The right founder, at the right stage

Signals of a Stage 3 founder

These are the signs that a founder is genuinely in Stage 3, not still in Stage 2:

• Talks about customers by name, not by archetype.
• Has spent real money on this, not just time.
• Has a hard deadline driving them — internal or external.
• Can articulate clearly what they are giving up to pursue this.
• Is running sales conversations right now, not planning to after the product exists.
• Understands their cap table and knows what equity they can offer.
• Has at least six months of personal financial runway.

The most important signal of all: they are selling before the product exists. Founders who plan to sell after the product is built almost never find customers. Founders who are selling before it exists are the ones worth betting on.

Bootstrap over venture

I primarily work with founders building toward profitability and a sustainable business. Venture-track founders are a different fit: they dilute their cap table through round after round, and an original 5% stake can shrink to 1.5–2% by Series B.

Beyond dilution, bootstrap founders tend to build differently. They have to generate revenue from day one, which means they build for customers. That discipline produces better products and more predictable paths to an exit.

Explicit disqualifiers

Being clear so you don't spend time you don't need to:

• Idea-only founders with no customer validation.
• Founders who want a builder while they remain passively in their day job.
• Anyone who can't clearly describe their equity structure.
• Anyone expecting a complete product for a fixed small scope.
• Founders whose previous projects were abandoned without explanation.
• Anyone who requires an NDA before an initial conversation.
• Anyone whose answer to "what have you sacrificed so far?" is effectively nothing.