v1Pass 1
Hunch
“Warehouses.”
Where Meridian started.
Three guided phases for founders, from vision to exit
A live program for early-stage founders. A 90-minute session every Wednesday, a mentor, a cohort and weekly work on your own company. $99.95 a month.
Three guided phases that cover the Startup Lifecycle from Vision to Exit, the framework built by Gregory Shepard.
Lifecycle
7
Phases, from Vision to Exit
Institute
3
Guided phases, Vision to Exit
Method
1
Founderswork™, in every phase
Live sessions
12
In Phase 1, plus six workshops
The Founders Pathway
Three guided phases across the Startup Lifecycle
Gregory Shepard’s Startup Lifecycle maps how a company grows in seven phases, from Vision to Exit. The Founders Pathway, the Institute’s program, covers all seven in three guided phases. Pick where your company is today to find yours.
Institute map of the Startup Lifecycle
Where is your company today? Pick it on the map.Where is your company today? Tap where it is.
- Phase 1 · Discover & Validate: Vision, Product, Go-to-Market
- Phase 2 · Build & Launch: Standardization, Optimization
- Phase 3 · Grow & Transform: Growth, Exit
Founderswork™
One method at every stage
Founderswork™ is Rapid Iterative Learning, and it’s the constant in all three phases. You learn a concept, personalize it to your business, prove it in the real world, refine it based on what you find, then repeat. Each pass goes deeper as your company grows.
- Learn: Pick up one concept that matters at your phase.
- Personalize: Rewrite it for your business, your customer and your numbers.
- Prove: Test it in the real world, with real people.
- Refine: Keep what worked. Change what didn’t.
- Repeat: Run it again, one level deeper.
One concept, deeper learning
One concept, deeper learning. Example: Meridian Robotics’ ideal customer profile. Meridian Robotics started with a one-word ideal customer profile: warehouses. After talking with prospective customers, it narrowed to 3PL warehouses with 50 to 200 pickers. More conversations named the buyer: operations directors at 3PL warehouses who are losing contracts over late shipments. Each version came from getting out, talking to buyers and proving it. v1 ‘Warehouses.’ (hunch), v2 ‘3PL warehouses with 50 to 200 pickers.’ (tested), v3 ‘Operations directors at 3PL warehouses who are losing contracts over late shipments.’ (proved).Example:Meridian Robotics’ ideal customer profile
v2Pass 2
Tested
“3PL warehouses with 50 to 200 pickers.”
After 9 interviews with prospective customers.
v3Pass 3
Proved
“Operations directors at 3PL warehouses who are losing contracts over late shipments.”
After 3 signed letters of intent.
Three passes shown here. Many founders run more.
Curriculum
Twelve sessions to a validated venture, week by week
Phase 1 · Discover & Validate runs for 3 months after orientation. A 90-minute live session every Wednesday at 12pm MT, optional workshops and Founderswork™ reviews on Thursdays, and one week off to catch your breath. Every session is recorded.
Vision
Product
Go-to-Market
Covered in Phase 1, Discover & Validate
How Phase 1 runs
1
Wednesdays
12pm MT, a 90-minute live session on Google Meet
Thursdays
Optional workshops and Founderswork™ reviews
Recorded
Every session, so you can catch up anytime
Time
4–6 hours a week, sessions included
Support
An assigned mentor and a peer cohort at your stage
Facilitated by
Colin Christensen, Chris Breen and Dr. Arthur Barbut, with Gregory Shepard. Meet them ↓
Re-enroll
Your membership includes future cohorts
Joining
No application. Pause or cancel anytime.
Wednesday sessionThursday workshop (optional)Founderswork™ reviewBreak week
12 live sessions (18 hours), six optional workshops and three Founderswork reviews.
- Week 0StartWeek 0 Orientation
Welcome and orientation
Registration, platform access and your community intro. - Week 1Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 1 Session 1
Where do you want your business to end up?
- Week 2Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 2 Session 2
What is your customer’s job to be done?
Thursday: Founderswork™ reviewReview your Founderswork™ so far.Thursday: Founderswork™ reviewReview your Founderswork™ so far. - Week 3Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 3 Session 3
You’re building for the wrong person
Ideal customer profileWorkshop 1, Thursday (optional)What investors are really looking forThe 10-slide deck formulaWorkshop 1, Thursday (optional)What investors are really looking forThe 10-slide deck formula - Week 4Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 4 Session 4
The one-sentence pitch that opens every door
Workshop 2, Thursday (optional)The social capital most founders leave on the tableWorkshop 2, Thursday (optional)The social capital most founders leave on the table - Week 5Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 5 Session 5
How customers actually find you
AARRR metrics and the customer journey - Week 6Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 6 Session 6
Where can you find customers?
Workshop 3, Thursday (optional)Leading when you don’t have all the answersWorkshop 3, Thursday (optional)Leading when you don’t have all the answers - Week 7Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 7 Session 7
Why a non-binding LOI is your most powerful early tool
Thursday: Founderswork™ reviewReview your Founderswork™ so far.Thursday: Founderswork™ reviewReview your Founderswork™ so far. - Week 8Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 8 Session 8
What flat numbers are actually telling you
Workshop 4, Thursday (optional)Building the team your phase actually needsWorkshop 4, Thursday (optional)Building the team your phase actually needs - Week 9BreakWeek 9 Planned break
Break week
A planned pause. Catch up on recordings and your Founderswork™. - Week 10Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 10 Session 9
How to pivot without panicking
The Go/No-Go testWorkshop 5, Thursday (optional)Does your product actually make money?COGS, pricing and your financial modelWorkshop 5, Thursday (optional)Does your product actually make money?COGS, pricing and your financial model - Week 11Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 11 Session 10
Planning your roadmap, from telescope to microscope
- Week 12Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 12 Session 11
How to get into accelerators, and whether you should
Workshop 6, Thursday (optional)Closing your first customers, from interest to invoiceWorkshop 6, Thursday (optional)Closing your first customers, from interest to invoice - Week 13Wednesday, 12pm MTWeek 13 Session 12
The full picture: your Startup Science roadmap
Thursday: final Founderswork™ reviewYour final review, and a celebration.Thursday: final Founderswork™ reviewYour final review, and a celebration.
After 3 months
A founder dossier
A clear ideal customer profile
Better storytelling
Join for $99.95 a month. No application. Pause or cancel anytime.
2
Next: Phase 2 · Build & Launch
Sold out
When your company reaches Standardization: build, pilot and launch.
Run Phase 1 again
Your membership includes future cohorts. Many founders run it again as they move from Vision to Product to Go‑to‑Market.
Your facilitators
Phase 1 is led by seasoned founders who have built exits, raised significant capital and run accelerators.
Founder of Startup Science
Serial entrepreneur and the author of The Startup Lifecycle, the seven-phase framework the Institute is built on. Gregory joins every cohort.
Companies
Founder of Startup Science and BOSS Capital Partners; earlier founded AdAssured and AffiliateTraction
Exits
12 companies built and sold in BioTech, TransitTech, AdTech and MarTech, two of them in a $925M transaction
Book
The Startup Lifecycle (Forbes Books)
Roles
Chief Strategy Officer at eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions; CTO at Pepperjam
Speaking
TEDx and keynote speaker at universities and accelerators
Colin Christensen
Lead, Startup Institute
Cohort facilitator. Built Sphere, a mentorship platform that served 2,500+ entrepreneurs across five continents. 40+ years of entrepreneurship across 15 countries.
Chris Breen
Manager, Startup Institute
Cohort facilitator. 25+ years in international business, MBA, John Maxwell certified.
Dr. Arthur Barbut
Cohort facilitator
Brings academic rigor and practitioner depth to the cohort experience and the Institute’s methodology.
Pricing
Phase 1 · Discover & Validate is $99.95 a month, with no application. Phase 2 · Build & Launch and Phase 3 · Grow & Transform are sold out. Join the waitlist to hear first when the next cohort opens. All prices in USD.
1
Founders Pathway, Phase 1
/month
or $999.95 a year (save $199)
Vision to Go-to-Market. Three months. Four cohorts a year.
A live session every week, plus optional Thursdays
Facilitated by Colin, Chris and Dr. Arthur Barbut
Gregory Shepard joins throughout the term
An assigned mentor and a peer cohort
Six workshops and Founderswork™ reviews
Re-enroll in future cohorts, included
Platform plans are not included. Founderswork™ runs on the Startup Science platform, where a Commons account is free.
Join anytime. Pause or cancel anytime. No application.
Later in the lifecycle
Phase 2 and Phase 3
Both are sold out. Join the waitlist and we’ll tell you first when the next cohort opens.
Phase 2 · Build & Launch, Open Q2 27
Standardization → OptimizationCreate, pilot and launch.
Phase 3 · Grow & Transform, Open Q2 27
Growth → ExitScale capability and outcomes.
We’ll only email you about Phase 2 and Phase 3 cohorts. Questions first? Book a 15-min call ↗
Founder voices
What founders say
What founders, students and seasoned entrepreneurs say about working with us.
I benefited 10× more from this one session than my whole last year with another mentor.
Nick, established entrepreneur
Going through this process made me a better planner, and I know exactly what I need to do to get my business off the ground.
Sarah, student entrepreneur
This helped us think critically about the future of our business. The best strategic planning session we have had.
Lorne, seasoned entrepreneur
They took someone with no business experience, just an idea and determination, and gave me the tools I needed to turn it into a successful business.
Mitch, emerging entrepreneur
Questions
Colin Christensen
Lead, Startup Institute · Office hours
Still deciding? Book 15 minutes with Colin to talk through where you are and which phase fits.
Start with where your company is today. Phase 1 · Discover & Validate is where you frame the opportunity and test the problem. Phase 2 · Build & Launch is where you create, pilot and launch. Phase 3 · Grow & Transform is where you scale capability and outcomes. Not sure? Book 15 minutes with Colin and he’ll help you place it.
All of it, from Vision to Exit. Phase 1 · Discover & Validate covers Vision, Product and Go-to-Market. Phase 2 · Build & Launch covers Standardization and Optimization. Phase 3 · Grow & Transform covers Growth and Exit.
Phase 2 · Build & Launch focuses on MVP build, go-to-market design, pilot delivery and first revenue. Phase 3 · Grow & Transform focuses on growth planning, capital readiness and Venture Studio acceleration for selected ventures. Ask us how ventures are selected (opens in a new tab). Both use the same Founderswork™ method as Phase 1. Both are sold out right now. Join the waitlist to hear first when the next cohort opens.
Not for Phase 1. If you’re ready to do the work, you’re in. Phase 2 and Phase 3 are sold out. Join the waitlist and we’ll contact you when seats open.
Plan on 4–6 hours a week: one 90-minute live session on Wednesdays (Thursdays are optional), plus async Founderswork™ and your own work toward your outcomes.
Both. Sessions are live so the cohort dynamic works, and every session is recorded for reference or catching up.
Watch the recording. Peer accountability and Founderswork™ happen asynchronously, so one missed session won’t set you back.
The method is. In every phase you learn a concept, personalize it to your business, prove it in the real world, refine it based on what you find, then repeat. What you work on changes with your phase.
We work alongside accelerators, whose seats are limited. Phase 1 helps you get sharper, build evidence and either re-apply with a stronger case or keep building independently. Session 11 covers how to get into accelerators, and whether you should.
Yes. Phase 1 is a membership, so you can start whenever you’re ready and return to future cohorts as often as you like while your membership is active.
For as long as your membership is active. Pause or cancel anytime, and you keep your progress in the system.
No. The membership covers the live sessions, workshops, mentor and cohort. Founderswork™ runs on the Startup Science (opens in a new tab) platform, where a Commons account is free. Discovery and Launch are separate plans if you want Nova, Marketplace perks or capital sources.
Phase 1 · Discover & Validate is $99.95 a month, or $999.95 a year (save $199). Pause or cancel anytime. Phase 2 and Phase 3 are sold out. The waitlist hears about dates and price first.
Start Phase 1 today
Or book 15 minutes and we’ll help you find the phase that fits where your company is.
The company behind the platform and the Institute.