Zero to IPO – Frederic Kerrest’s New Book Coming in April 2022

Recommendation: Read this book to map your path from zero to IPO with a milestone-driven plan you can apply this quarter. It uses an episode-by-episode structure that keeps founders focused on concrete steps and measurables, so you can achieve your dream. This milestone framework is a practical starting point for anyone building from scratch, and thats how you can translate ideas into fundable rounds.

Kerrest structures the content around seven modules, four funding rounds, and an episode-by-episode lens that makes real-world decisions tangible. These modules cover product, pricing, team, and governance, with concrete metrics for engineering milestones and revenue growth. These details give founders a practical toolkit rather than abstract concepts.

Its approach favors smaller, green rounds and deep collaboration across engineering, product, and finance. The book maps hiring, compensation, and advisory boards to outcomes, and uses advising as a deliberate process rather than a one-off consult. A sample dialogue with bartek illustrates how founders could navigate investor questions with confidence.

对于 these chapters, Kerrest provides step-by-step actions you could apply in a 90-day sprint: define a milestone calendar, validate product-market fit, and set a clear cap table narrative. Founders can start small, use lean experiments, and scale once early traction is visible. This approach keeps teams focused on what matters and avoids overbuilding.

Ultimately, the book helps founders turn a bold dream into a structured, capital-ready path. The actionable templates, checklists, and episode case studies offer a practical grip on fundraising, product milestones, and go-to-market timing. Anyone aiming to scale from an early round to a public listing will find the guidance clear and triumphant in tone–no fluff, just concrete steps.

Phase I: Finding Product-Market Fit and Gaining Traction

Start with a 6-week PMF sprint: identify three top problems, interview 60 potential customers per problem, and run 5 rapid experiments to test messaging and solution claims. If one use case delivers at least 20% signups on a landing page and 15% conversion to a beta, you have a solid PMF signal.

Publish a blog and a simple landing page to surface whats resonating; set up two messaging variants and measure what’s driving clicks and signups. Use segments rather than one-size-fits-all messaging. This helps startups validate the core value quickly before scaling.

Track unit economics and activation: target an early adopter cohort of 100 users to reach a 30% activation rate within 14 days, a signups-to-paid conversion of 10-15%, and churn under 5% in month one after launch. Collect significant qualitative feedback via interviews; iterate accordingly.

Team, tools, and partnerships: hire a lightweight crew of builders focused on the core feature; integrate with okta for secure sign-in; collaborate with laurent and other mentors to align on the PMF hypotheses. Lean teams in silicon startups can move fast and still produce substantial results.

Go-to-market: emerging segments require precise messaging; avoid gaudy claims; leverage a blog and micro-campaigns; use googles data to validate intent and optimize keywords; go longer with test cycles but keep tight budgets.

Iterate and learn: whatve learned from stages is that early validated problems lead to higher engagement; keep the loop short and document what works in a blog post; whats next for phase II depends on the traction achieved.

Identify Target Customer Segments and Critical Jobs-To-Be-Done

Target three segments and define Jobs-To-Be-Done for each to align bets and accelerate value delivery.

• Segment 1: Seed to Series A startup product teams

  • Profile: 2–12 person cross-function squads building new offerings; tight budgets; fast project cycles.
  • JTBD: identify the top customer problem and deliver a minimal value set that demonstrates impact quickly; leads to early product-market fit and tangible gains.
  • Signals: frequent pivots, rapid backlog churn, strong blog activity, active alumnus networks among founders.
  • Messaging: cite grubhub and netflix examples to show rapid iteration; offer a pathway from idea to first customer adoption in 4–8 weeks.
  • Actions: run a 3-week discovery sprint, map jobs-to-be-done, define success metrics, build a single feature to prove the concept.
  • Metrics: time-to-value, activation rate, funnel drop-off, customer feedback cycles.

• Segment 2: Mid-market product and IT leaders

  • Profile: 20–200 employees; cross-functional procurement, security, and product governance; seeks scalable adoption.
  • JTBD: shift from point solutions to a cohesive platform that reduces cross-team friction and accelerates timing; focus on risk management and speed to impact.
  • Signals: multi-department projects, procurement cycles, preference for repeatable playbooks; active blog comments and case studies from large customers.
  • Messaging: present a 6–12 week rollout plan with clear milestones; show how a modular approach delivers incremental gains across teams; use holycode-like internal tools as an analogy.
  • Actions: run a pilot with one department, capture cross-team metrics, publish a results blog post, and share a julia-based data module to illustrate analytics capability.
  • Metrics: time-to-value per department, cross-sell/upsell rate, renewal rate, user adoption depth, NPS improvements.

• Segment 3: Alumni-led ventures and education/tech alliances

  • Profile: ventures connected to universities or alumni networks; constrained budgets; values community-backed validation.
  • JTBD: turn insights from real-world use into scalable deployments across campus networks and alumni chapters; build momentum through shared success stories.
  • Signals: active campus blogs, alumni forums, partnerships with coding clubs like holycode; ongoing talks and events; data from student projects.
  • Messaging: emphasize turnkey pilots that are easy to replicate in other chapters; reference grubhub-style rapid delivery of value and netflix-like user delight.
  • Actions: package a campus-ready pilot with templates, playbooks, and a 2-week shortcuts plan; publish results in a public blog and a short product sheet.
  • Metrics: campus adoption rate, affiliate leads, program-led leads, time-to-first-value, number of chapters piloted.

Validate Value Proposition with a Lean MVP and Rapid Feedback

Define a single, testable value claim for an early-stage audience and ship a lean MVP to validate it within days. Compare your proposition against competition to surface different differentiators that truly move the needle for users.

1. Hypotheses and metric design: articulate the problem, the benefit, and the primary customer segment in one sentence. Set a practical metric such as activation rate, sign-up rate, or repeat use per user. Ensure every metric ties to a goal and a decision point.

2. Lean MVP scope and delivery: strip to the ideal feature set that proves the claim. Use engineering teams and vetted services to ship a minimal, functioning experience that demonstrates the core value quickly. Plan a 7–14 day build cycle to keep feedback rapid.

3. Feedback plan and events: schedule two or three feedback events via eventbrites and invite users from the mouth of your target segments. Capture qualitative notes and quantitative signals in a shared sheet; link notes to each metric to show how data maps to goals. This gives you a clear, fast view of what changes matter. weve seen that quick feedback loops cut waste and accelerate learning.

4. Data analysis and decisions: after each event, compile findings and map them to different customer segments. If the signal is strong, push for greater engagement or extension of the test; if it’s weak, adjust the value proposition or iterate the MVP scope. Document the learning so the next cycle moves you closer to product-market fit and business goals.

5. Actions and tooling: maintain a lightweight toolkit of tools for funnel tracking, feedback capture, and issue triage. Use that to accelerate cycles and keep teams focused on business outcomes rather than busywork. Ensure every team member understands the ideal outcome and how success is measured, then ship the next iteration with confidence.

Track Product-Market Fit Signals: Activation, Retention, and Referrals

Set a 48-hour activation target and track it by cohort across countries; the goal is 40% activation within seven days, and this concrete target makes the next steps measurable.

Activation signals hinge on first-value actions: profile completion, payment method connected, and first workflow run. Build a funnel to quantify time-to-value and use tools to run quick onboarding experiments; test variations in similar markets and across competition; if activation diverges by country, tailor the onboarding flow for each place.

Retention signals require tracking 7-day and 30-day retention by cohort; aim to lift retention 20-30% within 3 months; segment by productmarket to see which features drive stickiness; use lifecycle emails, in-app nudges, and product debuts to reinforce value.

Referrals signals involve a lightweight referral program; measure referral rate and the share of new users arriving via referrals; target 10-20% of new signups via referrals in the first half year; tie rewards to activation milestones; use eventbrites for events that drive word-of-mouth.

Process and go-to-market alignment: align product, marketing, and sales around a disciplined assess of productmarket signals; regularly assess productmarket signals to inform decisions; define required features for the go-to-market plan; define the three-billion-dollar TAM to justify budget; track progress through a weekly dashboard.

brian and sean push for practical steps: embed the signals into a place where teams act quickly; this becomes a difference between a good launch and a triumphant rollout; the data gave early signals that activation lags in some markets; this strategy helps growing businesss scale.

To start, pick a debut metric, set a one-page experiment plan, and schedule weekly reviews; continuously iterate on the rhythm to assess whether productmarket signals translate into real growth across countries and segments.

Design Traction Experiments: Landing Pages, Outreach, and Partnerships

Launch a simple landing page test now to validate your value proposition and look for a clear action. Run a month-long experiment in april, track signups, clicks, and opt-ins, and pick a winner that drives greater engagement. Focus on one hypothesis per cycle to keep the effort driven and measurable.

Design three landing-page variants that test a single feature at a time across three stages: awareness, consideration, conversion. Identify their audience within a class of buyers and tailor headlines to that segment. Use a simple layout, a strong offer, and a prominent CTA. Collect data in a single report and compare metrics: conversion rate, CTR, and time-on-page. Keep the test focused so the learning stays clear and actionable.

Outreach experiments should be concise and data-driven. Talk to prospects in a defined buyer group and run a two-week sequence of emails and social touches with a single, clear offer. Each touch should invite a quick conversation or a short demo, then track replies, booked calls, and demo appointments. Look for patterns like subject lines or hooks that resonate, and adjust cadence to keep it human and useful. In-person follow-ups on the streets of manhattan can reveal insights online data misses, so use that look to refine your cadence. youve got a baseline you can repeat.

Partnership experiments help extend reach without heavy spend. Identify large potential partners with a stake in your space and a three-billion-dollar addressable market in mind. Test a simple co-marketing pilot: a joint webinar, co-authored content, or a referral agreement. Run the pilot for four to six weeks and measure joint pipeline value, partner-sourced opportunities, and cost per win. If results are solid, formalize the arrangement and scale with a shared plan and clear ownership of leads.

Reporting cadence should be tight: maintain a focused monthly experiment report and a decision log. Use three to five metrics per test to avoid vanity numbers. The report should list what was tested, the data, the result, and the next action. This is the moment when you translate learnings into action, and keep the process driven by evidence.

Set Metrics, Milestones, and IPO Readiness Criteria

Define a 12-month KPI framework with clear owners and a single lead for each metric to close gaps before the IPO, because disciplined lead indicators reduce risks and support expansion plans, especially with late-stage product adoption and user growth.

There are three milestone blocks: financial hygiene, governance, and growth signals. Build across functional teams, avoiding one-size-fits-all metrics, and ensure alignment with the board and external auditors. This framework scales from early stage to late-stage companys, and marc notes a focus on lead indicators to sharpen decisions. Prioritize measurable outcomes for growth, profitability, and control, including how users interact with the product and how revenue expands across cohorts.

Next steps: assign owners, set quarterly reviews, and close gaps quickly when they are found. Track risks, ensure audit readiness, and keep board informed with clear reporting to support the IPO timeline.