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Blog · page 5 of 5
Write-ups on validating an AI startup idea before building it: what the evidence says, what founders get wrong at go-to-market, and what we learn running the playbooks with them.
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Twelve weeks to a real venture
An entrepreneurship curriculum built on execution: what courses like Lean LaunchPad and I-Corps get right, and a 12-week plan with a weekly deliverable.
The founder sells first
Founder-led sales for B2B AI startups: why the founder sells first, the six-step first-customer playbook, and when to hand selling to a hire.
Talk first, then build
Customer discovery for technical founders: who to talk to, what to ask, how many conversations programs like NSF I-Corps expect, and how to log what you learn.
Count buyers, not dollars
TAM, SAM and SOM explained with a worked bottom-up example for an AI startup, using a public government count, and every assumption written down.
One buyer, named
How to build an ideal customer profile for B2B SaaS from evidence: the six fields to fill, a scoring sheet, and how narrow your first market should be.
The template, filled in
A go-to-market strategy template with every field filled in for a real B2B example: buyer, champion, alternatives, message, channel, price and 90-day targets.
Five decisions, first customers
A go-to-market strategy for an AI startup in five decisions: first buyer, positioning, channel, price and sales motion, built from evidence, not guesses.
Check the sources first
How to choose an idea validation tool: six things to check (sources, stated assumptions, a real no, next steps) and a 30-minute test before you pay.
Demand first, code later
Market validation before you code: the market signals worth checking, four demand tests that need no product, and how to read the results honestly.
Evidence before you build
A business idea validation checklist: the five pieces of evidence to collect before you build, what counts as proof, and what is only encouragement.