A comprehensive framework for launching your startup from foundation to execution
Take the opportunity to see all the things you have already accomplished while conceiving and building your startup.
This will help you stay organized so you can continue to build it out.
Ready to Launch Your Startup?
Use this comprehensive checklist to guide your startup from ideation to successful launch.
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Total checklist items72
Completed0
Remaining72
Step 01: Research Phase
0 of 13 completed · 13 Remaining
- □ Come up with a name for your business
- □ Create a competitor list including: Name & link, Pricing options, Key features
- □ Define your product & business model
- □ What's your pricing model & tiers? Free trial or freemium?
- □ Which key features to focus on at launch?
- □ What's your differentiator?
- □ Spy on competitors - identify which marketing channels work for them
- □ Content marketing (blog regularity, social shares)
- □ SEO rankings - run their site through SEMrush or Ahrefs
- □ Google Search Ads - check via SEMrush
- □ Facebook Ads - check via Facebook Ad Library
- □ Affiliate program - check footer or search site:[competitor] affiliate program
- □ If raising money, use research to build a pitch deck
Step 02: Build a Website
0 of 11 completed · 11 Remaining
- □ Pick a domain name - consider .io, .xyz if .com is taken
- □ Buy hosting
- □ Pick an email marketing provider (e.g. MailChimp - free up to 2,000 subscribers)
- □ Create a logo
- □ Create relevant social profiles - B2B typically: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook
- □ Create a product landing page - WordPress recommended for lean iteration
- □ Create supporting pages - About, Contact, Pricing
- □ Set up a payment processor - Stripe recommended
- □ Set up analytics - Google Analytics or Mixpanel
- □ Set up a business email - Google Workspace recommended
- □ Launch a blog - required if using content marketing or SEO
Step 03: Pre-Launch Marketing
0 of 3 completed · 3 Remaining
- □ Add an email capture to your landing page
- □ Incentivize early adopters - offer more than just 'we'll email you at launch'
- □ Drive traffic via content marketing, SEO, and PR
Step 04: Get Initial Traction
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Email pre-launch list if you ran pre-launch marketing
- □ Cold call your first 50 customers - if you can't sell it 1:1, you can't sell it online
- □ Find leads on social media - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter; pitch via DM
- □ Run search ads on direct-intent keywords if budget allows
Step 05: Prep for Launch
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Create a Press Kit and publish it on your website
- □ List journalists who covered your competitors - use Hunter.io or Clearbit Connect to find emails
- □ List acquaintances on ProductHunt - you'll ping them for support on launch day
- □ List friends & acquaintances connected to your target audience
Step 06: Launch
0 of 3 completed · 3 Remaining
- □ Pitch journalists from your list - frame it as 'you covered [competitor], here's how ours is different'
- □ Launch on ProductHunt
- □ Reach out to friends & acquaintances for a share - give them the exact text to use
Step 07: Ongoing Marketing
0 of 6 completed · 6 Remaining
- □ SEO - List competitors, keyword research, optimize pages, publish content regularly
- □ Content Marketing - Address user pain points, promote content, 1-2 pieces/week
- □ Google Ads - Target keywords, create landing pages, write ad variations, set targeting
- □ PPC - Set budget and goals, define targeting, create multiple ad creatives
- □ Affiliate Marketing - Commission structure, landing page, reach out to influencers
- □ Referral Marketing - Structure incentives, set up software, email existing users
Phase 7: Search Engine Optimization
0 of 6 completed · 6 Remaining
- □ List competitors with strong Google rankings
- □ Do keyword research - UberSuggest, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner
- □ Optimize all web pages for on-page SEO (RankMath or Yoast)
- □ Publish SEO-optimized content on a regular cadence
- □ Create use-case landing pages for each major keyword cluster
- □ Do link-building regularly - link roundups are a good starting tactic
Phase 7: Content Marketing
0 of 5 completed · 5 Remaining
- □ Create content that addresses target user pain points, then promote it
- □ Generate content ideas - BuzzSumo, Hacker News, subreddit top posts
- □ List promotion channels - Facebook groups, Reddit, Indie Hackers, Growth Hackers
- □ Publish 1-2 high-quality pieces per week
- □ For each piece, find authors on similar topics and ask for a share
Phase 7: Google Search Ads
0 of 9 completed · 9 Remaining
- □ Find target keywords using Google Keyword Planner
- □ Decide on budget - estimate based on avg CPC x desired clicks
- □ Create keyword-specific landing pages
- □ Write 3+ ad copy variations per keyword
- □ Set location, device type, & demographics targeting
- □ Use granular ad groups - 1 keyword per ad group
- □ Use cascading bids - lower for broad match, higher for exact
- □ Add negative keywords to avoid irrelevant impressions
- □ Set up conversion tracking and monitor ongoing
Phase 7: Affiliate Marketing
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Decide commission structure - flat % or tiered by volume? One-time or recurring?
- □ Pick technical solution - TapAffiliate or Post Affiliate Pro
- □ Create an affiliate landing page and link in site header/footer
- □ Reach out to potential affiliates - influencers, bloggers, niche review sites
Phase 7: Referral Marketing
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Decide referral structure - discount, product credit, or cash for both parties
- □ Set up referral software - Referral Candy or Prelaunchr
- □ Create a referral landing page and link in header/footer
- □ Email existing users to announce the referral program
Total checklist items72
Completed0
Remaining72
Step 01: Research Phase
0 of 13 completed · 13 Remaining
- □ Come up with a name for your business
- □ Create a competitor list including: Name & link, Pricing options, Key features
- □ Define your product & business model
- □ What's your pricing model & tiers? Free trial or freemium?
- □ Which key features to focus on at launch?
- □ What's your differentiator?
- □ Spy on competitors - identify which marketing channels work for them
- □ Content marketing (blog regularity, social shares)
- □ SEO rankings - run their site through SEMrush or Ahrefs
- □ Google Search Ads - check via SEMrush
- □ Facebook Ads - check via Facebook Ad Library
- □ Affiliate program - check footer or search site:[competitor] affiliate program
- □ If raising money, use research to build a pitch deck
Step 02: Build a Website
0 of 11 completed · 11 Remaining
- □ Pick a domain name - consider .io, .xyz if .com is taken
- □ Buy hosting
- □ Pick an email marketing provider (e.g. MailChimp - free up to 2,000 subscribers)
- □ Create a logo
- □ Create relevant social profiles - B2B typically: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook
- □ Create a product landing page - WordPress recommended for lean iteration
- □ Create supporting pages - About, Contact, Pricing
- □ Set up a payment processor - Stripe recommended
- □ Set up analytics - Google Analytics or Mixpanel
- □ Set up a business email - Google Workspace recommended
- □ Launch a blog - required if using content marketing or SEO
Step 03: Pre-Launch Marketing
0 of 3 completed · 3 Remaining
- □ Add an email capture to your landing page
- □ Incentivize early adopters - offer more than just 'we'll email you at launch'
- □ Drive traffic via content marketing, SEO, and PR
Step 04: Get Initial Traction
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Email pre-launch list if you ran pre-launch marketing
- □ Cold call your first 50 customers - if you can't sell it 1:1, you can't sell it online
- □ Find leads on social media - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter; pitch via DM
- □ Run search ads on direct-intent keywords if budget allows
Step 05: Prep for Launch
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Create a Press Kit and publish it on your website
- □ List journalists who covered your competitors - use Hunter.io or Clearbit Connect to find emails
- □ List acquaintances on ProductHunt - you'll ping them for support on launch day
- □ List friends & acquaintances connected to your target audience
Step 06: Launch
0 of 3 completed · 3 Remaining
- □ Pitch journalists from your list - frame it as 'you covered [competitor], here's how ours is different'
- □ Launch on ProductHunt
- □ Reach out to friends & acquaintances for a share - give them the exact text to use
Step 07: Ongoing Marketing
0 of 6 completed · 6 Remaining
- □ SEO - List competitors, keyword research, optimize pages, publish content regularly
- □ Content Marketing - Address user pain points, promote content, 1-2 pieces/week
- □ Google Ads - Target keywords, create landing pages, write ad variations, set targeting
- □ PPC - Set budget and goals, define targeting, create multiple ad creatives
- □ Affiliate Marketing - Commission structure, landing page, reach out to influencers
- □ Referral Marketing - Structure incentives, set up software, email existing users
Phase 7: Search Engine Optimization
0 of 6 completed · 6 Remaining
- □ List competitors with strong Google rankings
- □ Do keyword research - UberSuggest, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner
- □ Optimize all web pages for on-page SEO (RankMath or Yoast)
- □ Publish SEO-optimized content on a regular cadence
- □ Create use-case landing pages for each major keyword cluster
- □ Do link-building regularly - link roundups are a good starting tactic
Phase 7: Content Marketing
0 of 5 completed · 5 Remaining
- □ Create content that addresses target user pain points, then promote it
- □ Generate content ideas - BuzzSumo, Hacker News, subreddit top posts
- □ List promotion channels - Facebook groups, Reddit, Indie Hackers, Growth Hackers
- □ Publish 1-2 high-quality pieces per week
- □ For each piece, find authors on similar topics and ask for a share
Phase 7: Google Search Ads
0 of 9 completed · 9 Remaining
- □ Find target keywords using Google Keyword Planner
- □ Decide on budget - estimate based on avg CPC x desired clicks
- □ Create keyword-specific landing pages
- □ Write 3+ ad copy variations per keyword
- □ Set location, device type, & demographics targeting
- □ Use granular ad groups - 1 keyword per ad group
- □ Use cascading bids - lower for broad match, higher for exact
- □ Add negative keywords to avoid irrelevant impressions
- □ Set up conversion tracking and monitor ongoing
Phase 7: Affiliate Marketing
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Decide commission structure - flat % or tiered by volume? One-time or recurring?
- □ Pick technical solution - TapAffiliate or Post Affiliate Pro
- □ Create an affiliate landing page and link in site header/footer
- □ Reach out to potential affiliates - influencers, bloggers, niche review sites
Phase 7: Referral Marketing
0 of 4 completed · 4 Remaining
- □ Decide referral structure - discount, product credit, or cash for both parties
- □ Set up referral software - Referral Candy or Prelaunchr
- □ Create a referral landing page and link in header/footer
- □ Email existing users to announce the referral program
