FounderSim™ • A Criterion Readiness Simulator • Criterion Readiness™
The Problem
Equity splits without vesting. Personal guarantees without reading them. Investor money without understanding the term sheet. Co-founders hired on vibes. Products built before validation. None of this is taught before the founder is in the room with a check being slid across a table.
FounderSim puts founders inside those moments before they are real. The scoring engine identifies behavioral patterns across 12 categories and generates a Founder Profile -- the archetype that determines how you make decisions when the pressure is on and the clock is running.
🈚 Live Scenario Preview -- Term Sheet IQ
It is 11:47 PM. A partner at Meridian Ventures just sent you a term sheet over email with a handwritten note: "We're excited about this. Let's close by Friday so we can both move fast." The sheet offers $650,000 at a $2.6M pre-money valuation. There is a full-ratchet anti-dilution clause in section 4.3. You do not know what that means. Your co-founder is texting: "This is it. Sign it." Your lawyer is on vacation until Monday.
What do you do?
What Gets Measured
Term Sheet IQ
Valuation mechanics, dilution, pro-rata rights, liquidation preferences, anti-dilution provisions, board composition.
Equity Literacy
Cap table management, vesting schedules, option pool allocation, secondary transactions, equity splits with co-founders.
Co-Founder Dynamics
Role definition, equity negotiation, conflict resolution, founder agreements, equity buyback provisions, separation scenarios.
Cash Flow Awareness
Runway calculation, burn rate management, bridge financing decisions, revenue recognition, accounts receivable discipline.
Hiring Risk
First hire decisions, equity compensation for early employees, contractor vs employee classification, culture vs skill tradeoffs.
Revenue Model Clarity
Pricing strategy, unit economics, customer acquisition cost vs lifetime value, freemium traps, enterprise vs consumer tradeoffs.
Legal Exposure
Personal guarantee decisions, IP assignment, NDAs, customer contract review, employment agreements, regulatory compliance.
Investor Relations
Board communication, update cadence, managing expectations, bridge ask timing, relationship with lead vs follow investors.
Market Timing
Launch readiness, MVP scope discipline, competitor response, adjacent market entry, product-market fit signals vs noise.
Pivot Readiness
When to stay the course vs redirect, sunk cost recognition, stakeholder communication during pivots, resource reallocation.
Brand Guard
Press and media decisions, social media during funding, competitive disclosure, partnership announcement timing, IP protection.
Exit Awareness
Acquisition conversation handling, secondary sale decisions, acqui-hire recognition, IPO readiness signals, founder liquidity tradeoffs.
Founder Profiles
Your behavioral pattern across 12 categories maps to a Founder Profile. Not a personality type. Not a quiz result. A decision signature built from how you actually respond under pressure.
The Visionary
"I see what nobody else sees yet."
✓ Exceptional at market timing and product intuition
⚠ Underestimates legal and cash flow exposure
The Operator
"If it isn't in the system, it doesn't exist."
✓ Exceptional cash flow and hiring discipline
⚠ Struggles with equity negotiation and investor relations
The Fundraiser
"I can close anyone."
✓ High investor relations and term sheet confidence
⚠ Overvalues deal speed, underreads legal exposure
The Collaborator
"We build this together."
✓ Strong co-founder dynamics and team building
⚠ Defers critical decisions to avoid conflict
The Builder
"I'll show you when it's done."
✓ Revenue model clarity and product discipline
⚠ Undercommunicates with investors, ignores brand
The Analyst
"Let me model that first."
✓ Strongest equity literacy and exit awareness
⚠ Analysis paralysis on hiring and pivot decisions
The Hustler
"Revenue fixes everything."
✓ Market timing instincts and cash flow urgency
⚠ Legal exposure blind spot, skips documentation
The Steady Hand
"We don't need to rush this."
✓ Exceptional legal and co-founder risk management
⚠ Slow on investor relations, misses market windows
The Solo
"I'll figure it out myself."
✓ High individual decision quality and brand discipline
⚠ Hiring avoidance creates scale ceiling
The Connector
"Let me introduce you to someone."
✓ Investor relations and brand guard strengths
⚠ Equity and cash flow awareness needs development
The Closer
"Tell me what it takes."
✓ Exit awareness and pivot agility
⚠ Overcommits resources, underweights co-founder risk
The Avoider
"That conversation can wait."
✓ Low-conflict team environment, strong brand taste
⚠ Critical decisions delayed until they become crises
The Experience
Setup
Company stage, industry, funding status, role. Two minutes.
Assessment
24 scenario-based decisions. Real pressure. Real stakes. No right answer shown until after.
Key Moments
Your three highest-gap decisions reviewed. Optimal path revealed. No judgment -- patterns only.
Founder Profile
Your archetype, 12-category breakdown, strengths, blind spots, and the mistake most likely to cost you.
Simulations
20 Career Path simulations. Funding rounds, board conflicts, hiring crises, acquisition offers. Three-year consequence timelines.
Who Buys FounderSim
Accelerators and Incubators
Your cohort arrives with wildly different readiness levels. FounderSim identifies who needs legal coaching, who needs financial discipline, and who is about to blow up their co-founder relationship -- before your program begins.
Cohort assessment • Curriculum targeting • Mentor matching
MBA Entrepreneurship Programs
Case studies teach retrospect. FounderSim creates the moment. Students make real decisions under real pressure and see consequences before they are managing someone else's money.
Curriculum integration • Assessment certification • Cohort analytics
Economic Development Agencies
SBDC offices, CDFIs, and state economic development programs serve founders who have never encountered these decisions before. FounderSim provides structured readiness documentation for loan and grant applications.
Loan readiness • Grant documentation • Technical assistance
FounderSim™
FounderSim is in development. Request early access for your accelerator, program, or organization and be the first to run it with your cohort.