Know Your Phase: The Startup Lifecycle Masterclass with Gregory Shepard

A startup is not one long stage called "early."

The work changes as the company changes. The language changes. The people, capital, KPIs, relationships, and risks change with it.

When founders do the right work in the wrong phase, they create problems that compound. They take an unproven product to market. They optimize processes that have never been standardized. They pursue growth that increases revenue but decreases value.

The Startup Lifecycle was created to prevent that.

In this live masterclass, Gregory Shepard will walk through the seven phases every startup must navigate:

1. Vision and North Star
2. Prototype and Product
3. Go-to-Market
4. Standardizing for Growth
5. Optimization
6. Growth
7. Exit

The framework is based on Gregory’s experience building and selling 12 companies and five years of research that included interviews with more than 2,200 founders.

During the masterclass, Gregory will help you answer the questions that determine what your company should do next:

• Is your North Star clearly defined?
• Have you validated the problem before building the solution?
• Is your product ready for go-to-market?
• Are product, sales, marketing, and customer success aligned?
• Have you created repeatable processes before trying to scale them?
• Is your growth increasing enterprise value or simply increasing complexity?
• Are today’s decisions building the company toward a successful exit?

You will use the framework to identify your current phase, find the unfinished work holding your company back, and define a focused priority for the next 90 days.

This is a working session, not a general talk about entrepreneurship.

Bring the decision you are struggling with right now. It might involve your product, customers, team, capital, operations, growth, or exit strategy.

Gregory will close the afternoon with an open Q&A so you can apply the model to the company you are actually building.

Gregory Shepard is The Startup Architect. He has built and exited 12 companies and is the author of The Startup Lifecycle. His Startup Lifecycle, Startup Architecture, and Startup Operating System methods help founders understand where they are, focus on what matters now, and move from idea to exit. Gregory is also a Fulbright Scholar, Fulbright Specialist, and co-founder of the Fulbright Entrepreneurship Initiative, founder and CEO of StartupScience.io, and a TEDxSanDiego speaker.

Friday, October 16, 2026

1:00 PM to 3:00 PM PDT

Farmer & The Seahorse

10996 Torreyana Rd, Suite 240

San Diego, CA 92121

Choose Free Interest Registration to receive event updates, or purchase General Admission for $49.95. Both options remain open through October 16 at 3:00 PM PDT.

Space is limited. Come prepared to identify your phase, complete the work in front of you, and build toward the end game.

Info: Check in, meet founders and operators, and get settled for the masterclass.

Info: Gregory Shepard maps the 7-phase Startup Lifecycle and shows what to do, and what to skip, in each phase.

Info: Bring your hardest startup question, work through it directly with Greg, and leave with a clear next move.

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Farmer & The Seahorse, 10996 Torreyana Rd, San Diego, United States

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