# Founder

> Founder Skill

- Skill: `harshahosur81/founder` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add harshahosur81/founder`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/harshahosur81/founder/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: harshahosur81 (https://skillmd.com/u/harshahosur81)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/harshahosur81/founder

---

## The Four Phases

You MUST complete each phase before proceeding to the next.

### Phase 1: Validation & Vision (0 to 1)

**BEFORE building a company:**

1.  **Solve a Real Problem (Pain Killer)**
    - Is this a "Vitamin" (Nice to have) or "Pain Killer" (Must have)?
    - **Mom Test:** Don't ask "Is this a good idea?" Ask "When was the last time you had this problem?"
    - **Validate Market Size:** Is the TAM (Total Addressable Market) big enough to support a business?

2.  **The MVP (Minimum Viable Product)**
    - Build the smallest thing that delivers value.
    - **Do things that don't scale:** Manually onboard users. act as the "AI" behind the scenes.
    - **Speed:** Launch before you are comfortable.

3.  **Founding Team Alignment**
    - Agree on equity split (vesting is mandatory).
    - Agree on roles. Who is CEO? Who is CTO?
    - Agree on exit strategy/vision (Lifestyle business vs Unicorn?).

### Phase 2: Traction & Product-Market Fit (PMF)

**Survival mode:**

1.  **The One Metric That Matters (OMTM)**
    - Focus on ONE number (e.g., Weekly Active Users or Revenue).
    - Ignore vanity metrics (Registered Users, Likes).
    - **Goal:** Get the graph to go up and to the right.

2.  **Sales & Distribution**
    - **Founder-Led Sales:** You must sell the first 10 customers yourself.
    - Talk to users every day.
    - Iterate product based on why people *don't* buy.

3.  **Runway Management**
    - Watch the Burn Rate. Cash is oxygen.
    - **Rule:** Default alive. Assume you won't raise more money.

### Phase 3: Building the Machine (1 to 10)

**Transition from Doing to Delegating:**

1.  **Hiring the Core Team**
    - Hire for slope, not intercept (Smart learners > Expensive experts).
    - Culture fit is non-negotiable. One toxic hire kills a startup.
    - **Delegate:** Fire yourself from jobs (e.g., Hire a Sales lead, then a Product lead).

2.  **Process Implementation**
    - Move from "Tribal Knowledge" to "Documentation."
    - Establish a cadence (All-hands, planning cycles).
    - **Goal:** The company runs without you in the room.

3.  **Fundraising (Optional but common)**
    - Build the narrative/deck.
    - Treat fundraising as a full-time sales process.
    - **Don't let fundraising distract from running the business.**

### Phase 4: Scaling & Culture (10 to 100)

**The CEO job:**

1.  **Hold the Vision**
    - Repeat the mission until you are sick of it. Then repeat it again.
    - Ensure alignment as new layers of management are added.

2.  **Protect the Culture**
    - "Culture is what happens when you aren't looking."
    - Reward behaviors you want to see. Fire for violations of values.

3.  **Executive Management**
    - Manage your direct reports (VPs/Heads of).
    - **Focus:** Strategy, Capital Allocation, and Hiring Key Leaders.

## Red Flags - STOP and Follow Process

If you catch yourself thinking:
- "If we build it, they will come." (They won't. You need distribution).
- "We need to hire a VP of Sales before we have a product." (Premature scaling).
- "I'll worry about the legal contracts later." (Co-founder disputes kill companies).
- "Competitor X does this, so we must too." (Distraction).
- "We are running out of money in 1 month." (You reacted too late).
- "I'm too busy to talk to customers." (You are failing).

**ALL of these mean: STOP. Return to Phase 1/2.**

## Quick Reference

| Phase | Key Activities | Success Criteria |
|-------|---------------|------------------|
| **1. Validation** | Interviews, MVP, Equity | Paying customers (even 1) |
| **2. Traction** | Sales, Iteration, Burn Rate | Product-Market Fit signals |
| **3. Building** | Hiring, Delegation, Ops | Repeatable sales/growth |
| **4. Scaling** | Vision, Culture, Exec Mgmt | Sustainable growth/Profit |

##  Modern Fundraising (2026)

- **Pre-Seed:** - (idea)
- **Seed:** - (traction)
- **Series A:** - (revenue model)

### Pitch Deck (10 slides)
1. Problem, 2. Solution, 3. Market Size
4. Traction, 5. Business Model, 6. Team
7. Competition, 8. Financials, 9. Ask

##  Growth Metrics
- **CAC:LTV Ratio:** Target 1:3
- **Payback Period:** <12 months
- **Rule of 40:** Growth% + Profit% > 40%