Prepare 4 VC Compass

Hey IH — I’m Jason from Prepare 4 VC. After nine years running founder programs and advisory, we kept seeing the same pattern:

• Founders don’t lack advice. They lack a simple operating rhythm.

• Tools pile up; momentum doesn’t.

• Everyone asks, “Where am I, what should I do next week, and how do I keep that going?”

So we built Compass.

What it is (in plain English)

• A 10–12 min diagnostic (“Chart My Course”) that gives you a baseline across five signals:
  Progress, Signal, Self-Efficacy, Execution, Market Awareness

• A Momentum State: Hesitant Dreamer / Active Seeker / Prime Opportunist

• A weekly Reflections loop: quick check-in → AI summary → 2–3 specific next steps + resources

Free to start. Then optional layers if you want more handholding:

• Navigator ($49/mo) — monthly review + curated updates

• Co-Pilot (advisory) — bi-weekly 1:1 sprints

• Mission Control (execution) — fixed-scope deliverables like investor packs or GTM playbooks

Why we built it (the pain we felt)

Running cohorts, we saw high-effort plans die in week 3 because there wasn’t a lightweight weekly cadence that stuck. Founders bounced between docs, CRMs, and pitch feedback… no single place turning that into a tight action loop. We wanted something a solo founder could do in 10 minutes that actually changes their next 7 days.

How it works under the hood (for the curious)

• Stack: React front-end (Lovable), Supabase (Auth/Postgres/Storage), Resend (email), OpenAI (Edge Functions).

• Scoring: Hybrid rubric → deterministic base score with ±5 AI adjustment (with justification). We did this to keep numbers stable/transparent but still leverage nuance from free-text answers.

• Privacy: We don’t sell data or train models on founder inputs. Delete/export anytime.

Early traction (tiny but real)

• Soft launch to our network

• First few weeks: 25 assessments, 3 weekly reflections

What’s working

• Short diagnostic → founders actually finish it

• The weekly reflection feels “light enough” to repeat

• Mentor/library recommendations after the summary are getting clicked

What’s not (yet)

• “Active Seeker” vs “Prime Opportunist” boundary is still too fuzzy

• Founders want to see an example report before committing (we’re adding a sample)

Roadmap (next 30–60 days)

• Refine scoring thresholds & transparency panel (“why these numbers”)

• “See a sample report” + read-only demo account

• Partner pilots (2 accelerators / innovation programs) with co-branded portals

• Basic API/webhooks so cohorts can pull results into their own dashboards

What I’d love feedback on from IH

1. Would you actually use a 10-min weekly reflection if the output was actionable? What would make it a no-brainer?

2. Scoring transparency: prefer all-deterministic, or are you okay with the hybrid (+/-5) if we show our rubric?

3. Upgrade path: for solo hackers, would $49/mo for Navigator be worth it if it included a monthly 15-min review + curated intros/resources?

Try it (free) & break it

• Start here: https://compass.prepare4vc.com

• If you want to lurk first, DM me and I’ll share a read-only demo and a sample report.

If you’re running a small community/accelerator and want to test Compass with your founders, I’ll set up a 4-week pilot and share the results back with IH.

Happy to answer anything candidly—product, pricing, stack, or the messy parts of building this.

— Jason (Prepare 4 VC)