Playbook
Pitch Investors
The work this situation takes, including the parts that are easy to miss. Start with any one.
Scannable pitch deck on a proven structure
A scannable deck spec: required sections in order, one idea per slide, and a three-sentence elevator pitch.
Pitch readiness score across the due-diligence gates
A gap-complete scorecard: every due-diligence gate has a substantive answer and the gaps are honestly surfaced.
Unit economics and contribution margin
A correct per-transaction contribution-margin calculator, verified on held-out cases.
Founder equity split with a vesting schedule
A defensible cofounder equity split with a vesting schedule and a leaver buy-back, reconciling to 100%.
Market sizing (TAM / SAM / SOM) with the adequacy check
TAM grossed up from a partial-coverage database count, SAM and SOM by your fractions, and a check that SOM clears 2x your revenue objective.
Pre/post-money valuation and dilution
The pre-money and post-money valuation, the new shares issued, and the new-investor and existing-holder ownership percentages after the round.
Two-by-two competitive positioning map
I get a structured 2x2 map: two named axes, my product and every competitor placed by numeric coordinate, with my product the sole occupant of the plus/plus quadrant, ready to drop into a deck or website.
Annotated story-spine beat map
I get a structured beat map where each of the book's nine narrative beats (protagonist, struggle, conflict, value prop, team, product+3-points, better-than-competition, traction+market, tagline reprise) carries its own prose block, so I can drop any beat into any channel.
Compute a convertible-note / pre-money SAFE conversion price (cap vs discount) and simple round dilution
You get the conversion price per share for a PRE-money convertible note or pre-money SAFE (the lower of the cap-implied and discount-implied price), the shares it converts into, the round's post-money valuation, and the new lead investor's post-money ownership percentage.
Compute a liquidation-preference waterfall (multiple, participating vs non, cap)
You get each preferred investor's exit payout and the common-shareholder (founder and employee) residual for a given exit value, computed from each investor's invested amount, preference multiple, participating-or-not, participation cap, and as-converted ownership; payouts always sum exactly to the exit.
Score a term sheet's economic terms clause-by-clause
A structured JSON scorecard that classifies every required economic clause of the term sheet onto a three-tier favorability scale and computes a weighted founder-friendliness index.
Build a preferred-stock redemption schedule
A structured JSON redemption schedule listing each anniversary, the fraction of preferred redeemed, and the per-tranche redemption amount, with the fractions summing to 100%.
Build a protective-provisions and board-approval consent register
A structured JSON register enumerating each protected corporate action, the approving class, and the consent threshold, covering the required protective-provision items with valid thresholds.
Assemble a complete, internally-consistent term sheet economics block
A structured JSON term sheet covering all required economic sections, with the valuation, price-per-share, and ownership figures internally consistent.
Build a down-round cap-table impact record
A structured JSON record of a flat/down round listing each prior holder's pre and post ownership, anti-dilution-adjusted shares, and participation status, with the post-round ownership totalling 100%.
Build a theory-of-change logic model document
A complete theory-of-change document as structured JSON: inputs, activities, outputs, short/intermediate/long-term outcomes, the long-term goal, and assumptions, with each outcome wired to the activity that produces it.
Build a structured invention disclosure record
An invention disclosure as structured JSON: title, abstract, inventors with fractional contributions, statement of novelty, statement of utility, prior public disclosures with dates, sponsoring funding sources, and the keywords/field, with the inventor contribution shares summing to one.
Build a technology-license term sheet
A technology-license term sheet as structured JSON: licensor/licensee, granted IP, exclusivity type, field of use, territory, term length, financial consideration (upfront fee, running royalty rate, equity %), and diligence milestones with target dates.
Build a CEO compensation offer spec within profile bands
A CEO/ED offer spec as structured JSON: candidate profile tier, join timing relative to fundraise, equity %, base salary, vesting schedule, and control/governance terms, with equity and salary validated against the band implied by tier and timing.
Build a contribution-weighted founder equity register
A founder equity register as structured JSON: each founder with role, commitment level, weighted contribution factors, and allocated equity %, plus a reserved future-hire pool, with all percentages summing to 100% and part-time founders held inside a minority band.
Build a milestone-gated grant tranche disbursement schedule
A milestone-gated disbursement schedule as structured JSON: total award, ordered tranches each with an amount, a gating performance milestone, a measurable success metric, and a target date, with tranche amounts summing to the total and dates strictly increasing.
Build a Six-Frame Innovation Storyboard
I get a single structured storyboard document with all six narrative frames filled in (customer, insight, problem, value prop, how-it-works, competitive context), each conforming to its structural rule, so my product story is complete and ready to turn into a pitch.
Build a 'Now I Can' Value-Prop and Tagline Candidate Set
I get a structured set of value-proposition candidates, each a 'Now I can' benefit statement paired with a short tagline under my character limit, so I can choose the catnip line that intrigues my customer.
Build a Three-Whys Customer Insight Ladder
I get a structured insight ladder: a starting customer statement, an ordered chain of at least three deepening whys, and a final layer that separately names the functional and emotional need, so I know what really, really drives my customer.
Build a Problem-Statement Abstraction Ladder
I get a structured abstraction ladder of how-might-we problem statements ordered from most abstract to most concrete, with exactly one marked as the chosen right-sized statement, so I avoid framing my MVP problem too broadly or too narrowly.
Build a Protagonist-Selection Pain-and-Gain Scorecard
I get a structured scorecard of every candidate protagonist with pain and gain scores plus role tags, and exactly one flagged as the chosen protagonist, where the choice provably maximizes the pain+gain rule from the book.
Build a Nemesis-and-Hero Story Register
I get a structured register naming my nemesis, listing the enemy's pain points, and pairing each with a hero resolution from my product, so the audience roots for my product to arrive and save the day.
Build a Romance-the-Problem Stakes Anchor
I get a structured stakes anchor with exactly one magnitude statistic (value + unit + source), a sensory/anecdotal hook, and a consequence-if-unsolved line, so I can romance the problem without drowning the audience in numbers.
Build a Story-Foundation Lock-In Kit
I get a structured lock-in kit holding my category definition, product descriptor, tagline, and one-line vision, each within its length bound, so I have a single source of truth for the story across all media.
Build a Storyboard-to-Slide Coverage Map
I get a structured coverage map of my slide plan against the book's twelve-point pitch outline, with each required point assigned to one or more slides and the product-story points ordered ahead of the business points, so I know my deck is complete and correctly sequenced.
Build a STRONG-method pitch script
A structured, step-complete pitch script I can rehearse, with every STRONG element present and sized.
Build a time-budgeted four-phase pitch runsheet
A four-phase pitch runsheet whose minute allocations provably sum to the attention window, each phase populated.
Build a big-idea introduction (For/Who/Unlike pattern)
A slot-complete big-idea introduction in the canonical low-threat introduction pattern.
Build a man-in-the-jungle intrigue narrative arc
A four-beat intrigue narrative whose final beat is structurally unresolved, ready to drop into a pitch.
Build a prize-frame flip script
A prize-frame closing script containing every required prize element plus the qualifying questions that flip the frame.
Build a frame-control response playbook
A frame-control playbook pairing each opposing frame with its correct Klaff counter-frame and a ready response line.
Build a Why-Now three-forces trendcasting register
A three-forces 'Why now?' register with one economic, one social, and one technology force, each impact-tagged, plus a window statement.
Build a novelty-and-tension attention beat sheet
An ordered beat sheet where each beat is typed novelty or tension, both are present, and neither runs too long unbroken.
Build a four-step frame-stack hot-cognition sequence
A four-step frame-stack sequence with the four hot cognitions present, correctly ordered, each scripted.
Term Sheet Control & Governance Register
The founder holds a complete, parameterized map of the control terms in their term sheet, separated from the economic terms, ready for a lawyer review.
Liquidation Preference Structure Spec
The founder (or counsel) has a complete, parameterized specification of the liquidation-preference stack ready to drop into a term sheet or shareholders' agreement.
VC One-Pager Investor Teaser
The founder has a complete, correctly-sectioned one-pager teaser ready to paste into a cold or warm email to an investor.
Founder's VC Diligence Question Bank
The founder walks into investor meetings with a complete, categorized interview script for vetting the investor and the proposed deal.
Fundraising Objection Coverage Register
The founder has a complete pre-pitch checklist proving they have an evidenced answer to every standard VC rejection reason before the meeting.
Sources & Uses of Funds Statement
The founder has a fully reconciled sources-and-uses statement that maps every dollar of the raise to a milestone, task, owner, and funding source.
Financing Deal-Stage Tracker
The founder has a complete, sequenced map of the financing process with durations and gating artifacts, anchored to the term-sheet handoff.
Pre/Post-Money Cap Table With Option Pool
The founder has a fully-reconciled pre- and post-money cap table, with the option pool shuffle baked in, ready to attach to a term sheet.
Anti-Dilution Protection Clause Spec
The founder (or counsel) has a complete, parameterized anti-dilution clause specification for each series, ready for the shareholders' agreement.
Build an Idea Resume (internal innovation pitch document)
A complete, well-formed idea-resume JSON document with all four required sections (problem, idea, evidence, investment case) populated to the buyer's minimum-evidence and ROI thresholds, ready to hand to a decision-maker.
Build a What / So What / Now What message pack
A set of messages each segmented into the three required parts (what / so_what / now_what), with each Now What containing an explicit call-to-action verb, validated for structural completeness across the buyer's required scenario count.
Build an action-first professional request email
A structured request-email object whose subject line carries an approved precursor, whose body leads with the call-to-action before the context, whose recipients are well-formed and de-duplicated, and which states an explicit ISO deadline.
Build a topic-segmented executive summary plan
An executive-summary plan whose segments exactly match the buyer's required segment set in the required order, each segment carrying a non-empty lead claim and at least the minimum number of supporting points, with one explicit recommendation segment.
Build a deep-question conversation guide (fact-to-deep recasting)
A conversation guide pairing each surface fact-question with a recast deep question and a follow-up, covering the buyer's required question count, plus a prep-topics list meeting the minimum, validated structurally.
Rewrite descriptive topic sentences into claim topic sentences
A mapping of each submitted descriptive topic sentence to a rewritten claim topic sentence that contains a focus/claim signal (recommend/because/focused on/conclude) and stays distinct from the original, covering every input sentence.
Score a business document on the eight S's of strong writing
A completed eight-S audit register with exactly one scored row per required feature, each row carrying a rating, a verbatim text excerpt, and (when below threshold) a remediation note, plus a weighted total that is arithmetically consistent.
Rewrite a buried-lead paragraph into a BLUF opening
A bottom-line-up-front rewrite that places the buyer-identified main point as the first sentence, cuts the preamble, stays under a word budget, and lists which original background lines were dropped versus kept.
Build a communication-channel richness selection register
A channel-selection register with one row per message, each carrying an authenticity flag and an emotional-load flag that deterministically map to a recommended channel from the allowed richness ladder, validated for rule-consistency.
Build a presentation segment-and-quiz coverage map
A presentation map where every segment carries an audience-value takeaway and at least one quiz question that references that segment, with the segment count and per-segment quiz minimum enforced.
Build an Argument Structure Map
A structured argument map that exposes every logical step, making gaps and unsupported leaps reviewable before the argument is sent to stakeholders.
Compute prorated outside-activity day allowance
A function that takes an appointment fraction, the per-quarter full-time day limit, the off-duty multiplier, and the assumed workday hours, and returns the allowed outside-activity days per quarter, per year, and the equivalent hour budget.
Classify email subject lines and assign the right precursor
A pure function precursor_for(intent) that maps an email intent code to the canonical subject-line precursor string, graded on hidden intent->precursor cases.
VC Fit Qualification Calculator
The founder can mechanically screen any investor against their raise and constraints and get a keep/cut verdict with a fit score.
Compute a weighted-average anti-dilution conversion price
A function that applies the broad-based weighted-average anti-dilution formula to produce the adjusted conversion price for an earlier preferred series after a dilutive financing.
Liquidation Preference vs Convert Election Calculator
The founder can predict, deterministically, what each preferred holder will choose at any exit value and the resulting proceeds split.
Compute required ownership and present value from a target exit
A function that, from a projected exit value, holding period, and target return, computes the required present ownership fraction and the implied present value of the position.
Compute the dilution impact of a pre-money option pool top-up
A function that computes the effective (pool-adjusted) price per share and the share of dilution borne by existing holders when a new option pool is created on a pre-money basis.
Score and rank causes by importance, tractability, neglectedness
A function that takes a list of candidate causes each rated on importance (scale/severity), tractability (feasibility of progress), and neglectedness (how underfunded), and returns each cause's composite priority score plus a stable descending rank.
Also part of this playbook, opening soon:
- Check why now is the right time
- Map out my competitors
- Write my positioning statement