Make products & services people actually want
Walk away with a clear, testable product strategy, your Founding Hypothesis and a Mini Manifesto your whole team believes in.
Make products & services people actually want
Foundation Sprint
Before the Foundation Sprint
Founding Hypothesis
If we help
3D aficionados
solve
remote meetings
with
3D virtual conference room
they will choose it over
Skype & Webex
because our solution has
a realistic wood grain table
After the Foundation Sprint
Founding Hypothesis
If we help
teammates in different locations
solve
remote meetings
with
“just a link” videoconferencing
they will choose it over
Skype & Webex
because our solution has
fast & easy to connect
Here’s what most strategy work looks like & how the Foundation Sprint flips it.
The old way
Slow & messy
Projects drift for months with no clear direction.
Meeting overload
Countless calls and workshops, little progress.
Document graveyard
Strategy decks get written once and forgotten.
Opinion battles
Endless debate instead of evidence.
Cat herding
Trying to align busy people who never fully agree.
Lost time & momentum
By the time decisions are made, the market has moved.
The Foundation Sprint
Fast
Two intense days replace weeks of meetings.
Practical
Hands-on exercises, not theory.
Aligned
Everyone leaves with the same vision.
Testable
Ends with a hypothesis you can immediately validate with real customers.
Battle-tested
Based on Jake Knapp’s Click and refined by our facilitation practice.
On day one, we’ll focus on basics and differentiation. You’ll identify the problem you’re solving and form a plan to set your solution far apart from your competition.
Day 01
1
Customer
Identify and prioritise your key customer segments using the Note & Vote method
2
Problem
We can help you navigate any problem you want to solve, create solutions, prioritise them, and create a plan of action.
3
Competition
Map current alternatives — including the “800-lb gorilla” and workarounds.
4
Advantages
Define your team’s Capabilities, Insights, and Motivations to uncover your edge.
5
The Basics Sheet
Consolidate customer, problem, competition, and advantage into one clear page.
6
Classic Differentiators
Benchmark where you could stand out (faster, smarter, easier, simpler, integrated, etc).
7
Custom Differentiators
Create your own new ways to beat the competition — pair bold benefit vs “crummy opposite.”
8
Differentiators vs Competition
Test your differentiators honestly against real competitors using a 2×2 chart until you own the top-right quadrant.
9
Values & Principles
Turn your differentiators into 3 one-word values and quick decision-making principles.
10
Mini Manifesto
Combine your 2×2 differentiation chart + principles into a quick-reference guide for decision making.
On day two, you’ll find the right approach for your project. You’ll generate options, put them through rapid and rigorous evaluation, and choose one to try first. At the end, you'll have your own Founding Hypothesis.
Day 02
1
Options
Brainstorm alternative product or solution paths — even if you think you know your plan.
2
One-Page Summary
Quickly sketch and explain each option so everyone understands.
3
Competition
Map current alternatives — including the “800-lb gorilla” and workarounds.
4
Summaries & Criteria
Define what “good” looks like — capture evaluation criteria as a team.
5
Magic Lenses
Score each option through multiple perspectives.
6
Top Bets
Pick your primary approach and backup plan(s) with clear reasoning.
7
Founding Hypothesis
Craft the single, testable strategy:
If we help [customer] solve [problem] with [solution], they will choose it over [competitors] because our solution is [differentiation].
Your Foundation Sprint feeds directly into a Design Sprint, so you can prototype and test your winning hypothesis immediately.
With your new testable Founding Hypothesis you can establish your solution is what people want before you burn your runway on building.You can do this in tiny five day loops with design sprints. It’s like fast-forwarding through years of iterations and find your product market fit.
Founder's Letter
Out of the thousands of businesses trying to move fast, most are still stuck in meetings that go nowhere.
Yep, even with smart people and great AI powered tools, decision-making has never felt more sluggish.
Most teams struggle with two things:
1) Getting aligned around the right problem.
2) Turning strategy into action without endless back-and-forth.
That’s why I started ByFriday. To help teams like yours move faster, think sharper, and make progress you can actually see.
We use facilitated workshops and proven sprints to help you solve problems, make decisions, and unlock momentum in days, not months.
We’ve already helped teams get clarity, solve real business challenges, and walk out of the room knowing exactly what happens next. If your team’s stuck in meetings and decision loops, let’s fix that.
Worked with 50+ startups & scaleups
