Founder Discovery Lab
Validate your startup idea. Six weeks of customer discovery, mentorship, and structured experimentation.
Program Overview
Duration
6 weeks
Cohort Size
12 to 20 founders
Time Commitment
~6 hours per week
At the end of Discovery Lab, founders should be able to clearly answer three questions: Who is the customer? What problem do they have? Is it worth building a startup around?
Week-by-Week Curriculum
Week 1
Founder Orientation & Startup Thinking
Introduction to the ecosystem, startup vs small business, why most startups fail, and the importance of customer discovery.
Week 2
Customer Discovery
Interview techniques, avoiding biased questions, identifying early adopters. Assignment: conduct 5 to 7 customer interviews.
Week 3
Problem Validation
Recognizing strong vs weak problems, frequency, economic value. Assignment: conduct 5 to 10 additional interviews to find patterns.
Week 4
Value Proposition
Crafting and testing a value proposition. Assignment: test messaging through customer feedback, landing pages, or prototype demos.
Week 5
Market Opportunity
Market sizing basics (TAM/SAM/SOM), competitive landscape, differentiation. Assignment: create a startup opportunity summary.
Week 6
Founder Decision
Evaluating startup potential, founder-market fit. Final deliverable: Founder Decision Brief with problem, customer, value proposition, and next step.