The Co-Founder Catalyst: A 6-Month Networking Program for Entrepreneurs & Startups

1. Program Introduction & Benefits

The Co-Founder Catalyst is a structured, high-signal networking program designed to move entrepreneurs and startup founders beyond casual connections to validated, commitment-ready partnerships. The program's core essence is the systematic creation of a qualified candidate pool for co-founders or critical early hires through applied entrepreneurial work, not just conversation.

Strategic Benefits for Entrepreneurs & Startups:

• De-Risked Team Building: Transforms the high-risk decision of choosing a co-founder or key hire into an evidence-based process through collaborative sprints and structured evaluation, reducing the potential for costly early-team conflict.
• Strategic Network Expansion: Provides a disciplined framework and curated environment to systematically build a relevant, high-quality network of potential collaborators, moving beyond an entrepreneur's immediate, often limited, circle.
• Accelerated Validation: Enables participants to test working relationships, ambition alignment, and complementary skills in low-risk, time-boxed projects (e.g., Lean validation sprints) before making long-term commitments.
• Enhanced Founder Readiness: Equips solo founders with the frameworks, confidence, and practical skills needed to transition from working alone to leading and collaborating within a founding team.
• Ecosystem Integration: Connects participants to a wider startup ecosystem through curated events and partnerships, increasing visibility and access to talent, mentors, and potential investors.

2. Program Expansion Strategy

Analysis: The primary goal is to "Create a candidate pool for co-founders or critical positions." While the core program provides structure, content, and peer interaction, the deeply personal and high-stakes nature of forming a founding team benefits immensely from personalized, confidential guidance. A supplemental Coaching layer would significantly improve outcomes by helping participants navigate emotional hurdles, negotiation anxieties, and complex interpersonal dynamics.

Value Addition & Implementation: A dedicated coaching component addresses the "human element" that standardized content cannot. It provides a safe space for participants to:

• Process feedback from collaboration sprints.
• Navigate difficult conversations with potential partners.
• Refine their personal value proposition and negotiation stance on equity and roles.
• Work through mindset shifts required when transitioning from solo founder to team leader (directly supported by the ADKAR model).

Implementation Note: Integrate professional startup coaches or experienced founders-as-coaches. Offer each participant a package of 3-4 dedicated 1:1 coaching sessions scheduled at key inflection points: after finalizing their scorecard (Pillar 1), during the evaluation of sprint outcomes (Pillar 3), and prior to final agreement structuring (Pillar 4). Coaching conversations can utilize the GROW model to ensure action-oriented outcomes.

3. Implementation Roadmap

Launch Phase Checklist

1. Define & Assemble:
   • Finalize program curriculum based on the 4 Pillars and 5 Milestones.
   • Recruit and onboard program facilitators, coaches, and guest experts.
   • Establish partnerships with accelerators, co-working spaces, and investor networks for venue/guest access.
2. Participant Recruitment & Onboarding:
   • Develop clear application criteria focusing on startup stage, industry, and explicit co-founder/key-hire needs.
   • Screen applicants for commitment and clarity of purpose.
   • Onboard selected cohort with pre-work: initial self-assessment and draft "Founder/Key-Hire Scorecard."
3. Technology & Systems Setup:
   • Configure chosen software tools (see Section 4) for communication, content delivery, and participant tracking.
   • Set up KPI dashboards for program managers.
4. Kick-off:
   • Host orientation session to align cohort on goals, methodology (70-20-10), and community norms.

Tracking & Operations

• Weekly Cadence: Operate on a weekly rhythm blending content, community, and action:
  • Core Workshop (1.5-2 hrs): Deep dive into one module topic.
  • Structured Networking / Matchmaking (1 hr): Themed peer sessions or "founder speed-dating."
  • Fieldwork: Participants execute their networking plan and collaboration sprints (the "70%" of 70-20-10).
  • Office Hours: Coaches/facilitators available for ad-hoc support.
• Milestone Reviews: Conduct formal checkpoint meetings at each of the 5 Milestones. These are "gate reviews" where participants present progress, get feedback, and adjust their strategy.
• Community Management: Actively facilitate connections within the cohort's Internal Social Network, encouraging sharing of opportunities and challenges.

Success Measurement

Quantitative KPIs:

• Program Level: Participant retention rate, number of collaboration sprints initiated, NPS for core sessions.
• Participant Level: Number of new targeted connections, qualified prospects identified, fit interviews conducted.
• Outcome Level (3-6 months post-program): Percentage of participants who form a co-founder agreement or secure a key hire; number of new startups launched or materially changed.

Qualitative KPIs & Feedback:

• Surveys: Use Kirkpatrick Level 1 (Reaction) surveys after major sessions and at each milestone.
• Interviews: Conduct in-depth interviews at mid-point and program end to assess learning (Level 2) and behavior change (Level 3).
• Outcome Stories: Collect and document case studies of successful matches and startups formed (Level 4 - Results).
• Feedback Loops: Regular pulse checks within the cohort's social platform to identify friction points in real-time.

4. Approved Tools List

• LMS (Learning Management System): Primary Tool. Essential for delivering the structured curriculum (video workshops, guides, templates for scorecards and sprint plans), tracking completion of Pillars, and housing the Resource Library. It provides the "10%" of formal instruction.
• Internal Social Network: Critical Tool. Facilitates the "20%" of social learning. Enables peer mastermind groups, discussion on challenges, sharing of opportunities, and organic relationship-building within the vetted cohort. Vital for creating a trusted community.
• Coaching Software: Required for Expansion. Supports the scheduling, goal tracking (GROW model), and note-taking for the supplemental 1:1 coaching sessions. Provides structure and continuity for the coaching engagement.
• Personality Test: Optional Supplemental Tool. Can be used judiciously in Pillar 1 or 3 (e.g., to spark discussions on working styles and communication preferences within potential teams). Must be framed as a conversation starter, not a definitive compatibility test.

Justification: The LMS and Internal Social Network directly support the 70-20-10 model's formal and social learning components. Coaching software is necessary to professionally manage the added coaching layer. An ERG, Mentorship, or Onboarding platform is not aligned with the program's core networking-and-evaluation goal.

5. Resource & Content Library

General Program Content

• Guides & Templates:
  • Founder Self-Assessment Workbook
  • The Co-Founder/Key-Hire Scorecard Template
  • Strategic Networking Map & Weekly Action Planner
  • Founder Fit Interview Guide & Script
  • Collaboration Sprint Design Kit (Lean Validation, Product Spike, GTM Test)
  • Sprint Retrospective & Evaluation Form
  • Founder Agreement Term Sheet Template & Checklist
  • Equity Vesting Schedule Calculator & Scenario Planner
• Video Workshops:
  • Designing Your Ideal Founding Team DNA
  • The Art of the Warm Introduction: Building Credibility
  • Running a Customer Discovery Sprint with a Potential Partner
  • Navigating the Equity Conversation: Frameworks and Fairness
  • From Conflict to Resolution: Founder Partnership Dynamics
• Curated Readings:
  • Excerpts on "Customer Development" (Steve Blank)
  • Articles on "The Founder's Dilemmas" (Noam Wasserman)
  • Case studies on successful and failed founding team formations

Supplemental Mentoring Content Table

While this is not a mentorship program, these soft-skill resources support the coaching layer and peer learning, enhancing the relationship-building core of the program.