The seven Phases
A founder is in a phase. Knowledge is for a phase. Adjacent phases sit next to each other in the sequence below. No wraparound.
- IPhase 1 of 7
Dream
Before the company exists.
The idea, the itch, the shape of a possible business. Validating desire, market, and self.
Adjacent · Launch - IIPhase 2 of 7
Launch
First version in market.
The first ten customers, the first version of the offer, the first proof.
Adjacent · Dream, Survive - IIIPhase 3 of 7
Survive
The long middle.
Cash flow, retention, focus, saying no. Most founders live here longest.
Adjacent · Launch, Stabilize - IVPhase 4 of 7
Stabilize
From heroics to systems.
Repeatable revenue and a working team. First real hires beyond the founder.
Adjacent · Survive, Grow - VPhase 5 of 7
Grow
Deliberate expansion.
Marketing that compounds, pricing that holds, a category the market recognises.
Adjacent · Stabilize, Scale - VIPhase 6 of 7
Scale
The machine runs without you in every room.
Leadership, delegation, org design, capital.
Adjacent · Grow, Legacy - VIIPhase 7 of 7
Legacy
Succession, exit, next chapter.
Wealth, identity, what the company becomes after you.
Adjacent · Scale
The phases tell you where. The Loop tells you how.
A founder in Survive works the same seven steps as a founder in Scale. The content changes. The motion does not. That is why the Loop lives above the phases - motion is the practice. Direction is the choice.
Use the phases to orient yourself. When you know which phase you are in, the rest of SOE - the Library, the Journey, the Canvas, the Loop - becomes relevant instead of noise.
What to read in each phase
Each phase maps to specific SOE chapters. Use these as your reading guide.