The First Time Founder's Roadmap
Essential startup knowledge in a two-hour read
✅ Based on coaching 600+ founders
✅ Practical advice on next steps
✅ Covers key areas inc. funding to marketing
🛠️
Methods you can use today
Transform complex startup challenges into manageable decisions with simple frameworks derived from hundreds of real founder experiences.
🫵
Make better decisions, faster
Access industry proven frameworks that cut through the noise and uncertainty of early-stage startups. Stop second-guessing yourself and start making confident decisions.
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Avoid costly mistakes
Learn to identify and sidestep the common pitfalls that sink promising startups.This guide helps you navigate around the hidden traps that most first-time founders discover too late.
About me & this book
As a startup coach at the London School of Economics, I've guided more than 600 first-time founders through the critical early stages of their startup journeys.
⚠️ Are you navigating your startup journey without a map?
Most first-time founders travel blind, making the same wrong turns that countless others made before them. They waste precious time and resources on dead ends that could have been avoided.
👋 Hi, I’m Tim, and I wrote this book to help you.
After working with more than 600 first-time founders at the London School of Economics, I've gained a unique perspective on what separates successful startups from those that fail. This extensive experience has allowed me to identify recurring patterns and critical decision points that most founders only recognise in hindsight, often after costly mistakes.
💪 Insights from three perspectives
1️⃣
as co-founder of AI startup OpenDialog, I faced these challenges firsthand;2️⃣
as a coach and trainer to hundreds founders, I've observed which approaches consistently succeed;3️⃣
as an angel investor, I've developed a sharp eye for evaluating business models and identifying the factors that lead to success or failure.This book distills these insights into practical, actionable guidance that you can apply immediately to your startup journey.
💪 Empowering you to make better decisions
I'm not interested in abstract startup theory or motivational platitudes. My approach is practical and actionable, focused on helping you address real challenges with proven solutions.Every insight, framework, and recommendation in the book comes from real-world experiences. It is designed to help you make better decisions with greater confidence.
🙏🏻 My promise to you
In just two hours of reading, you'll gain a comprehensive map of the startup journey. You'll learn to recognise critical decision points before they appear and understand how to use industry proven frameworks to make key decisions.This is the roadmap I wish I'd had when starting my first company—and now I'm sharing it with you.
Everything you need
to know to get started
Each chapter teaches you the essentials of what really matters and how you can get started.
What you'll learn
Journey - the four key stages for every startup
You - How to be an effective founder
Funding - how startups get funded
Product - map a Product your Customer will buy
Product - sell it before you build it
Sales - find your first Customers
Marketing - how Customers will find you
Strategy - map out your strategy via a pitch deck
Non-technical founders - how to get tech done
Finance - you need to know just enough!
Co-founders - date before marriage
Inspiration - come up with good startup ideas
Mistakes - that everyone makes first time around
Get unstuck - troubleshoot your startup
Wall of Love
See what others are saying -
real founders who have benefited from these methods
Building This Book in the Open
Unlike traditional publishing where authors disappear until a finished book emerges, I'm practicing what I preach by product testing this book with real founders.I'm applying the same validation and iteration principles that I teach to the book itself. Here's how this benefits you:
🔍 See principles in action
Watch how founder experiences are transformed into practical guidance. Get behind-the-scenes insights into how patterns are identified and frameworks are developed.
🧠 Your help matters
Your feedback directly influences which concepts are included and how they're presented. Help ensure the book addresses real challenges you're facing.
🛠️ Get early access
Get access to frameworks and methods as they're developed, not months later. Apply these tools to your startup challenges right away.
👥 Join a founder community
Connect with other entrepreneurs facing similar challenges. Share experiences and solutions as part of a community of first-time founders.
Get free early access
Become a beta reader and help refine this guide before it's published.