What Is Startup.Ready.?

Most early-stage founders are not failing because they lack effort. They fail because they lack clarity. They build before validating the problem. They raise before understanding their unit economics. They commit serious time and capital to a foundation they have never examined.

Startup.Ready. is a structured startup readiness assessment platform that scores early-stage startups across six foundational pillars and uses AI to surface weak, unclear, or untested assumptions — before those gaps become expensive mistakes.

Built by Dr. Shaun P. Digan, PhD in Entrepreneurship, author of Persuade (Wiley, 2021), and 15 years of working directly with early-stage founders.

Key Features

Six-Pillar Readiness Diagnostic Every startup is evaluated across six foundational dimensions: Founder, Problem, Market, Business Model, Go-to-Market, and Financial. Each pillar gets its own score and diagnostic breakdown.

Startup Readiness Score (0–150) A single structured score that captures the overall strength of your startup foundation — not your idea, not your effort, your clarity.

AI-Powered Gap Analysis The platform identifies which assumptions are weak, untested, or contradictory across your six pillars and surfaces them for the founder to resolve.

Pillar-Level Diagnostics Each pillar score (0–25) comes with a specific diagnosis: what the foundation currently supports and where it breaks down.

Clarity Recommendations Actionable next steps tied to your weakest pillar. Designed to increase readiness through evidence, not activity.

Progress Tracking Retake the assessment after doing the work. Track how your readiness profile shifts across time.

Accelerator and Cohort Dashboard Programs and accelerators can baseline entire cohorts, track readiness over time, and identify common gaps across teams.

Mentor and Advisor Access Mentors get structured founder context before conversations — so sessions focus on the real gaps, not surface-level discussion.

Use Cases

Founders going full-time who need to know if their foundation is ready before making the leap
Accelerator applicants who want to identify structural gaps before reviewers do
Founders preparing to raise who need clarity on unit economics, market definition, and model before pitching
Founders feeling busy but stuck who cannot locate where the real problem is
Mentors and advisors who want a shared diagnostic to anchor founder conversations
Incubators and accelerators that need a consistent readiness signal to baseline and track cohorts
University entrepreneurship programs running structured diagnostics on student ventures

How To Use Startup.Ready.

Step 1 — Create Your Free Account Go to startupreadinessscore.com and sign up with your Google account. No credit card required.

Step 2 — Take the Assessment Answer 36 questions across six pillars. Takes 15–20 minutes. Answer from current reality, not intention. The assessment rewards honesty.

Step 3 — Receive Your Score Get your Overall Readiness Score (0–150), six pillar scores (0–25 each), a diagnostic summary, and clarity recommendations.

Step 4 — Do the Work Use the recommendations to address your weakest pillar. Work through the companion worksheets for deeper focus on specific gaps.

Step 5 — Track Your Progress Retake the assessment after making progress. See how your readiness profile shifts. Free plan includes two assessments. PRO unlocks up to eight per month.