four-steps

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
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Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 5015fcf4cde3 · 26 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publishergetagentseal GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source foldergetagentseal/founder-playbook/skills/four-stepsThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict5015fcf4cde3A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 19 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Applies Steve Blank's Customer Development methodology from The Four Steps to the Epiphany. Use when a startup is searching for customers and a business model before scaling. Covers Customer Discovery, Customer…

---
name: four-steps
description: "Applies Steve Blank's Customer Development methodology from The Four Steps to the Epiphany. Use when a startup is searching for customers and a business model before scaling. Covers Customer Discovery, Customer Validation, Customer Creation, and Company Building. Triggers include 'we built it but no one's buying', 'should we hire salespeople yet', 'how do we find our first customers', 'we're burning cash and sales aren't scaling', 'are we in a new or existing market', 'when do we scale'. NOT for companies that have already crossed the chasm into mainstream (use Crossing the Chasm instead), not for optimizing an existing sales funnel, not for product development methodology (this is its companion, not replacement)."
---

> **Note:** This skill is independent analysis and commentary, not a reproduction of the original text. It synthesizes the book's core ideas with modern startup practice, surfaces where frameworks are outdated or incomplete, and integrates perspectives from adjacent disciplines. For the full argument and context, read the original book.


# The Four Steps to the Epiphany

> "Startups that survive the first few tough years do not follow the traditional product-centric launch model. Through trial and error, hiring and firing, successful startups all invent a parallel process to product development. I call this process 'Customer Development.'" - Steve Blank

## Should You Use This Skill?

```
Are you searching for customers and a business model (not executing a known one)?
├─ YES → This skill is for you
└─ NO  → You have paying customers and a repeatable sales process?
         ├─ YES, but stuck before mainstream → Use Crossing the Chasm
         ├─ YES, scaling fine → You're past this. Use Company Building concepts only
         └─ NO, still pre-product → Start here at Customer Discovery

Have you validated that people will pay for your product?
├─ NO  → Start at Customer Discovery (Step 1)
└─ YES → Can you describe a repeatable sales process?
         ├─ NO  → You're in Customer Validation (Step 2)
         └─ YES → Have you matched your launch to your Market Type?
                  ├─ NO  → You're in Customer Creation (Step 3)
                  └─ YES → Company Building (Step 4)
```

---

## The Core Insight

**9 out of 10 new product introductions fail.** Not because the products don't work - because the companies never found customers.

The Product Development model (Concept → Build → Test → Launch) was designed for manufacturing in the early 1900s and adopted by consumer packaged goods in the 1950s. It works when you're launching a new product into an existing market with known customers. **Most startups have neither.**

```
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (what everyone does):
  Concept/Seed ──→ Product Dev ──→ Alpha/Beta ──→ Launch
                                                    ↑
                                              "Where are the
                                               customers?"

CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT (what winners do - in parallel):
  ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐
  │ Customer │←──→│ Customer │←──→│ Customer │───→│ Company  │
  │ Discovery│    │Validation│    │ Creation │    │ Building │
  └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘
       ↻               ↻               ↻
    iterate          iterate         iterate
```

Customer Development is a **companion** to Product Development, not a replacement. Each step is an **iterative circle** - going backwards is natural and valuable, not failure.

> "It's OK to screw it up if you plan to learn from it." - the heart of the methodology.

---

## The Ten Flaws of the Product Development Model

| # | Flaw | Consequence |
|---|------|-------------|
| 1 | **Where are the customers?** | Greatest risk is customer/market development, not product development |
| 2 | **Focus on first customer ship date** | FCS means Engineering is done, not that you understand customers |
| 3 | **Execution instead of learning** | Sales/marketing hired for what they know, not what they can learn |
| 4 | **No meaningful sales/marketing milestones** | "Hire, fire, repeat" substitutes for real progress metrics |
| 5 | **Product dev used to measure sales** | Clock to tell temperature - measures the wrong thing |
| 6 | **Product dev used to measure marketing** | All plans made in "a vacuum of real customer feedback" |
| 7 | **Premature scaling** | Fully staffing sales/marketing before knowing if anyone will buy |
| 8 | **Death spiral** | Premature scaling → burn rate → missed numbers → fire VP Sales → fire VP Marketing → fire CEO |
| 9 | **Not all startups are alike** | Four Market Types need radically different strategies |
| 10 | **Unrealistic expectations** | "Build it and the customers will come" is not a strategy, it's a prayer |

> "In a startup, no facts exist inside the building, only opinions."

---

## The Four Market Types

**Everything depends on Market Type.** It changes how you find customers, how you launch, how you spend, and how long it takes to become profitable.

| Market Type | Definition | Competitors | Time to Profit | Key Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Existing** | Higher performance than what's currently offered | Known incumbents define the market | 12-18 months | Cost of entry (Lanchester rules) |
| **New** | Enables something customers couldn't do before | Non-consumption / other startups | 3-7 years | Market may never materialize |
| **Resegmented (Low-cost)** | "Good enough" at substantially lower price | Incumbents who abandon low margins | 18-36 months | Must be profitable at low price |
| **Resegmented (Niche)** | Radical enough to change the rules for a subset | Incumbents who defend profitable core | 18-36 months | Segmentation must be spot-on |

> "Market Type changes everything a company does."

### How to Tell Which Type You're In

```
Are there existing companies selling comparable products?
├─ NO  → NEW MARKET
│       

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/getagentseal/founder-playbook
git -C founder-playbook checkout 5015fcf4cde3

Works in

1. 2026-10-26
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 5015fcf4cde3

Questions about four-steps

• github.com/getagentseal/founder-playbook/tree/main/skills/four-s — the audited source at commit 5015fcf4cde3 and every finding aboveObserved · 26 Oct 2026

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