Founder Path

Your curriculum. Five stages from first principles to operational.

Built as reference material, not required reading. Bookmark it ⌘D and return when the question comes up. It will.

Five stages · 33 resources
01

Preflight

Prepare to succeed.

Skim once so you know what exists. Then come back when the acronym shows up in a real meeting. These references answer the first questions every founder hits: who buys, how they buy, and where the money flows.

Contracting Cone The one-page chart that answers 'which contract vehicle?' in about a minute. Open it whenever someone names a vehicle you don't recognize. WarU · 15 min · External
FAR for Startups The rulebook every contracting officer lives by. You will never read it cover to cover. Search it when a clause number lands in your inbox. Acquisition.gov · 25 min · External
Contract Types Explained FFP, T&M, CPFF, CPIF. Check this before you agree to a contract type, because each one moves risk in a different direction. WarU · 20 min · External
Understanding PPBE Why the money you need this year was decided two years ago. Ten minutes here explains most of the delays you will ever encounter. AcqNotes · 15 min · External
Signals Feed Live intel from Breaking Defense, ExecutiveGov, and Merge Combinator analysis. Scan it weekly; demand signals show up here before they show up in solicitations. 5 min · Signal
Defense Ecosystem Map Who sits where across commands, agencies, and innovation units. Pull it up before any meeting with an office you have not worked with. 30 min · Gated

02

Spot

Where you are and what's next.

Match your technology to demand that already exists: SBIR topics, CSOs, OTAs, or a problem sponsor with a real budget. These are the boards to check and the pathways to compare when you decide where to aim.

Finding Problem Sponsors How to find the person who owns your problem and has the standing to champion it. Read before you cold-email anyone with a .mil address. H4D · 20 min · External
AFWERX Engagement Pathways Spark, Prime, and Ventures compared. Check which door fits before you knock on the Air Force. AFWERX · 15 min · External
DIU Commercial Solutions Opening How DIU buys commercial technology. Read this if your product already sells in the private sector. DIU · 15 min · External
Other Transaction Authority Guide What an OTA can do that a FAR contract cannot. Worth knowing before someone offers you one. WarU · 20 min · External
Opportunities Board Live solicitations from SBIR, DARPA, DIU, and SAM.gov in one feed. Check it the way you check the weather. 5 min · Signal
SBIR Topic Search Every open SBIR/STTR topic across the government. Search your keywords quarterly; topics recycle. SBIR.gov · 15 min · External
Pricing Strategies for Government Contracts How to price FFP, T&M, and CPFF work without leaving money or margin behind. Open before you write a number in a proposal. 25 min · Gated

03

Ready for Launch

Get connected.

The paperwork stage. Proposals, CMMC, ITAR, CUI, clearances. None of it is fun and all of it gates contracts. Return to each reference when that gate is in front of you.

Phase I Proposal Guide The official tutorial from the people who score your proposal. Read it the week before you write, not the night before you submit. SBIR.gov · 30 min · External
CMMC 2.0 Requirements Which maturity level your contracts will demand and what it takes to get there. Check early; remediation takes months. DoD CIO · 25 min · External
ITAR Basics for Startups Whether your technology is export-controlled and what registration requires. Answer this before you demo to anyone foreign-owned. State Dept · 20 min · External
CUI Marking Handbook How to mark and handle controlled unclassified information. Keep it open the first time a CUI document lands on your desk. NARA · 20 min · External
Security Clearance Process What clearances take, cost, and require of your people. Start here before you promise cleared staff in a proposal. DCSA · 15 min · External
Proposal Writing Playbook The Merge Combinator framework for structuring SBIR and OTA proposals that score. Use it as the outline for your next submission. 45 min · Gated

04

Tension

Build to full power.

The prototype worked and now the budget cycle is the enemy. These are the bridge programs, transition guides, and evidence frameworks to open when production feels far away. This stage is why founders bookmark this page.

Valley of Death Survival Guide John Ferry's 351-page playbook for the crossing. Not a sit-down read. Search it by chapter when you hit the specific wall it names. 180 min · Learn
DON Phase III Guidebook The Navy's own manual for converting funded work into production contracts. Cite it back to them when a contracting office hesitates. Navy SBIR · 40 min · External
APFIT: Procurement & Fielding Funds Eight-figure OUSD(R&E) money built to jump prototypes into procurement. Check the eligibility window every cycle; it moves. OUSD R&E · 10 min · External
STRATFI / TACFI Bridge Funding AFWERX bridge funding that matches government dollars with private capital between Phase II and Phase III. Read before your Phase II ends, not after. AFWERX · 15 min · External
The Interceptor Math Is Broken Merge Combinator analysis on why affordable mass wins. Steal the framing for your own production story. 8 min · Signal
Valley of Death Navigator An interactive decision framework for prototype-to-production transitions. Work through it when you are choosing between paths. 60 min · Gated
Operator Validation Toolkit Templates for turning operator enthusiasm into documented evidence a PM can cite. Use after every exercise and demo. 45 min · Gated

05

Launch

Go operational.

Production, follow-ons, teaming, and the team itself. The questions get bigger and rarer at this stage. Keep these references close; each one exists for a conversation you will eventually have.

Color of Money Which appropriation can legally buy what you sell. Check it before every pilot conversation; the wrong color kills deals late. AcqNotes · 10 min · External
From Combine to Series A: Ulysses What operator-validated formation produced, from Combine to Series A. Show it to skeptical investors. 10 min · Signal
The Army Is Rewriting How It Buys Technology Merge Combinator analysis of acquisition restructured around software velocity. Context for every Army conversation you will have this year. 10 min · Signal
Prime & Subcontracting Rules The SBA rules on teaming, flow-down clauses, and subcontracting plans. Read before you sign anything a prime sends. SBA · 15 min · External
The $16B Alignment Problem Merge Combinator analysis on whether the system can absorb the capital flowing in. Useful when your investors ask about the market. 10 min · Signal
Production Contract Playbook Follow-on strategies, sole-source justification, and teaming structures. Open when the production conversation starts. 40 min · Gated
Prime Teaming & Subcontractor Strategy How to structure prime partnerships that scale instead of smother. Read before the term sheet, not after. 35 min · Gated

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