The Founder's First 90 Days Checklist

Starting a company feels like jumping out of an airplane and trying to build a parachute on the way down. In the first 90 days, your absolute priority is talking to customers and building your product.

However, if you neglect the structural foundations of your business during this honeymoon phase, the parachute will fail exactly when you need to deploy it (e.g., when you try to sell the company or raise money).

Here is the non-negotiable operational checklist for your first 90 days.

Phase 1: The Legal Foundation (Days 1–30)

During the first month, you exist to make the company a real legal entity separated from your personal assets.

1. Agree on Co-Founder Equity: Do not code a single line or sell a single hour of consulting until you and your co-founders have explicitly agreed on equity splits in writing. Include a vesting schedule (standard is a 4-year vest with a 1-year cliff). If they quit in month 3, they get nothing.
2. Incorporate the Entity: Choose Delaware C-Corp if you are raising venture capital, or an LLC in your home state if you are bootstrapping a cash-flow business.
3. Get a Tax ID (EIN in the US): This is the social security number for your business. You literally cannot do anything commercial without it.
4. Sign IP Assignment Agreements: Every founder and early contractor must sign a document legally transferring the intellectual property they create into the company's name. Investors will audit this.
5. Open a Business Bank Account: Mercury or Novo are great for US startups. Never, ever mix personal and business funds. Pay for business expenses only with the business card.

Phase 2: The Financial Foundation (Days 31–60)

Now that you exist legally, you need to exist financially.

1. Set Up Basic Bookkeeping: Connect your new bank account to a free tool like Wave or a basic QuickBooks tier. Categorize your first month of expenses right now so it becomes a habit.
2. Buy Core Business Insurance: At a minimum, you need General Liability insurance. If you provide professional services (like consulting or software dev), buy Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) insurance. It costs ~$50/month and stops clients from suing you into personal bankruptcy.
3. Determine Your Core Metric: Pick one number that defines your survival. Is it Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)? Number of active beta users? Define it and put it on a dashboard you check daily.

Phase 3: The Commercial Foundation (Days 61–90)

You are ready to transact.

1. Draft Your Standard Contract: Do not stitch together a contract from random Google searches. Have an attorney draft (or buy a highly reputable template for) your standard Master Service Agreement (MSA) or Terms of Service. It should include your payment terms, IP ownership, and liability caps.
2. Set up a Payment Gateway: Open a Stripe or Wise account. Figure out exactly how you will generate invoices and how clients will physically pay you.
3. Secure Your Digital Assets: Register your domains, set up professional Google Workspace email addresses (you@yourcompany.com), and lock down all social media handles.

The 90-Day Litmus Test

By Day 90, you should not be spending more than 2 hours a week on "administration."

If you have executed this checklist properly, the legal and financial infrastructure of your business is now running in the background. You can spend 100% of your time on what actually matters: Building a product people desperately want to buy.