Spend your Summer in Silicon Valley

Week 1: Kickoff Sprint

• Fully configure your AI stack including Replit, Claude, a transcription tool, and a design tool, and identify gaps in your current AI tool usage across professional work.
• Articulate the specific AI advancement that makes your business possible right now and why the timing window matters.
• Deliver a clear one-minute Hotseat Pitch and a compelling Why Statement to your cohort and Local Leaders.

Week 1: Vision Sprint

• Identify at least three customer problems that are uniquely solvable or dramatically improved by AI, with a one-sentence pitch for each.
• Validate market demand and competitive density using both AI tools and direct customer conversations with at least 5 individuals.
• Refine your Hotseat Pitch based on what you have learned and get peer feedback from your Working Group.

Week 2: Model Sprint

• Select your One Customer Problem based on the strongest business potential and eliminate weaker alternatives with clear reasoning.
• Validate pricing by interviewing at least 5 potential customers about their willingness to pay and preferred revenue model.
• Map every business function to either a human or an AI agent, with cost estimates, to plan your lean team structure.

Week 3: Validation Sprint

• Build a functional tool using vibe coding in Replit that real customers can use immediately and iterate on weekly.
• Validate your Key Assumptions through at least 10 customer interviews and develop a refined Buyer Persona from the data.
• Assess the defensibility of your AI approach and identify specific advantages in proprietary data, workflows, or network effects.

Week 4: Development Sprint

• Develop and practice a polished three-minute pitch that integrates your research, revenue model, and vibe-coded tool into a compelling narrative.
• Use AI evaluation tools (Yoodli for delivery, Claude for slide scoring) to identify and fix weaknesses in both delivery and deck design before the Mentor Idea Review.
• Prepare for tough mentor questions and build emotional resilience strategies for the pressures of company building.

Week 5: Idea Review Sprint 

• Deliver a compelling three-minute pitch and live agent demo that earns an average score of 2.0 or above from the Mentor panel.
• Critically evaluate mentor feedback and make a clear pivot-or-persist decision backed by evidence.
• Produce a polished, multi-AI-validated Executive Summary ready for investor conversations.

Week 6: Formation Sprint

• Incorporate your company and complete all FI Warrant documentation within this Sprint.
• Begin building a strategic Advisory Board with candidates across Technical AI, Go-to-Market, and Domain Expert categories, and make warm outreach through identified connectors.
• Establish your capitalization table, protect your intellectual property, and identify any AI-specific regulatory considerations.

Week 7: Launch Sprint

• Ship a complete platform that customers can use independently and begin collecting payments or letters of intent.
• Build and activate an AI-automated outreach and sales pipeline reaching at least 25 potential customers with tracked engagement.
• Define clear Victory Conditions and a Parade Plan that factors in the exponential growth of AI capabilities over the next six months.

Week 8: Welcoming Gathering

Week 8: Traction Sprint

• Achieve 10% weekly growth on your primary traction metric through focused execution on high-leverage activities.
• Build a live metrics dashboard that tracks both business performance and AI agent performance in real time.
• Make a data-driven decision on your first human hire based on where AI agents are underperforming or insufficient.

Week 8: Fundraising Sprint

• Decide on a clear funding strategy and articulate your Ask with a detailed Use of Funds that maps to 18-month growth milestones.
• Build a warm investor pipeline of 40+ targets with connectors identified and outreach materials ready to send.
• Prepare a polished five-minute pitch with a live product demo ready for the Demo Day panel of investors.

Week 8: Outdoor Activity

Week 9: Pitch Practice

Week 9: Silicon Valley Demo Day

Week 9: FounderX Private Networking Dinner

Week 9: FounderX Conference Main Day

Week 9: StepSF Conference

Week 10: Wrap-Up Session

• Evaluate every deployed AI agent in your business and categorize each as performing well, underperforming, or needing human replacement.
• Identify your most important human hire with a defined role title, required skills, compensation range, and at least three known candidates from your network.
• Establish a weekly accountability system for growth targets, naming the person you will check in with and the schedule.