At Seed, your MVP isn’t just under construction — it’s under control. This is where you prove you can plan, build, and deliver with discipline.
Investors don’t just want a roadmap. They want to see that you can actually drive on it.
“An MVP without a plan isn’t progress — it’s just expensive tinkering.”
Purpose
- Show you have a disciplined, repeatable build process.
- Demonstrate progress on a roadmap tied to user validation.
- Prove manufacturability/ops feasibility, not just code or product sketches.
- Confirm readiness to ship, fulfill, or onboard.
When to Complete
- As soon as core MVP components are being built, not just designed.
- Before asking investors for additional funds based on product progress.
- Once you can demo real workflows, not just pitch decks.
Proof Sections
Development Process & Rhythm
- How are you managing the build?
- What cadence keeps the team aligned?
- Who owns what?
- B2B SaaS – “Weekly sprint planning; CTO owns backlog; designer reviews UX after each milestone.”
- B2C CPG – “Ops lead runs weekly production check-ins; co-packer delivers test batches; packaging vendor synced to calendar milestones.”
- Services – “Lead consultant sets delivery milestones; junior staff run task board; weekly retro ensures process adjustments.”
Feature Progression
- What’s live, what’s next?
- What’s your v1 launch target?
- Is the roadmap tied to user feedback?
- B2B SaaS – “Onboarding + profile pages live; dashboard feedback loop tracking drop-off.”
- B2C CPG – “First flavor shipped to 50 beta customers; next SKUs in formulation; packaging test in Q2.”
- Services – “Pilot with three clients; next milestone: build repeatable onboarding flow; intake survey updated after early feedback.”
Manufacturability / Scalability
- If hardware/ops-heavy, how will you scale?
- Have you validated vendors and cost models?
- Are constraints mapped early?
- B2B SaaS – “Stack designed for 10K MAU; migrating to AWS before scale.”
- B2C CPG – “Co-manufacturer contract in place; unit economics modeled; shift to regional 3PL at 5K units/mo.”
- Services – “Workflow documented; contracts scalable to 20 clients; automation tools identified to reduce admin overhead.”
Ops Readiness
- Can you ship, fulfill, support, onboard?
- What workflows are in place now?
- B2B SaaS – “Intercom for onboarding/support; Zapier integrates CRM → Slack + Notion.”
- B2C CPG – “Shopify for DTC orders; ShipBob for fulfillment; Klaviyo automated flows live.”
- Services – “Onboarding checklist in Notion; Slack workspace for client comms; HubSpot CRM for contracts + billing.”
Execution Requirements
- Documented MVP roadmap with milestones and owners.
- Evidence of completed and upcoming features tied to feedback.
- Scalable architecture or vendor plan validated.
- At least one working delivery/onboarding channel live.
Domain Adaptability – Moderate
Universal Goal: All founders must show they can manage a build process that leads to something real and testable. Execution varies by domain.
Quick How-to by Domain:
- B2B SaaS / Software Products – Sprint cadence, demo-able workflows, stack scalability plan.
- B2C CPG – Co-packer agreements, small-batch runs, unit economics modeled, fulfillment readiness.
- Services / Ops Models – Repeatable onboarding, client delivery workflows, early automation tools.
Expected Output
- 1–2 paragraph roadmap and execution summary.
- Optional milestone tracker, sprint log, or technical diagram.
- Screenshot, pilot report, or demo link.
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Optional Enhancements (Pro-Level Execution)
- Feature Board Transparency — Public roadmap or changelog for early adopters.
- Ops Stress Test — Run a controlled stress test (traffic spike, 5x order batch, or simulated client volume).
- Vendor Benchmarks — Cost, capacity, and reliability scored across vendors.
- Feedback Loop Embedded — UX tracking, NPS surveys, or SKU reorder signals feeding directly into roadmap.
- Cross-Domain Learning — Borrow lean SaaS sprint retrospectives into CPG pilot batches or services delivery cycles.