WORKING HYPOTHESIS
Early users can finish the closing count without founder support.
4 of 6 pilot users completed the closing count unaided.
LINKED FILES
- Interview_Transcript_03.pdf
- Pilot_Usability_Test_04.csv
The evidence standard for high-stakes business
Start at the outcome.
Reverse-engineer the proof.
Vane helps early stage founders turn interviews, commitments, usage and revenue into a structured, time stamped evidence record, stage by stage, so they know what to prove next and what investors will ask. Every claim links back to the evidence behind it.
vane.app / ventures / crumb
Stage 04 / 08Diligence matrix
What investors ask, and where Vane builds the answer
- Who has this problem, and why you?01 / Idea & Hypotheses
- Is the problem real and painful?02 / Customer Discovery
- Did anyone commit?03 / Customer Validation
- Can users reach value alone?04 / MVP & Early Users
- Do they come back?05 / Product Market Fit
- Can you find customers repeatably?06 / Go to Market
- Does the math work?07 / Early Revenue & Unit Economics
- What will the money prove?08 / Valuation & Fundraising
Common patterns. Investors differ, and following the stages does not guarantee funding.
Start from the outcome. Prove it backwards.
Choose what you want to achieve. Vane shows the proof people usually ask for, starting from the goal and ending with what to do today.
1 /
YOUR GOAL
Close an equity round
Investors need conviction in a large market, a capable team, and a credible path to durable growth.
2 /
PROOF YOU NEED
Proof an investor can follow
Show validated demand, repeat use, efficient acquisition, and milestones tied to the amount you plan to raise.
3 /
WHAT TO DO TODAY
Start with source data you can log today
Log customer interviews, paid-pilot commitments, repeat usage, and the cost of acquiring each customer.
These are common evidence patterns, not guarantees of financing, expansion, or a completed transaction. Requirements vary by counterparty and deal.
Why strong proposals hear 'no'
Whether you are raising capital or pitching a plan, deals stall when evidence is hard to trace.
01 /
A story, not proof
Founders pitch visions; operators pitch projections. Capital and decision-makers fund verifiable evidence.
02 /
Proof is scattered
Interviews, financial models, and records live in many places, which makes diligence slow.
03 /
No clear next step
Teams do not know which missing piece of evidence is blocking approval, leaving critical decisions stalled in limbo.
The framework
Eight stages that take you from an idea to fundraising readiness.
A structured path from first idea to fundraising readiness, with the evidence and next action visible at every step.
01 Idea & Hypotheses
Frame the customer, the problem, and the riskiest assumptions.
02 Customer Discovery
Learn how people solve the problem today and what it costs them.
03 Customer Validation
Test a clear offer and look for a real commitment.
04 MVP & Early Users
Build the smallest useful product and learn with early users.
05 Product Market Fit
Understand who returns, why they stay, and what they value.
06 Go to Market
Find where your customers gather and test which channels bring them in.
07 Early Revenue & Unit Economics
Connect revenue, retention, and the cost of finding customers.
08 Valuation & Fundraising
Bring your evidence together before planning a raise. Fundraising is optional.
How early evidence looks in real startups
Three well known startups, read through the Vane evidence ladder.
Company and stage
Dropbox, before the full product (2008)
A 3 minute demo video put 75,000 people on the waiting list overnight
Casual interest
Company and stage
Airbnb, early stage (2009)
Better photos of New York apartments took weekly revenue from $200 to $400
Money commitment
Company and stage
Dollar Shave Club, launch (2012)
A $4,500 video brought 12,000 orders on launch day
Money commitment
Evidence levels are Vane's reading of these public stories and do not reflect the companies' own views. These companies did not use Vane.
Investor readiness
Know what investors look for, before you meet them
Most first time founders have never been through a fundraise, so they do not know what investors check. Vane shows you, one stage at a time.
See the why
Every stage explains why it matters, so you are not just filling in forms.
Build real evidence
You collect conversations, commitments and results, not opinions.
Arrive prepared
By the last stage your evidence is organized and your ask is clear.
A few examples
Stage 1: Idea & Hypotheses
A specific customer, a specific problem, and a clear way to prove yourself wrong.
Stage 2: Customer Discovery
Real conversations with your target customer, with what you heard in their own words.
Stage 3: Customer Validation
Behavior over words: pre-orders, deposits, signed letters of intent or paid pilots.
Investors differ, and following the stages does not guarantee funding.
For program leaders and investors: one shared evidence standard across every founder.
Early access for programs
A shared evidence standard across every cohort.
We are piloting a cohort view with accelerators and incubators.
Built for accelerator directors, venture studio partners, and incubator leaders guiding founders from assumptions to defensible validation.
Cohort Director Dashboard
Evidence first, assumptions visible
| Venture | Current stage | Progress |
|---|---|---|
| Crumb | MVP & Early Users | 04 / 08 |
| Fieldnote | Customer Discovery | 02 / 08 |
| Relay | Customer Validation | 03 / 08 |
AI-assisted reviews organize the signal; founders remain responsible for interpreting evidence and making decisions.
Accelerators
Cohort standardization · See every venture on the same evidence metrics
University Tech Transfer
Research to market · De-risk commercial hypotheses with observed behavioral signals
Pre-Seed VCs
Diligence · Review a structured evidence record ahead of Demo Day
Free while we are in beta
Vane is in beta, and every feature is free to use while we learn from our first founders and programs.
What you get
- All eight steps, from your first idea to getting ready to raise
- An AI helper that reviews your evidence and suggests your next test, with fair use limits
- Reports and an evidence pack you can export and share
Running a program or a cohort?
If you run an accelerator, an incubator or a university program and want to see how every founder in your group is doing, tell us what you need.
Beta features and limits may change. [PRICING STATEMENT TO BE FILLED IN BY THE FOUNDER]