Our 8-Week Accelerated Startup Bootcamp happens all via Zoom, email, and direct message collaboration with our Team.

After you sign up for the Bootcamp, you’ll be able to select a convenient date and time for our first Zoom Meeting together.

Once we’re on Zoom for our first meeting, we’ll take a few minutes to introduce ourselves. We’ll ask you to tell us about your business idea and where you are in the “startup” process.

We’ll go over the Bootcamp process and make any adjustments, as needed for your situation. We’ll determine the best direct messaging channel/app for us to collaborate through during the Bootcamp.

We’ll also determine how to organize all the files, documents, and tools we create together for your business.

Finally, we’ll jump right into the objectives for Week 1!

42% of small businesses fail because of no market need (CB Insights, 2019).

Our Bootcamp is about making sure that you get past this hurdle, and it all starts with confirming that there is a need for your idea and there are enough potential customers for you to build a profitable business.

In Week 1, we’ll help you clarify your initial thinking.  You might be creating a new product or service.  Or, you might be starting a retail store, restaurant, manufacturing business, or an online business with a digital product or software service.

Whatever your situation, our first step will be to sketch out your idea, focusing on:

• What exactly you will be creating (i.e. your business idea).
• Why it’s important and how it’s different from what existing businesses are offering.
• What specific problem(s) your business idea will solve.
• Which people (or groups of people) will be your customers.
• And how your business will generate revenue.   

Next, we’ll go through some simple “Napkin Math” together to begin designing a business model capable of generating the income that you will need (and much more).

We’ll create and customize a simple, but powerful tool to help you organize this “Napkin Math” and test alternative business models in real time. 

We’ll continue developing your business model throughout the Bootcamp, with more detail and information backed up by practical research.

Weeks 2-4 of our Bootcamp are all about “rolling up your sleeves” and developing a business model that you can be excited about and that has the potential to generate the income you need (and much more).

We’ll start by taking a closer look at the marketplace where you will be operating to learn more about your potential customers and competitors.

Next, we’ll begin validating your business idea with real industry insiders and potential customers (and even a competitor or two) through live interviews.

Talking with industry insiders and potential customers is the “gold standard” for preparing to launch any successful business.

Don’t worry! We’ll help you every step of the way through this process.

We’ll start with one industry insider and one potential customer.

These first couple of conversations will get you familiar with the process of setting up and conducting interviews.

Our goal for this Bootcamp is to speak with at least 10 industry insiders and 10 potential customers.

This will help you develop an offering that your customers actually want and are willing to pay for.

They will also provide you with enough data and feedback to determine if your business has a high potential for success.

While you are scheduling and conducting interviews, we’ll help you flesh out critical areas of your business model including:

• How you will reach your target market and acquire customers.
• What you will need to have in place before you launch your business–which could include workspace, furnishings, equipment, inventory, website, computers, software, packaging materials, vehicles, permits, etc.
• Which legal structure you should initially choose for your business (Sole proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company, C-Corporation, S-Corporation, etc.).
• How you will operate your business day-to-day.
• What systems and people you will need to have in place after you “open your doors for business.” If you will need to build a team, you will describe the people, their skillsets and responsibilities, and how you will lead and manage your team.

We will also create and customize easy-to-use, powerful tools to help you…

• Generate sales projections for your business.
• Identify and manage all of your expenses.
• Keep track of your assets and liabilities.
• Determine exactly how much money you will need to launch your business.
• Determine when you will break-even and start making a profit.

These are the exact tools that you will use to manage and grow your business profitably.

These tools are specifically designed for owners and managers without any knowledge or training in accounting or finance. They’re easy-to-use, fun, and extraordinarily powerful in helping you to make key decisions in your business.

Again, we’ll help you every step of the way in setting up and customizing these tools–not to worry!

Question: Why do Banks, Venture Capital Firms, Angel Capital Investors, and the Small Business Administration require that you have a Business Plan to apply for funding?

Answer:  Because they know that your chances for success are increased dramatically by doing the research and planning necessary to manage and grow your business.

Whether you will finance your business with your own savings, or you will need outside funding for your business, creating a plan that demonstrates exactly how you will build your business, and answers the important questions that investors and bankers would ask you, will significantly increase your potential for success.

Great News: By this point in the Bootcamp, you have already done the hard work—what’s left is organizing and assembling your Business Plan.

In Weeks 5 and 6 of the Bootcamp, we’ll guide you through creating a clear, concise, and inspiring Business Plan that you can use immediately to help you acquire funding from banks, crowdfunding platforms, angel investors, venture capital firms, etc. as well as to help you onboard new members of your team.

Here’s the basic format we’ll use to construct your Business Plan:

• Executive Summary
• The Problem
• Your Solution
• Your Company Description
• Your Value Proposition
• Summary of Your Research
• Your Analysis of the Industry
• Your Assessment of the Competition
• Your Target Market & Marketing Plan
• Your Operations
• Your Leadership & Management Team
• Your Financials
• Ask & Deal
• Appendices

We’ll be right there with you all the way through this process. 

In Weeks 7 and 8 of our Bootcamp, we’ll help you create a compelling presentation that you can use to explain or pitch your business idea to family, friends, lenders, investors, and potential employees or partners.

By now you have researched your industry, competitors, and potential customers.

You have refined your business idea.

You have also developed a solid and strategically sound plan for successfully launching and growing your business.

All of this is now recorded in your Business Plan.

Our objective in Weeks 7-8 is to distill your Business Plan down into a powerful “movie trailer” that will inspire friends, family, potential employees, partners, investors, and lenders to believe in you and what you are doing.

This is where you will transform your Business Plan into a compelling story–your “Hero’s Journey.”

First, we’ll help you outline and script your presentation.

Then, we’ll help you practice and deliver it until you are happy with and excited by the final version.

Congratulations, you’ve completed our 8-Week Accelerated Startup Bootcamp!

Depending on your plan for moving forward and launching your business, you’re now ready to…

• Begin meeting with real lenders and investors to pitch your business.
• Or, if you plan on funding yourself for the early stages, you now have a solid plan, backed by plenty of evidence, research, and careful strategizing, to go live and “open your doors to the world.” 

You’re ready to start implementing your plan and take the next step in your entrepreneurial journey.

Or, if you’re still working on the objectives and action steps for any particular week or stage in our 8-week Bootcamp, that’s okay!

You’ll have access to all the Bootcamp materials and resources as well as the tools we created and customized for your business.  Just keep moving through each objective at your own pace–and feel free to check in with us if you get stuck.