Startup Assessment
For founders deciding where the company stands.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
A decision memo, an evidence-gap map, and a prioritised next step.
MARCUS / STARTUP & FUNDRAISING ADVISOR
Make the next startup decision with better evidence.
I help founders validate opportunities, shape commercially viable products, and prepare for fundraising—with a clear view of the next milestone, capital needs, and ownership trade-offs.
Validation · Product strategy · Commercialisation · Fundraising · Growth
THE NEXTPROOF
OBJECTIVEEVIDENCEMILESTONECAPITALOWNERSHIPTHE OPERATING PRINCIPLE
Build, hire, raise, launch, or scale when the evidence supports it.
01 / FIND YOUR STARTING POINT
Six stages.
Six different questions.
Progress is not always linear. Start with the earliest dependency that the evidence does not yet support.
01
Validate
Is this worth building?
THE NEXT PROOF
Explore this stage 02Interview recent buyers or people using a workaround. Ask about the last real occurrence, then test a specific paid offer.
Build
What should we build?
THE NEXT PROOF
Explore this stage 03Test a focused prototype with the intended user. Separate usability problems from lack of demand.
Commercialise
Can this become a viable business?
THE NEXT PROOF
Explore this stage 04Test a real price with a defined buyer and document the full cost of fulfilling the promise.
Go-to-market
Can demand become repeatable revenue?
THE NEXT PROOF
Explore this stage 05Run one focused channel experiment for one segment. Track the path from response to retained customer.
Fundraise
What capital fits the next milestone?
THE NEXT PROOF
Explore this stage 06Cost the milestone, compare capital sources, and examine the fully diluted cap table with appropriate specialists.
Scale
Can this grow without breaking?
THE NEXT PROOF
Explore this stage Run a bounded expansion pilot with explicit cost, quality, and stop conditions.
02 / ADVISORY ENGAGEMENTS
Focused work around a consequential decision.
Each engagement begins with the decision, the evidence available, and the commitment under consideration.
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Strategic Sprint
For one material decision with a defined deadline.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Options, trade-offs, a recommendation, and an experiment or execution plan.
Fundraising & Capital Strategy
For founders considering how to finance the next milestone.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
A milestone-led capital plan and a sequenced preparation roadmap.
Founder Advisory
For founders facing connected product, commercial, and capital decisions.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Decision records, priorities, specialist handoffs, and milestone reviews.
03 / CAPITAL WITH A PURPOSE
A round is a means.
What is the milestone?
Start with what the company needs to prove. Then determine how much capital it needs, where that capital should come from, and what it means for ownership. Fundraising is one option—not the default next step.
01
Readiness
Is there enough customer, company, and commercial evidence to support a credible process?
02
Capital requirement
What will the next milestone cost, and how much runway does the company need to reach it?
03
Preparation
Are the narrative, financial model, ownership records, and diligence materials consistent?
04
Investor fit
Which investors match the stage, cheque size, sector, geography, and future financing path?
05
Ownership
What do dilution, governance, option pools, and future rounds mean for founder control and flexibility?
04 / WORKING APPROACH
A decision system for uncertain work.
Structure the question, make assumptions visible, and define what the next action must prove.
01
Diagnose
Locate the earliest unresolved dependency.
02
Prioritise
Choose the uncertainty that matters now.
03
Decide
Set the evidence threshold before acting.
04
Execute
Run the smallest credible next step.
05
Measure
Use the result to proceed, adapt, pause, or stop.
05 / FOUNDER-SIDE
An outside perspective.
On your side.
Marcus supports founders across validation, product strategy, commercialisation, fundraising, and growth. The work connects product, commercial, capital, and execution decisions around the company’s next milestone.
Founder-side does not mean automatic agreement. Sometimes the useful recommendation is to narrow the offer, delay a hire, test demand, preserve runway, or choose not to raise yet.
About the approach06 / NOTES FOR THE NEXT DECISION
From the advisor’s notebook.
FIELD NOTES / 01?MARCUS STARTUP ADVISOR
Decision memo · 5 min
What is the company trying to prove next?
FIELD NOTES / 02≠MARCUS STARTUP ADVISOR
Venture validation · 4 min
Compliments are not a purchase order.
FIELD NOTES / 03+MARCUS STARTUP ADVISOR
Business models · 4 min
A useful product is not automatically a viable company.
YOUR NEXT MOVEStart with the question.
Find your startup stage