| Gate | Core question | Founder action | Stop / go condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Frame | What exactly are we deciding? | Write one-sentence decision, date, responsible person, and at least 3 options | Do not continue if board/CEO authority or constraints are unknown |
| 2. Evidence | What would change our mind? | Reconcile customer behaviour, runway and rival hypotheses | If crucial sources are unverified, gather them before committing |
| 3. Challenge | Who can disagree without benefiting? | Run pre-mortem, map conflicts, choose internal or independent challenge | Escalate legal/securities/finance boundaries immediately |
| 4. Commit and review | What's the least irreversible next action? | Set cost cap, accountable owner, test and review date | Stop, modify or proceed on predeclared signals |
YC's discussions of pivoting and user conversations are useful for Gate 2; SEC's broker-dealer guidance makes Gate 3 critical for financing services. All about pivoting — Y Combinator How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator Broker-Dealers — US SEC