Graduation Criteria

You should aim to meet the following criteria before considering yourself ready to graduate from Startup to the Repeatable stage:

Multiple Paying Customers - You’re not limited to a single “lucky” customer that is also your uncle. You have several distinct paying customers.
Renewals and Basic Retention - Your customers are renewing or at least showing consistent usage. You have evidence that they intend to continue using (and paying for) the product.
Validated ICP - You’ve identified a focused ICP for whom your product consistently delivers quick wins.
Clear Buyer Understanding - You know who specifically is making the purchase decisions and why they’re buying. You also understand how they buy.
Basic Sales Process - A rudimentary but documented sales process exists. You’ve proven you can consistently pitch, demonstrate, price, and close deals.
Onboarding Process - You can get customers to start using the product in a structured way, minimizing friction, and resolving issues quickly.
Early Customer Success Feedback Loop - You have an informal but real way to get feedback from customers on product usage, feature requests, and pain points.
Evidence of Recurring Demand - While you might not have churn data fully realized, you’ve seen enough consistent usage to believe in the recurring revenue model.
Small but Passionate Team - You’ve got a cohesive group of doers who can handle the day-to-day demands. Roles might overlap, but it’s clear who’s driving which tasks.

Initial Funding in Place - You have sufficient seed funding (or revenue) to sustain basic operations while you figure out the repeatable mechanics.