Starting Up

From Idea to Funding

Got an idea? Find out if it can fly. Start with your idea on one page. Then read your market, find who pays first, see where you stand, spot your opening, and work out where the money comes from.
Start here
The word START painted in white across a green turf training track
Start Here: Your Idea on One Page Tell us your idea in a few sentences. We draft your whole business on one page — who it’s for, what you offer, how it makes money — and name the one thing you have to be great at. No website needed. Start with your idea
Start Here: Your Idea on One Page Tell us your idea in a few sentences. We draft your whole business on one page, label every guess so you can correct it, and name the one thing you have to be genuinely great at. What it gives you Your business on one page: who it serves, what it offers, how it reaches people, how it makes money and what it costs to run. Every other review on this page builds on it. What it will never do It will not tell you whether to go ahead. That is your call. Takes a few minutes. No website or business plan needed. You sign in with your email address.
WHAT’S CHANGING?AND WHO COULD HELP?
What’s changing around your idea? The trends that make your idea possible now, what could close the window, and who could help you. Every finding credited to who published it. Start the review
What’s changing around your idea? This review looks at what is emerging, what is fading and what is holding steady in the world around your idea, and names the people and organizations who could help or get in the way. What it gives you A short report you can download, with every trend credited to who published it and dated. What it will never do It will not predict the future. It says what is changing and who reported it. “Not sure” is a fine answer to anything it asks. You sign in with your email address.
$WHO PAYS FIRST?NOT EVERYONE. THESE ONES.
Who will pay you first? Not everyone who might like your idea. The group most likely to pay first, what they care about, and where nobody is serving them well. Start the review
Who will pay you first? This review works out which customers are most likely to pay you first, how open they are to something new, how much price matters to them, and where they are not being served. What it gives you A short report you can download, naming your best-fit first customers and why. What it will never do It will not survey your customers for you. It works from what you tell it and asks you to confirm. “Not sure” is a fine answer to anything it asks. You sign in with your email address.
YOUWHERE DO YOU STAND?AGAINST WHO YOU LOOK LIKE
Where does your brand stand? Your startup against the firms customers will confuse you with, on the two things your market actually varies on. And the ground nobody has claimed. Start the review
Where does your brand stand? This review finds the firms your customers are most likely to confuse you with, works out what your market actually varies on, and places every firm on a map, so you can see the ground nobody has claimed. What it gives you A short report you can download, with a map of where each firm stands. What it will never do It judges what firms say about themselves, never how good they are. “Not sure” is a fine answer to anything it asks. You sign in with your email address.
OPENWHERE IS YOUR OPENING?WHAT NOBODY IS OFFERING
Where is your opening? What your customers are not getting, set against what nobody is offering. Each opening labeled with how sure we are of it. Start the review
Where is your opening? This review sets what your customers are not getting against what nobody in your market is offering, and names the openings where the two meet. What it gives you A short report you can download, with each opening labeled by how confident we are in it. What it will never do It will not name an opening unless both halves are there: a customer need, and nobody meeting it. Works best after the reviews before it. You sign in with your email address.
$WHICH MONEY FITS?SAVINGS · GRANTS · LOANS · INVESTORS
Where will the money come from? Which kind of money fits your startup — savings, grants, a loan or investors — what each will ask you for, and what to get ready first. Start the review
Where will the money come from? This review works out which kinds of money fit your startup at the stage it is at, what each source will ask you for, and the order to get things ready in. What it gives you A short report you can download, with the sources that fit, what each one asks for, and a list of what to prepare first. What it will never do It will not tell you a loan will be approved or an investor will say yes. Uses what the reviews before it found, so you are not asked again. You sign in with your email address.