The Day Zero Readiness Scorecard

You know exactly what is broken.
You have never had to find a customer.

Twenty years in an industry is the hard part, and you already did it. The part nobody taught you is the part that decides whether any of it becomes a business.

Eleven questions, about four minutes, and a straight answer about where your idea actually stands. Then eight weeks to find out if anyone will pay you, without quitting your job.

No login. Your score shows on the page, straight away.
Your score
0out of 100
Getting warm
Customer proof
Clarity
Build discipline
Offer readiness
Portability
The one thing to fix next

Example result. Yours takes about four minutes.
§ 01The method

The Day Zero Method.

Three enemies. Three cures. Build is not one of them.

Enemy 01

The build trap. AI made building easy, and that is also a trap. Building is now the most comfortable part of starting a company, so it is where people hide. The product, the deck, the fourth rewrite of who it is for.

Enemy 02

Not ready. You will talk to people once it is finished. Once the demo works, once the deck is right, once you are sure who it is for. It is never finished, so the conversations never start.

Enemy 03

Scared to charge. You will have the conversations. People will tell you it sounds great. What you will not do is say a number out loud and ask someone to pay it. It is the one move you have never had to make, and the only one that produces an answer.

This is the method inside the Global Day Zero Sprint.

§ 02The session

The whole argument, in one sitting.

Thirty-two minutes, pre-recorded. The one sentence and the template for writing yours. The build trap, why AI made it worse, and what I cut from my own build. At least twenty-five conversations, where to find them, and what actually counts as a yes. There is a worksheet to fill in as you go.

Email to watch. No live date, no countdown, no replay expiring at midnight.
§ 03The scorecard

Four minutes. Then you know where you stand.

Eleven questions
About four minutes. No login, no signup wall.
A score out of 100
Plus a band, so the number means something.
Five areas
Customer proof, clarity, build discipline, offer readiness and portability. Scored separately.
The one thing
Your weakest area, and the specific next move.
Get your readiness score

No spam, and no sequence you cannot leave. Your score is yours whether you give me an email or not.

§ 04Words

From founders I've worked with.

I came to Matt @ Innovators Campus as a founder with ideas but not yet the confidence to articulate them clearly. What I found was a room full of people who genuinely wanted each other to succeed · and an environment that made it safe to be a work in progress. The feedback I received on my pitch was specific, honest, and immediately actionable. I left with a sharper message and a clearer sense of what I’m actually building.

N
Newton
Founder, Tokyo, Japan

Matt is truly intelligent, well-traveled, and highly experienced in both Japan and Australia. With his business background, cultural understanding, and tech-savviness, he mentored me to establish my business in Japan and expand to Australia in less than a year.

A
Ali
Founder, Perth, Australia

Matt is a great and responsible person to work with. I tried different coaches before but he is the best · I got a lot of insight every session. If you work with him, I promise you will develop some great outcomes.

R
Ryounosuke
Founder, Tokyo, Japan
§ 05Who I am

Two decades in the room, across two markets.

Nine years working with founders and VCs across Japan, on pitching, product, cofounderships and raises. Back in Australia, mentoring, judging and running events across the ecosystem, with one foot still firmly in Tokyo. I help founders get unstuck and build things that travel.

20+
Years in startups
150+
Founders mentored
9
Years in Japan
More about Matt →
§ 06Questions

The honest answers.

Do I have to give you my email to see my score?
No. Your score, the five areas and your weakest one all show on the page as soon as you finish. The email is only if you want the longer written version, and you can skip it.
Is this just a sales funnel?
It is a real diagnostic, and I use it to work out who the Sprint is not for. Roughly half the people who take it are not ready, and the score tells them what to do instead.
What if I score badly?
Then it did its job in four minutes instead of three years. A low score is information, not a verdict.
What is Global Day Zero?
A method and an 8-week cohort for people with fifteen years in one industry who are trying to get a first product off the ground. AI removed the build constraint. It never touched the customer one. The Sprint is about the second wall, not the first.
Who is this for?
Two situations. Either an idea you started and never finished, or something you built with AI over a few weekends that nobody is paying for. Same problem underneath, and it is not the product. Fifteen years in an industry, no product, marketing or sales background, and no intention of quitting your job to find out.
Are you going to teach me AI?
No. You are better at it than I am, and if you have already built something you have proved it. Build is one week out of eight and some people spend that week deleting things. This is about the part nobody taught you.
What does "designed to travel" actually mean?
You design for the market you are selling to now. The only thing you do about a second market is avoid accidentally ruling it out, while those decisions are still small and cheap to change. Pricing, currency, language, and how you have framed the problem. It is one week of the eight, not the whole point.
Do I have to be planning to go global to find this useful?
No. Getting the idea clear and proving someone will pay before you build is what saves the most wasted time, whether you ever leave your home market or not. The portable bit is insurance you buy while it is still cheap.
Watch the session · on demand Founders Across Borders: why you build for one market by accident, and what it costs. With Karen Onuma of GlobalDeal.
Watch the session →
Global Day Zero Weekly

Not ready to apply? Start with the thinking.

Every week: what founders in Australia, Japan and beyond are actually doing, read through the lens of someone getting a first product off the ground. Raises, playbooks, profiles, and one thing nobody taught you about product, marketing or sales.

Written for people building their first product, not for people who already have one

No spam. Unsubscribe whenever. I would rather you did that than sat on a list you do not read.

Curious first? Read the back issues →