phase 1 of 4
Understand: who buys
This phase hands off one thing: a filter of who fits and who doesn't.
- Brief intakeThe ICP is only as good as the brief under it. This page lists every field the brief needs, where each one comes from, how much to trust it, and which line of the ICP it feeds.
- Market researchBefore the ICP is drawn: list the competitors, map every channel they distribute through, and note where their customers talk and complain. The gaps in that map are where you start.
- ICP and the trigger windowTurn the brief into a filter anyone can check from outside: who fits, who you'd turn away, and the trigger window that says when someone is ready.