The Startup Checklist: Everything You Need to Do Before You Launch

"Most startup advice is sequential — step one, step two. Real startups aren't sequential. This checklist is organized by domain, not timeline. Work through each in parallel. The goal isn't to complete every item before you do anything — it's to know what you're doing deliberately and what you're choosing to defer."

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1. Validate (Before You Spend a Dollar)

• 10 customer conversations before building anything
• Articulate the problem without mentioning your product
• Know specific people with the problem using imperfect workarounds
• JTBD defined — see Jobs to Be Done guide
• Market + competitive analysis done — DimeADozen.AI is the fastest way to get this
• Validated people will pay — see how to validate a business idea

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2. Legal

Not legal advice — work with a startup attorney.

• Entity type chosen (C-corp in Delaware if raising VC) — see startup legal basics
• Entity formed (not just decided)
• Co-founder equity documented in writing — see startup equity guide
• 4-year vesting with 1-year cliff agreed
• IP assignment agreements signed by all founders
• No moonlighting clauses in employment agreements

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3. Financial

• Separate business bank account — see startup accounting guide
• Accounting software from day one
• Cap table documented — see equity dilution guide
• Burn rate and runway known to the dollar
• 12–18 month financial model in place

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4. Product

• Core value proposition in one sentence
• MVP scoped to the minimum that proves core value
• Build-measure-learn loop defined — see lean startup guide
• Design thinking applied to problem framing — see design thinking guide
• Launch criteria defined: what must be true to ship?
• Analytics in place from day one

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5. Strategy

• Target customer defined with specificity — see market segmentation guide
• Beachhead segment identified
• Positioning defined — see market positioning guide
• Competitive landscape mapped — see Porter's Five Forces
• SWOT done — see SWOT analysis guide
• GTM defined — see go-to-market strategy guide
• Competitive moat identified — see competitive moat guide

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6. Funding

• Funding strategy decided — see bootstrapping vs. venture capital
• If raising: target investors and thesis defined — see angel investor guide
• Valuation understood — see startup valuation guide
• Term sheet terms understood — see term sheet guide
• Accelerators evaluated — see startup accelerator guide
• Venture debt understood as equity complement — see venture debt guide

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7. Marketing

• Brand positioning defined — see how to build a brand
• SEO foundation in place — see SEO for startups
• Content strategy defined — see content marketing guide
• Email list started — see email marketing guide
• Cold outreach approach defined — see cold email guide
• Referral mechanism considered — see referral marketing guide
• Growth channels prioritized — see growth hacking guide

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8. Sales

• ICP defined — see B2B sales strategy guide
• Sales process mapped: lead → qualified → demo → close
• CRM in place (even if it's a spreadsheet)
• Landing page conversion optimized — see conversion rate optimization guide
• First 10 customers identified by name

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9. Team & Culture

• Co-founder expectations aligned: equity, roles, decision authority
• First hire criteria defined — see how to hire your first employee
• Cultural non-negotiables defined — see startup culture guide
• Decision-making process clear: who can decide what without asking?

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10. Customer Retention

• Onboarding experience designed
• Success metric defined: what outcome = customer got value?
• Churn tracked from day one — see customer retention guide
• Re-engagement plan for inactive users

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No startup gets all of this right before launch. That's not the goal. The goal is to know what you've covered, what you've consciously deferred, and what you haven't thought about yet. Use this as a recurring audit, not a pre-launch gate. The items you skip now will find you later — usually at a worse time.

The hardest item on this list to do well solo is market and competitive analysis — knowing whether your market actually exists, how large it is, who's competing for it, and where the gaps are. DimeADozen.AI generates a comprehensive business intelligence report in minutes.

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