Definition
Sprint Zero
The discovery and validation phase conducted before sprint 1 (before building begins). Includes a pirate metrics audit, assumption validation, customer interview analysis, and identification of the founder's existing distribution strengths. Produces a 1–1.5 month validated roadmap rather than code. The goal is to convert founder conviction into direction backed by data — not to delay building, but to ensure what gets built has a validated reason to exist.
From the episode “Hours Are Worthless, Replace Them with This”Hear it on the podcast1 episode
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