VALIDATION — The KG Papers + Structuring Sprint (7-day kill-test, <$50)
Goal: prove two things before writing more than the outline + one sample chapter: 1. Sprint demand (primary): at least one English-preferring GP actively forming/converting a KG will take a scoping call for a €5,000+ preparation engagement. 2. Guide demand (secondary): the €299/€249 field guide gets payment-shaped signals.
Total budget: $0–27 (domain optional). No paid ads. No accounts beyond free tiers.
The test
Sell the promise, not the product. Landing page (3 tiers) + LinkedIn story post + 20 warm DMs from PROSPECTS.md — segment-A Sprint DMs go out first, days 1–2, because Sprint conversations are the critical path to the €5k target.
Assets (all in this folder, built)
- Landing page —
index.html(3 tiers, Sprint featured; Impressum/Datenschutz stubs wired). Deploy to Cloudflare Pages. - Pre-order checkout — Lemon Squeezy, guide at €249 pre-order: “ships within 21 days; full refund anytime before delivery; 14-day no-questions refund after delivery.” Walkthrough €750 with Cal.com link in receipt. Sprint has no checkout — CTA books a free 20-min scoping call.
- Lead magnet —
entity-map.svg+lead-magnet.html(print to PDF). Built. - Sample chapter —
chapter-05-bafin-path-DRAFT.md; resolve[VERIFY]tags, then it’s the pre-order credibility proof and the practitioner accuracy-read artifact. - Email capture — Tally or Buttondown free tier.
- Launch post + DM scripts — README Morning Actions + PROSPECTS.md variants.
Day-by-day (outreach front-loaded)
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Deploy landing + checkout + capture. Send segment-A DMs (Sprint variant), first 5. Send sample chapter to 3 practitioner friends (PROSPECTS.md rows 9–11) for accuracy gut-check. |
| 2 | LinkedIn story post (Tue/Wed morning). Product link in first comment. Remaining segment-A DMs. |
| 3 | Segment-B (channel) and segment-C (amplifier) DMs. Book any scoping calls same-week. |
| 4 | Post the entity map itself as the follow-up LinkedIn post (give the best asset away — it’s the ad). |
| 5 | Share in 1–2 communities where self-promo is allowed (PROSPECTS.md channel table). Story framing, not link-drop. |
| 6 | Follow-up nudge to non-responders (“no worries either way — who should I be talking to?”). Run any booked scoping calls. |
| 7 | Score against thresholds. Write 5-line verdict at the bottom of this file. |
Thresholds (score on day 7)
GO — write the full guide AND pursue Sprints: - ≥ 1 Sprint scoping call held with an actively-forming GP (regardless of close yet), or - ≥ 2 paid pre-orders, or - ≥ 5 explicit “I would buy this” from people actually forming or advising on a KG, or - ≥ 40 target-population email signups.
PIVOT — signal exists but the mix is off: - Sprint interest but guide indifference → drop the guide to a free/€99 artifact, run the advisory practice. (This is a good outcome — the Sprint was always the revenue engine.) - Guide interest but no active formers → write the guide, park the Sprint until a former shows up; expect €1–2k/mo ceiling. - “My lawyer should hand this out” replies → B2B/channel edition via segment-B contacts.
KILL — archive with dignity: - 0 Sprint conversations and 0 pre-orders and < 3 “would pay” from 20 DMs and < 15 target signups. Refund any pre-orders same day (script in README).
Why these thresholds
- One €5k Sprint = the entire 30-day target; a single held scoping call with an active former is therefore stronger signal than dozens of likes or even several guide sales.
- 20 warm DMs into a network unusually dense in exactly this population is the cheapest high-signal channel. If that returns nothing, cold channels will do worse.
Cost ledger
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare Pages, Tally/Buttondown, Lemon Squeezy, Cal.com | $0 |
| Optional domain (kgpapers.com) — unicorn.land subdomain fine for the test | ~$12 |
| Entity map + lead magnet | $0 (built, in this folder) |
| LinkedIn, DMs, communities | $0 |
| Total | $0–12 |
Guardrails during the test
- Every asset: “Field notes and templates from a founder’s own experience. Not legal or tax advice (keine Rechts- oder Steuerberatung). Engage qualified counsel before forming any entity.”
- Paid-tier copy stays education-and-preparation framed (SPEC “Offer ladder” banned/house phrases). No “your situation mapped,” no structure recommendations.
- Credential line is personal only and verified against reality in Morning Action #2 before anything ships — no fund brand name, no fund documents, anywhere.
- Pre-order money is refundable and clearly labeled; KILL → same-day refunds with the graceful note in README.