At Seed, success meant proving you could form a core team, stand up basic operations, and steward cash while building an MVP.
At Product Development, the bar rises: your team must now deliver a market-ready product, run stable operations, and align GTM execution.
This is no longer about potential. It’s about ownership and accountability: who’s driving the ship, who’s coordinating across functions, and who’s ensuring the company could launch tomorrow — confidently.
A great team at this stage is trained, aligned, and accountable.
A weak team is still “trying things” with MVP habits, and not yet launch-ready.
Purpose
- Show that leadership is actively driving execution — not advising from the sidelines.
- Demonstrate ownership of product, GTM, finance, and ops with minimal hand-holding.
- Prove team alignment, training, and operational cadence are launch-ready.
When to Complete
- After MVP is complete and production version is being finalized.
- As GTM systems (onboarding, sales, support) are operational and tested.
- Before launch commitments to investors or customers.
Proof Sections
Leadership Roles & Balance
- Who are the active functional leads — product, GTM, ops, finance?
- Are roles tested, effective, and complementary?
Domain Examples
- B2B SaaS — “CTO owns release cycles; CRO runs pipeline reviews; CEO drives investor + strategic accounts.”
- B2C CPG — “Ops lead manages production/supply; brand head runs campaigns; finance lead tracks SKU-level margins.”
- Services — “Ops director runs daily throughput; sales lead owns pipeline; finance partner tracks margin per client.”
Ownership, Equity & Commitment
- Are vesting, agreements, and responsibilities documented?
- Does equity reflect actual operating contribution?
Domain Examples
- B2B SaaS — “Founders 60/40 split; CTO vested over 4 years, 1-year cliff; CRO granted 5% on revenue milestones.”
- B2C CPG — “Recipe founder holds 51%; ops partner takes equity in lieu of salary for first 6 months.”
- Services — “Partners 50/50; one brought the client base, the other the equipment; buy–sell agreement locked.”
Operating Status
- Who is full-time and accountable vs. fractional/contract?
- Are roles shifting from “MVP builders” to launch operators?
Domain Examples
- B2B SaaS — “CEO, CTO full-time; CMO fractional until Series A. Weekly sprint reviews, monthly KPI board.”
- B2C CPG — “Founder and ops lead full-time; sales lead part-time until wholesale passes $50K/month.”
- Services — “Ops manager full-time; CFO fractional until first $1M revenue; all contracts and insurance finalized.”
Cash & Ops Discipline
- Who owns budget vs. GTM spend?
- How are burn, margins, and capacity tracked?
Domain Examples
- B2B SaaS — “Fractional CFO tracks burn weekly; GTM spend tied to SQL conversion targets.”
- B2C CPG — “Ops lead approves ingredient purchases; CFO manages cashflow around seasonality.”
- Services — “COO approves all fleet capex; GTM budget tied to route profitability.”
Culture & Communication
- What cadence drives accountability (weekly sprints, monthly board, daily ops)?
- Is there transparency across functions?
- Are conflicts and course corrections surfaced early?Domain Examples
- B2B SaaS — “Weekly sprint reviews; monthly KPI board; Slack channels per function — no black boxes.”
- B2C CPG — “Daily 10-min production stand-up; weekly sales/marketing sync; monthly brand health review.”
- Services — “Route debriefs every Friday; Monday huddles on scheduling, capacity, and client updates.”
Execution Requirements
- Fully documented roles & responsibilities across product, GTM, finance, ops.
- Cap table + vesting agreements aligned to actual contributions.
- Launch-ready operational cadence (reporting, meetings, decision rights).
- Tested hand-offs between functions (e.g., product → support, sales → onboarding).
Domain Adaptability
- B2B SaaS — Leadership must run sprints + KPI dashboards; clear alignment of roadmap to GTM.
- B2C CPG — Leadership must integrate supply chain, retail ops, and brand campaigns; focus on velocity and margins.
- Services — Leadership must scale client throughput, quality, and margin discipline; ops/sales handshake is critical.
Expected Output
- Leadership narrative tying roles to launch readiness.
- Table: leaders, roles, equity %, FT/PT, responsibilities.
- Optional: launch org chart, RACI, KPI dashboard.
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Optional Enhancements (Pro-Level Execution)
- Launch KPI Dashboard — visible to all leads, tracking readiness across product, GTM, ops, and cash.
- Cross-functional “Red Team” Review — simulate launch and stress-test hand-offs.
- Leadership Alignment Charter — one-pager on decision rights, conflict process, and cultural anchors.
- Scenario Drill — quarterly “what if” sessions (supply chain hit, GTM fail, funding slip).