Testing Thursdays Resources

Testing Thursdays is an open-source founder acceleration system for helping builders move from assumptions to real market evidence faster.

The goal is not to maximize meetings, features, or feedback volume. The goal is to help founders reach the next meaningful market milestone safely and quickly.

Core loop

DEFINE END STATE → IDENTIFY CONSTRAINT → TEST / BUILD / SELL → SHIP → REACH USERS → MEASURE → LEARN → DECIDE → REPEAT

Use this repository when you need to

• validate an idea before overbuilding it;
• get an MVP in front of users faster;
• improve QA and usability testing;
• prepare a product for production;
• find first users or customers;
• improve activation, retention, pricing, or distribution;
• run founder accountability and breakout sessions;
• facilitate a Testing Thursday chapter or similar founder lab;
• use AI tools to audit products, codebases, screenshots, tests, and feedback;
• know what not to work on yet.

Start here

1. START-HERE/FOUNDER-ROUTER.md — determine stage, constraint, and next move.
2. founder-os/WEEKLY-FOUNDER-CARD.md — run a weekly founder operating cadence.
3. stage-gates/README.md — define what “ready for the next stage” means.
4. blockers/BLOCKER-DIAGNOSTIC.md — identify the true constraint.
5. facilitators/WEEKLY-RUNBOOK.md — run the event.
6. project-types/ — use the pack closest to your product.

Principles

1. Evidence beats opinions.
2. Founders should define success before asking for feedback.
3. Humans test human problems; machines should catch machine problems where possible.
4. Observe before prescribing.
5. Give testers goals, not click instructions.
6. Every serious bug should improve the regression suite.
7. Separate launch blockers from post-launch polish.
8. Every week ends with a concrete commitment and deadline.
9. Return with evidence, not a vague status update.
10. Installing tools is not progress; learning, shipping, selling, and retaining users are progress.
11. Distribution begins before the product feels finished.
12. Scale only after the core value and operating loop are understood.
13. The safest useful exposure level is usually better than indefinite private building.
14. AI can improve the testing process; AI is not a substitute for real users.
15. Higher-risk products require stricter launch and expert-review gates.

Repository map

• START-HERE/ — routing and quick-start guides
• founder-os/ — weekly founder execution system
• stage-gates/ — idea-to-growth readiness gates
• validation/ — interviews, waitlists, smoke tests, concierge MVPs
• users/ — recruiting and finding target users
• gtm/ — B2B/B2C distribution and go-to-market
• testing/ — human testing methods and tester training
• qa/ — functional, exploratory, regression, visual, and automated QA
• ai/ — AI-assisted audits, QA, feedback synthesis, and coding-agent workflows
• production-readiness/ — release, observability, security, rollback, support
• app-store/ — mobile launch, metadata, screenshots, ASO
• paywalls/ — monetization and subscription-state testing
• analytics/ — activation, funnels, retention, event taxonomy
• feedback/ — feedback quality, schemas, prioritization
• skills/ — founder micro-skills
• blockers/ — common execution bottlenecks
• pitfalls/ — common founder failure patterns
• project-types/ — product-specific test and launch packs
• facilitators/ — how to run high-quality sessions
• breakouts/ — repeatable session formats
• accountability/ — commitments, buddies, checkpoints
• chapter-kit/ — replication and chapter operations
• program-operations/ — metrics and program improvement
• tools/ — tool-selection guidance
• prompts/ — copyable prompts for AI-assisted work
• templates/ — reusable worksheets and forms

Safety note

This repository is educational and operational guidance, not legal, medical, security, financial, accounting, or regulatory advice. High-risk areas such as payments, sensitive data, security, regulated products, health, and compliance should be reviewed by appropriately qualified professionals where needed.