The Comprehensive Startup Checklist

Works for tech, retail, B2B services, industrial and everything in-between

Use this as a living document. Cross off each item—or write down why it doesn't apply—before you cut a PO, ship an MVP, or pitch an investor.

1 Entity & Legal Foundation

Pick the right entity (C-Corp for venture scale; LLC/PLLC for pass-through simplicity)
File Articles of Incorporation / Organization in home state
Obtain EIN + state tax IDs
Draft & sign Founders' Agreement (roles, vesting, IP assignment)
Allocate Option Pool (10–20% typical) and record on the cap table
Create NDA, MSA, Independent-Contractor, and Advisor templates
Confirm required permits & licenses (sales tax, FDA, local zoning, import/export)
Purchase insurance: general liability, professional/E&O, cyber, workers' comp

2 Cap Table & Equity Planning

Set up a digital cap-table platform (Carta, Pulley, Shareworks)
Record share classes: founders common, preferred (if external money), option pool
Implement 4-year vesting with 1-year cliff for founders and employees
Build a dilution model: show post-money ownership through Seed, Series A, Series B
Reserve advisor & board grants (0.25–1% each)
Document 409A valuation trigger points (first external hire, funding, or $1M ARR)

3 Strategy & Market Definition

Craft a one-sentence mission and a two-sentence vision
Complete a Lean Canvas / Business Model Canvas
Identify ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)—industry, size, pain point, budget
Run 5 customer discovery interviews confirming willingness to pay
Map competitive landscape (direct, substitute, budget competitor)
Decide Buy / Borrow / Build for each critical capability
List 3 bricolage experiments using resources already on hand

4 Product & Technology

Define the MVP feature list (must-haves only)
Draft a product requirements doc with acceptance criteria
Sketch the architecture diagram: data flows, APIs, vendors, security zones
Select tech stack (language, framework, hosting, database, observability)
Establish CI/CD pipeline: repo, automated tests, staging, prod
Implement monitoring & alerting: uptime, error rate, performance SLAs
Document data-privacy stance: GDPR/CCPA, PII handling, encryption keys
Schedule security audit / pen test before public launch

5 Financial Model & Metrics

Build three-statement model (monthly for 24 months, quarterly to Year 5)
Stand up a rolling 13-week cash forecast—update every Monday
Calculate unit economics (CAC, LTV, gross margin per SKU or user)
Sensitivity table for price, volume, churn, FX (if applicable)
Identify break-even month & revenue
Define capital needs & runway at current and stretch burn rates
Install basic bookkeeping (QuickBooks, Xero, Wave) + chart of accounts

6 Operations & Team

Draw org chart for next 12 months (founders, first 5 hires, fractional roles)
Outline SOPs for finance close, onboarding, customer support, release process
Choose project-management tool (Trello, ClickUp, Asana) and create a 90-day board
Set OKRs or KPIs per team; create weekly dashboard cadence
Establish vendor approval threshold & purchasing policy
Implement password vault (Bitwarden/1Password) and MFA everywhere
Draft disaster-recovery & backup plan—even if just Google Drive + Git remote

7 Go-To-Market

Decide pricing & packaging (flat, tiered, usage, wholesale)
Build initial website / landing page with clear CTA
Produce one lead magnet (e-book, checklist, template) for email capture
Configure CRM (HubSpot, Pipedrive) with stages & automations
Write outbound sequence: 3-email + LinkedIn DM template
Plan launch campaign: announce in niche communities, PR list, influencer outreach
Set up support channel: shared inbox or Intercom/Zendesk

8 Compliance & Risk Management

Review employment law for interns, contractors, foreign workers
Create privacy policy & terms of service (generator + lawyer review)
If handling payments: PCI scope statement or SOC-2 plan
IP check: trademarks, patents, domain names, open-source licenses
Draft ESG / sustainability one-pager if selling to enterprise or gov

9 Funding & Investor Readiness

Assemble 4-page teaser (problem, solution, traction, business model)
Build 12-slide pitch deck—narrative, vision, market, traction, unit economics, ask
Draft use-of-funds slide mapped to milestones
Create data room checklist: articles, cap table, financials, product roadmap, key contracts
Identify target investors: angels, micro-VCs, strategics; build outreach tracker

10 Timeline Checkpoints

Time-box Milestone Evidence of Success
Day 0-30 Incorporate, open bank, finish customer discovery Entity docs, 5 interview summaries
Day 31-60 MVP in dev, 13-week cash model live Git repo w/ CI; cash runway chart
Day 61-90 Ship MVP/Beta, first 5 paying or pilot customers Usage logs, first invoices
Month 4-6 Close Seed/Angel or hit $25K MRR Term sheet signed or Stripe dashboard
Month 7-9 Hire core leads (Eng, Growth, Ops) Offer letters, OKRs set
Month 10-12 PMF review + Series A preparation NPS ≥ 50, churn ≤ 5%, deck and data room ready

How to Use This Checklist

📋 Load into PM Tool

Turn each line into a task in your project management system.

👥 Assign Owners

Assign owners and due dates to each task.

🔄 Review Weekly

Review weekly and flag blockers early.

Need Help Prioritizing, Sequencing, or Executing?

Book a 45-minute diagnostic and I'll tailor this list—and the 90-Day Sprint framework—to your exact stage, budget, and market.