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Stage 0: Orientation
From Idea to Informed Direction
Orientation exists to explore one core question:
“Is this a problem I want to pursue, right now?”
This stage is not typically characterized by building, pitching, or selling. Instead, founders at this point are often working toward clarity, personal commitment, and early constraint-setting.
Stage 0: Chicago Organizations
1871 Build Programs
Serves: First-time and early-exploring founders assessing whether and how to pursue a startup path
Fit: Provides exposure, education, and low-commitment entry points that help founders understand the startup landscape before choosing a problem to solve.
Operating Stages Supported: Stage 0: Orientation, Stage 1: Problem Validation, Stage 2: Solution Shaping, Stage 3: First Traction, Stage 4: Readiness for Scale
Coleman Entrepreneurship Center
Serves: DePaul students, alumni, and aspiring entrepreneurs developing new ventures or exploring entrepreneurship.
Fit: Provides entrepreneurship education, mentorship, venture programming, and startup resources that help founders validate ideas, refine business models, and launch early-stage ventures.
Operating Stages Supported: Stage 0: Orientation, Stage 1: Problem Validation, Stage 2: Solution Shaping, Stage 3: First Traction
Entrepreneurial Development and Leadership Institute (EDLI)
Serves: Black, Latino, and women entrepreneurs seeking business readiness, funding preparation, and strategic support
Fit: Provides business assessments, targeted education, and resource navigation to help underrepresented founders strengthen their businesses and prepare for capital and long-term growth.
Operating Stages Supported: Stage 0: Orientation, Stage 1: Problem Validation, Stage 2: Solution Shaping
Startup Grind Chicago
Serves: Aspiring and early founders seeking perspective from experienced operators
Fit: Founder stories and community programming help individuals calibrate expectations and decide whether to commit to the startup journey.
Operating Stages Supported: Stage 0: Orientation, Stage 1: Problem Validation, Stage 2: Solution Shaping, Stage 3: First Traction, Stage 4: Readiness for Scale
Women's Business Development Center (WBDC)
Women's Business Development Center (WBDC)
Serves: Women entrepreneurs and small business owners launching, growing, or expanding businesses.
Fit: Provides business advising, education, capital readiness, and procurement support that helps entrepreneurs build stronger businesses and achieve sustainable growth.
Operating Stages Supported: Stage 0: Orientation, Stage 1: Problem Validation, Stage 2: Solution Shaping, Stage 3: First Traction, Stage 4: Readiness for Scale
Stage 0: 🧠 Resources
The Top 10 Hidden Realities of Starting a Business
An insight-driven article unpacking the often-overlooked realities of starting a business, helping aspiring founders set realistic expectations and avoid early misconceptions before committing time, capital, and identity.
Should you build a startup?
YC Group Partner Harj Taggar shares his advice on the types of people best suited to be startup founders and how to prepare to start a company in the future.
How to ACTUALLY Find a Business Idea
A grounded talk on where strong startup ideas actually come from—rooted in lived problems, personal insight, and observation, not brainstorming sessions or trend-chasing.
The TOP 3 Tips from The Mom Test
An accessible introduction to design thinking, showing how empathy, experimentation, and iteration help founders frame problems correctly before jumping to solutions or building prematurely.
How to get startup ideas
How to get startup ideas
YC Partner Jared Friedman shares advice on how to get startup ideas. This video was recorded for the future founder track in Startup School 2020.
