Buyer gate · weeks 1 to 2
Five-Question Buyer Test
Find out whether interest is intent.
THE METHOD
A pathway shaped around your ambition.
Pentacorn is an operator-led accelerator for founders and established businesses. Your ambitions, appetite for risk and ways of working help shape the path—whether that means a profitable business you own, investment-led growth or an acquisition.
HOW IT WORKS
Every week ends in evidence.
The London weeks set the pace. In online weeks 3–7, weekly submissions, expert review and one-to-ones keep your work moving, with a full progress review in week 4.
Reviewed work builds your Proof Record: the evidence behind your decisions on buyers, economics, funding and scope. You and the programme lead see progress and gaps early enough to act.
See the full eight-week curriculumTECHNOLOGY-ENABLED
Technology behind your progress.
Pentacorn’s technology works in the background to guide the programme: what to focus on, what to test and which evidence to collect.
It keeps actions, submissions and feedback connected to your Proof Record, helping you and the programme lead track progress and spot gaps. We review the evidence and help you decide what comes next.
IN PRACTICE
Example pathways, tailored to you.
Explore how the evidence changes with your direction. Your business and personal preferences shape the work—not a fixed track.
| Gate | Evidence needed |
|---|---|
| Buyer | Someone pays, pre-orders or signs; conversation log with next steps |
| Economics | CAC, LTV and contribution margin that hold under test |
| Funding Path | Revenue, grants, debt or equity—chosen to fit your ambitions. |
| Scope | First product sized to the evidence and the budget |
LEARNING TOGETHER
Learn from experts and your peers.
Get practical learnings from specialists in finance, law, brand, product and technology.
Learn alongside other founders and business owners through shared experience, cohort discussions and peer review. Challenge assumptions and apply what matters to your business.
Individual experts, partners and contributors will be announced as confirmed, with clear roles in the programme.
OUR APPROACH
Evidence before ego.
We favour honest numbers, focused attention and working together over pitch polish. A profitable business you own is as valid an ambition as investment-led scale. Stopping can be the right decision.
Programme lead Greg Vartoukian brings financial discipline, an entrepreneur’s eye for opportunity and a practical grasp of technology.
FROM THE PATHWAY
Working tools from inside the programme.
Cohort founders use these at specific points. Register interest to hear when standalone versions are ready.
Economics gate · week 3
Unit Economics Calculator
Make your margins tell the truth.
Economics gate · week 4
12-Month Cash Runway Template
See the decisions coming before the cash goes.
Funding Path gate · week 6
Funding Route Selector
Consider the right capital, not just the obvious capital.
Building, buying & growing
Ideas & insights.
Working questions
Start with the question.
Practical articles on the questions behind the four gates. Explore the evidence, trade-offs and next steps for your business. Free to read here.
Who will pay, not just praise?
Separate encouraging feedback from buyer evidence. Identify the decision-maker, test a real commitment and record what remains uncertain before building more.
Read article →What is a customer actually worth?
Look beyond revenue and acquisition dashboards. Estimate contribution, servicing costs and cash timing before deciding whether more customers improve the business.
Read article →How small can the first product be?
Scope a product test around the decision it needs to support. Include technical feasibility, delivery costs and essential safeguards before funding a larger build.
Read article →Which kind of capital fits?
Compare customer-funded growth, debt and equity against your ambition, cash flow and risk. Decide what capital must achieve before choosing a funding route.
Read article →What would change your mind?
Set decision rules before a test begins. Record contrary evidence and choose whether to continue, change or stop without treating growth as the only valid outcome.
Read article →The next stepMake the next decision
Make the next decision
with better evidence.
8–10 participants. Five expert disciplines. Eight weeks to test what works.
Join the waitlistMore support, or continuing after the cohort?
Ask about Advisory Support