Find Your Winnable Market
The Founders Cohort pairs 20 business owners with 15 years of go-to-market expertise to help you identify where to focus, what to say, and how to build real momentum that actually drives growth for your business.
Join the Q1 CohortThis is hands-on go-to-market support for founders who need clarity, tighter focus, and help moving through the hard parts — in real time.
When Growth Feels Inconsistent
You built something real. But traction is inconsistent or missing.
That usually means one of two things: you are not sure where you fit yet, or you are spreading effort across too many directions.
The Founder’s Cohort is a live working environment. This is not a course and not a passive program.
Over ten weeks, we work side by side to narrow focus, reduce guesswork, and build a path toward revenue that fits your business and your constraints.
What This Cohort Is
- A working container: weekly sessions built around your business, not examples.
- Co-labor: shoulder-to-shoulder work to identify what matters next and what does not.
- A build environment: NORAH is being refined. This cohort pressure-tests the logic using real founder decisions.
This is designed for Detroit founders who want clarity and forward motion, not another webinar and not another generic playbook.
Who This Is For
This cohort supports two founder moments.
1) You are early and trying to find your path
- You have a real product or service, but you are unsure where to focus first.
- You want a clear direction you can commit to, not ten competing options.
2) You started, but momentum stalled
- You are doing a lot, but growth is slower than it should be.
- You need to identify what is blocking progress and what to change first.
What You Get in Cohort 1
Every founder receives:
- Clarity on where to focus: the decisions that matter most right now.
- Winnable segments and use-cases: a tighter market focus you can actually pursue.
- Positioning and messaging foundations: language you can use across your website, pitch, and outreach.
- A 90-day execution plan: what to do, when to do it, and how to measure progress.
- Live sessions: weekly working time with Q&A and applied guidance.
This is pilot pricing because we are building in the open. The value is the co-labor and the clarity you build while NORAH is being refined.
How This Cohort Supports Detroit Founders
Detroit-Aware Strategy (NORAH)
Custom strategy grounded in Detroit-specific data, local market patterns, and your business inputs. Not generic advice.
Founder-Specific Focus
We prioritize what will move the needle for your business right now, instead of forcing everyone through the same checklist.
Live Build Sessions
Review real signals from your business, make decisions in real time, and adjust direction based on what’s working, not theory.
Micro-Marketing Blue Puddle Identification
Identify 3–5 viable opportunities and choose which one makes sense to pursue now, based on capacity and momentum.
Shared Insight, Independent Execution
Learn alongside other founders while applying the work in a way that fits your goals, timing, and business reality.
Forward Motion Without the Dependency
The goal is clarity and momentum you can carry forward. Not keeping you inside a program longer than necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What actually happens during the 10 weeks?
We start with an intake and a deep conversation about your business. From there, we work through live sessions where real decisions are made, priorities are set, and execution happens in real time — not as homework.
Is this a course or a curriculum?
No. There are shared themes each week, but the work is applied differently depending on your business. This is a working container, not a one-size-fits-all program.
What is NORAH’s role in the cohort?
NORAH is a Detroit-aware decision-support system that synthesizes local data, market patterns, and your business inputs to surface viable opportunities and guide prioritization.
Is this just AI-generated advice?
No. NORAH supports human judgment — it doesn’t replace it. Strategy decisions are shaped by real conversations, real data, and real-world context.
How hands-on are the live sessions?
Very. We review real signals from your business, talk through decisions, and adjust direction as conditions change — instead of waiting weeks to course-correct.
What if my priority is different from other founders?
That’s expected. Everyone learns from the same shared intelligence, but execution is tailored to what matters most for your business right now.
How do you measure progress during the cohort?
Progress is measured continuously. But precisely which metrics are tracked depends on what the founder is optimizing for. That means for a founder looking to increase online sales, website conversions are tracked. Whereas, a founder looking to pursue funding for a nonprofit would find us optimizing for authority and impact – tracking credibility signals. The good news is we’re not just watching – if something underperforms, we adjust quickly. If a new opportunity emerges, we can expand our targeting to allow us to leverage the new opportunity.
What should I expect to have by the end of the 10 weeks?
Clear direction, forward momentum (important), and a playbook you can continue running independently.
Do I need to join another cohort after this one?
Not necessarily. Most founders leave with enough clarity and momentum to continue on their own. Additional cohorts only make sense if you want to pursue a new opportunity later.
Is this designed to keep me dependent on the program?
No. The goal is autonomy. You’ll be actively learning how to identify and solve business problems. That skillset you’ll take with you. You’re always welcome to go back through to program to identify and pursue additional micro-markets or fine tune your strategy. But once you complete the ten weeks, you’ll be well-tooled.
What This Cohort Is Designed to Do
Most cohorts give you inspiration and community — then send you back into the wild to figure out the hard parts alone. This one is built for forward motion.
We work with your real constraints, your real business, and the decisions you’re trying to make right now. You’ll leave with a clear direction and a 90-day plan you can actually execute.
Why This Cohort Exists
I’m building NORAH — a go-to-market intelligence platform for Detroit founders. To build it right, I need to be in the room with you. I need to hear how you describe your struggles, feel where you get stuck, and understand the decisions that matter most. That’s how I teach the machine.
This cohort is designed to pressure test NORAH’s logic while giving you hands-on strategic support. You’re not beta testers — you’re getting full strategic work at accessible pricing because your real problems help me build something that actually works for Detroit founders.
What you’ll get
- Market focus: clarity on where to aim first
- Positioning + messaging foundations: language you can use across your site and outreach
- A 90-day execution plan: what to do next and how to measure progress
- Direct access to expertise: shoulder-to-shoulder work to solve real blockers as they show up
What I’ll get
- Language and insights from real founders: how you describe problems, where you get stuck, what language actually resonates
- Pattern-spotting opportunities: recurring decisions, common blockers, and the gaps between what founders think they need and what actually moves them forward
- Validation of NORAH’s logic: testing whether the signals and frameworks I’m building actually help you make better decisions
- Real-world edge cases: the messy scenarios that break generic advice and require Detroit-specific intelligence
All insights are anonymized. Your specific business details stay yours.
Choose the Level of Support You Need
Both options start with the same foundation: understanding what your business is actually trying to solve for right now. The difference is how much hands-on support you want while doing the work.
For founders who can execute independently and want clarity, focus, and a plan they can carry forward on their own.
- Founder intake form
- Discovery call
- Market focus and positioning direction
- 90-day execution plan
- Weekly live sessions with Q&A
- Access to session replays
- Community access and peer support
- Templates and working documents
For founders who want hands-on support, faster feedback loops, and help working through real blockers in real time.
- Founder intake form
- Discovery call
- Small-group live build sessions
- Hot seat coaching for real decisions
- Office hours for 1:1 support
- Early access to evolving NORAH features
Important Details
12 Weeks • January 19 – March 27, 2026
Click each week to see what you’ll learn, why it matters, and when live sessions happen.
We can’t build a strategy without understanding where you are, what you’ve tried, and what’s actually blocking progress. This phase ensures I see your business clearly so we can chart the right path forward.
Intake questionnaires, 1:1 discovery calls (30 mins), business analysis
No sessions: Jan 16, Jan 19
You can’t position yourself in a market you don’t understand. This week maps where you actually fit in the landscape so you stop guessing and start making informed decisions.
Understanding your market landscape (pre-recorded + async)
Available by appointment
No sessions: Jan 19
Your competitors aren’t your enemy—they’re proof the market exists. Understanding where they win and where they fail shows you where opportunity lives.
Finding your winnable market segment
Wednesday Jan 29, 10am-12pm (Virtual, up to 15 founders)
Saturday Feb 1, TBD (In-Person, 10 founders)
Draft positioning statement
“Everyone” is not a customer. Defining your ideal customer profile means you stop wasting effort on people who will never buy and start focusing on people who need what you have.
Deep dive into ideal customer profiles
Wednesday Feb 5, 10am-12pm (Virtual, up to 15 founders)
Saturday Feb 8, TBD (In-Person, 10 founders)
Target customer profiles (2-3 detailed avatars)
Real life happens. This week gives you space to catch up on deliverables without falling behind.
No sessions this week. Catch-up week. Office hours available by appointment only.
You know what you do. Your customers don’t care. This week translates your solution into language that connects your offer to the problems people actually pay to solve.
Crafting your core message & positioning framework
Wednesday Feb 19, 10am-12pm (Virtual, up to 15 founders)
Saturday Feb 22, TBD (In-Person, 10 founders)
Messaging map & core pitch
No sessions: Feb 17
Being everywhere gets you nowhere. This week identifies where your customers actually pay attention so you stop spreading yourself thin and start showing up where it counts.
Where to show up and what to say
Wednesday Feb 26, 10am-12pm (Virtual, up to 15 founders)
Saturday March 1, TBD (In-Person, 10 founders)
90-day content calendar outline
Strategy without execution is just theory. This week builds the actual assets you need—landing pages, LinkedIn profiles, pitch decks—so you can implement immediately.
Building your visibility infrastructure
Wednesday March 5, 10am-12pm (Virtual, up to 15 founders)
Saturday March 8, TBD (In-Person, 10 founders)
Core marketing assets
All the pieces you’ve built need to work together. This week assembles your complete 90-day plan so you know exactly what to do next and how to measure whether it’s working.
Putting it all together
Office hours only (no large group sessions this week)
Complete 90-day marketing plan
Presenting your plan out loud reveals gaps you can’t see on paper. Getting feedback before you execute means you launch with confidence, not crossed fingers.
Wednesday March 19, 10am-12pm (present your plan)
Saturday March 22, TBD (present your plan)
Final feedback, case study interviews, testimonials
Thursday March 27, 6-7:30pm (virtual happy hour)
Get the Hands-On Support You Need
If you want direct access, faster feedback loops, and live build time to work through real blockers—Market Entry gives you the support to move with confidence.
Join Market Entry – $199