17
Conflict Resolution
Building a framework for team arguments
Socratic: Describe a resolved conflict within the team. How will you handle future disagreements?
- Day 18
Technical Foundation
Assessing the need for a technical co-founder
Socratic: Can the team build without external skills? Who will write the first line of code?
- Day 19
Roles and Incentives
Defining operational decision rights
Socratic: Who is the most indispensable person? What happens if they leave tomorrow?
- Day 20
Cultural Values
Documenting the 'North Star' values
Socratic: Aligning culture with the long-term vision. What principles will guide tough decisions?
- Day 21
Team Stability
Stress-testing the relationship longevity
Socratic: What happens if the CTO leaves tomorrow? Do you have a succession plan?
Week 4
- Day 22
UVP Construction
Articulating the 'Aha' moment
Socratic: How might the customer describe the magic? What makes your solution 10x better?
- Day 23
Customer Segments
Precisely identifying the early adopters
Socratic: Who wants this so much they'll use a buggy v1? Who is desperate for this?
- Day 24
Channels and Inbound
Mapping the path to the user
Socratic: What are the inbound/outbound paths? Where do your customers congregate?
- Day 25
Revenue Streams
Defining the pricing logic
Socratic: How will you validate what they will pay? Have you tested pricing sensitivity?
- Day 26
Cost Structure
Identifying fixed vs. variable costs
Socratic: What's the revenue/profit ratio? What are your unit economics?
- Day 27
Key Metrics (v1)
Selecting the one metric that matters
Socratic: The company does what the CEO measures. What is your North Star metric?
- Day 28
Unfair Advantage
Defining the defensible moat
Socratic: What do we have that no one can copy? Why can't Google build this?
- Day 29
High-Level Concept
Creating the X for Y analogy
Socratic: Is the concept surprising and new? Can you explain it in one sentence?
- Day 30
Gate 1 Review
Final submission and AI scoring
Socratic: Comprehensive evaluation of the Lean Canvas. Are you ready to test your assumptions?
Month 2: Validation
Get Out of the Building — customer discovery, MVP, first users.
Week 5
- Day 31
Interview Design
Creating non-leading questions
Socratic: Ask about the past, not the future. What did they do last time they faced this problem?
- Day 32
Outreach Velocity
Initiating contact with 50+ prospects
Socratic: Which networks can we latch onto for distribution? Who can introduce you?
- Day 33
Discovery Execution
Conducting the first 3-5 interviews
Socratic: Did you listen more and speak less? What surprised you about their answers?
- Day 34
Sentiment Analysis
Analyzing transcripts for emotional cues
Socratic: Pay attention to emotions, not compliments. Did they lean in or lean back?
- Day 35
Identifying the 'Wow'
Pinpointing the specific moment of value
Socratic: How soon can you deliver 'Wow'? What is the time to value?
- Day 36
Workaround Deep-Dive
Understanding the cost of the status quo
Socratic: How much did they pay to solve this problem? What is their current solution?
- Day 37
Updating Hypotheses
Reframing the problem based on data
Socratic: How has your understanding been transformed? What did you get wrong?
Week 6
- Day 38
Atomic Unit Selection
Identifying the hyper-narrow test subject
Socratic: What's the smallest possible version? Can you test with 10 users instead of 100?
- Day 39
Feature Prioritization
Implementing the MoSCoW framework
Socratic: What feature is essential for 'Wow'? Everything else can wait.
- Day 40
Prototyping Strategy
Choosing No-Code vs. Wizard of Oz
Socratic: Can you deliver value manually first? Don't build what you can fake.
- Day 41
User Journey Mapping
Designing the path to the 'Aha' moment
Socratic: Map the onboard to the core interaction. Where might users get stuck?
- Day 42
Success Metric Definition
Setting KPIs for the first launch
Socratic: Tie these metrics to behavior, not opinions. What action proves value?
- Day 43
Feasibility Audit
Checking data readiness and compute costs
Socratic: Is the data good enough for accurate predictions? Do you have access?
- Day 44
Budgeting for Validation
Estimating costs of the validation sprint
Socratic: Keep MVP development within 30% of budget. What can you cut?
Week 7
- Day 45
Landing Page Launch
Measuring waitlist conversion rates
Socratic: Target a 10% conversion from visit to sign-up. Test your value proposition.
- Day 46
First-Click Testing
Validating the visual hierarchy and UVP
Socratic: What aspects of the design stood out? Is the CTA obvious?
- Day 47
Feedback Loop Setup
Implementing Hotjar or Mixpanel
Socratic: Capture user corrections, hesitations, abandonments. Instrument everything.
- Day 48
The First User
Watching a user interact with the MVP
Socratic: Sit in their office and literally watch them. What confuses them?
- Day 49
Rapid Iteration (v1.1)
Fixing the first round of usability bugs
Socratic: Don't worry if the company seems badly broken. Fix the obvious issues.
- Day 50
Pre-Sales and Commitment
Securing the first 'dollar' or LOI
Socratic: Measure actual willingness to pay. Will they pay before you build?
- Day 51
Growth Hypothesis
Defining the next 1,000 users
Socratic: How will the next 10,000 customers find you? What is your acquisition strategy?
Week 8
- Day 52
Sentiment Scoring
AI-driven review of interview transcripts
Socratic: Did they bother to sign up or pay? Actions speak louder than words.
- Day 53
ROI Calculation
Documenting the economic surplus for users
Socratic: Write the value in an Excel ROI model. What is the payback period?
- Day 54
Feature Pruning
Removing unused features from the v1 MVP
Socratic: What should we stop doing? Less is more.
- Day 55
Competitive Advantage
Quadrant assessment against alternatives
Socratic: Does the product dominate available alternatives? Why would someone switch?
- Day 56
Regulatory and Legal
Checking for GDPR/HIPAA compliance
Socratic: Familiarize yourself with key regulations early. What are the legal risks?
- Day 57
Data Privacy Check
Auditing AI model data pipelines
Socratic: Ensure training/inference data remains protected. Do you have consent?
- Day 58
Stakeholder Alignment
Reviewing the roadmap with mentors
Socratic: Is the team prepared for the next 24 months? What could go wrong?
- Day 59
Gate 2 Review
Submission of the Validation Performance Report
Socratic: Calculating the 'Confidence Score' (target > 80%). Do you have proof?
- Day 60
The Decision Matrix
Scale, Kill, or Pivot
Socratic: Weighing market response vs. resource readiness. What does the data say?
Month 3: Scale
Trajectory of Scale — unit economics, fundraising, Demo Day.
Week 9
- Day 61
Core Metric Optimization
Identifying the single metric to double
Socratic: The company does what the CEO measures. Focus on one thing.
- Day 62
CAC vs. LTV
Calculating the 3:1 ratio viability
Socratic: Acquisition can cost 5x more than retention. What is your payback period?
- Day 63
Churn Mitigation
Designing the onboarding 'Aha' moment
Socratic: Track usage data to identify who may leave. What predicts churn?
- Day 64
Channel Scalability
Assessing Facebook, Google, and SEO loops
Socratic: Referrals are the top channel in Year 1. Can your users invite others?
- Day 65
Net Dollar Retention
Measuring expansion revenue potential
Socratic: Target >110% NDR for AI-native startups. Can you upsell?
- Day 66
Sales Playbook
Designing the enterprise sales process
Socratic: Is there a unified channel to these customers? Document your sales motion.
- Day 67
Pricing Tiers
Testing freemium vs. annual subscriptions
Socratic: Price based on value, not competitor cost. What are you worth?
Week 10
- Day 68
Data Room Organization
Consolidating legal and financial docs
Socratic: Evidence of blue sky law qualification? Get your house in order.
- Day 69
SAFE Terms and MFN
Understanding post-money valuation logic
Socratic: Is the deal priced attractively for outlier returns? Don't overvalue too early.
- Day 70
Financial Forecasts
Creating 18-month burn rate projections
Socratic: Do the projections match your current stage? Be conservative.
- Day 71
Risk Mitigation
Assessing regulatory and operational risks
Socratic: What are the hidden safety problems? What keeps you up at night?
- Day 72
The Trough of Sorrow
Preparing for the post-accelerator dip
Socratic: How will you maintain focus on the vision? The hard part is just beginning.
- Day 73
Investor Selection
Identifying the right lead investor
Socratic: Bringing on investors is getting married. Who adds strategic value?
- Day 74
Diligence Simulation
AI-led interrogation of the data room
Socratic: If this were to fail, what is the most likely reason? Pre-mortem analysis.
Week 11
- Day 75
Hook and Mission
Creating a compelling 1-liner
Socratic: Explain what you do and for whom. Make it memorable.
- Day 76
Problem Narrative
Emphasizing the user pain points
Socratic: Explain the problem your innovation solves. Make them feel the pain.
- Day 77
Traction Slides
Showcasing the 10% monthly growth
Socratic: Identification and conclusions of key metrics. Show momentum.
- Day 78
Competitive Defensibility
Visualizing the moat and IP
Socratic: Why won't the value be competed away? What is your sustainable advantage?
- Day 79
The Team Slide
Highlighting relevant domain expertise
Socratic: Highlight why your team is uniquely equipped. Who are you?
- Day 80
The Ask
Defining the capital requirement and milestones
Socratic: How specifically will you use the funds? What milestones will you hit?
- Day 81
Presentation Flow
Connecting the 11 key slides logically
Socratic: Does the narrative guide the audience smoothly? Practice your transitions.
Week 12
- Day 82
Pitch Practice (v1)
Virtual feedback session with peers
Socratic: Was the pitch exciting and compelling? What resonated?
- Day 83
Pitch Practice (v2)
AI-led feedback on delivery and tone
Socratic: Feature visual and kinesthetic elements. Body language matters.
- Day 84
Final Artifact Review
Clean-up of the GTM and KPI docs
Socratic: Objective winners selection via RIGOR. Polish your materials.
- Day 85
Demo Day (Virtual)
Presentation to the advisory board
Socratic: Automated scoring of the final performance. This is your moment.
- Day 86
Graduation Ceremony
Networking and alumni onboarding
Socratic: Lifetime access to the worldwide network. You're part of the family now.
- Day 87
Post-Program Strategy
12-month development roadmap
Socratic: Fundraising strategy beyond this round. What's next?
- Day 88
Exit Interview
Gathering experience and learning data
Socratic: What course knowledge was most important? How can we improve?
- Day 89
Professional Reset
Sabbatical planning and reflection
Socratic: Create structure around the break period. You've earned it.
- Day 90
Terminal Message
Formal program termination and support
Socratic: Supportive failure/success framing. This is just the beginning.
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