Key takeaways:
- Startup Studios and Incubators use the PRFAQ Framework to think critically about their startup ideas, articulate the story clearly, and inspire their team to act.
- Startup Studios and Incubators write their PRFAQ to create a better discovery, discussion, and decision artifacts and as the strategic basis for the opportunity they are considering exploring.
- The PRFAQ is the best tool to develop a better vision and strategy for their startup, leading to fewer resources and changes in direction after commitment.
The PRFAQ Framework is a great system for Startup Studios and Incubators to evaluate their internal ideas. These organizations do their customer discovery, solution validation, prototyping or MVP, and launch their startups to reach key milestones before spinning them off. PRFAQs help evolve startup ideas without using a lot of resources. More importantly, it gives the team a clear and coherent North Star direction, and it makes it easier to change course as they discover new information.
There is no one-size-fits-all on how Startup Studios and Incubators operate. Some are more top-down driven, with Managing Directors and partners deciding what to try. Others are more bottoms-up, where team members pursue their interests. Idea origination also varies. Some source their ideas from internal brainstorming sessions, others work with domain experts or founders-in-residence. Studios and incubators have more ideas and open questions than resources and time to validate them. It’s also challenging to separate “passion projects” that sound cool from actually viable startup ideas.
Using PRFAQs as the official mechanism to discover, discuss, and develop ideas is a fantastic mechanism for Startup Studios and Incubators. Writing is a skill that’s available to anyone at the company, and it doesn’t require building software or mockups to pitch an idea. PRFAQs help cover the important aspects of the idea and sets the tone for what’s the proposed vision and strategy. It’s flexible enough to accommodate assumptions, hypotheses, and for the team to change their mind as they discover new information about the customer, the problem, the solution, or the market.
The PRFAQ Framework enables a consistent evaluation process for new startup ideas. Over time, the team accumulates a range of PRFAQs that are revisited when new information is available or new team members join.
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Who’s this for?
This is for those working on a Startup Studio and Incubator, including Managing Directors, Partners, Venture Partners, Technical Advisors, Product Leaders, Design Leaders, Engineering Leaders, Principals, Founders-in-Residence, CTO-in-Residence, etc.
What makes a PRFAQ great for Startup Studios and Incubators?
PRFAQs are a tried-and-true system for evaluating ideas for new products and new businesses. It provides a consistent framework to discover, discuss, and develop startup ideas.
Who are the collaborators for the PRFAQ?
Since Startup Studios are small organizations, most team members will take part in the process to create a PRFAQ. In addition, it’s valuable to tap into the knowledge of advisors and domain experts who provide top-of-mind data and anecdotes.
Who do they share the PRFAQ?
The team who evaluates ideas and those working on executing these ideas.
When is it not appropriate to use a PRFAQ?
PRFAQs are not tactical blueprints for an execution. They don’t include a comprehensive roadmap plan or details of the features for a startup idea, the branding and marketing, and the go-to-market plan.
