Stage 2: Forecasting the Next 12 Months — From Facts to Foresight

Transform Your Early SaaS Insights Into a Realistic 12-Month GTM & Revenue Forecast

Stage 2 takes everything you learned from your competitive landscape, ICP definition, and buyer signals — and converts it into a clear 12-month plan. No vague spreadsheets. No guesswork. Just a realistic, data-backed roadmap that aligns your GTM, pipeline, product priorities, and revenue targets so you know exactly what to execute next.

Why Forecasting Breaks for Early-Stage SaaS

Most early SaaS forecasts fail for one simple reason: they assume maturity that doesn’t exist yet. Founders often struggle because:

  • You don’t have enough pipeline data to model revenue confidently.
  • Win rates aren’t yet stable — everything feels like a guess.
  • You’re not sure how fast enterprise cycles will move.
  • Investors want a forecast, but you don’t want to make up numbers.
  • Your deck doesn’t explain how you’ll grow — only that you plan to.
  • You don’t yet know which ICP segment will produce repeatable wins.

Stage 2 fixes this by grounding every assumption in your Stage 1 intelligence and the realities of early enterprise SaaS.

What You’ll Have at the End of Stage 2

1. A Realistic, Executive-Ready 12-Month Forecast

Your ARR projection, broken into quarterly milestones, based entirely on achievable assumptions — not founder optimism.

2. Bottom-Up Pipeline Model

A fully built model you can update monthly, including pipeline stages, coverage, deal size, win rates, cycle times, and sales capacity assumptions.

3. ICP-Aligned GTM Plan

A clear, targeted GTM plan that tells you exactly who to target, what channels matter, what messaging resonates, and what to stop doing.

4. Product & Roadmap Alignment

Feature priorities based on competitive positioning, buyer signals, revenue impact, and gaps preventing deals.

5. Cash, Runway & Hiring Alignment

A view of how pipeline, revenue, burn, and hiring must align so you don’t scale too early — or too late.

6. Investor-Ready Narrative

A forecast story grounded in your ICP, category dynamics, buyer behavior, and a defendable execution plan — not wishful thinking.

What Stage 2 Includes

  • Pipeline Coverage & Capacity Model
  • Segmented Forecast per ICP / Persona
  • Deal Size, Win Rate & Cycle Time Assumptions
  • 12-Month GTM Strategy (Channels, Plays, Messaging)
  • Quarterly Milestones
  • Product & Roadmap Prioritization Matrix
  • Hiring Plan Recommendations
  • Investor Narrative Summary
  • Optional: 2–3 pitch-deck forecasting slides

How Stage 2 Works (Step-by-Step)

Step 1 — Data & Signals Intake (Week 1)

We review all Stage 1 outputs, early pipeline conversations, CRM (if any), pricing tests, product roadmap, and founder assumptions.

Step 2 — Modeling & Scenario Building (Weeks 1–2)

I build out bottom-up revenue models, pipeline coverage assumptions, ICP-segmented scenarios, and hiring + runway alignment.

Step 3 — GTM & Roadmap Alignment (Week 3)

We meet live to align GTM channels, messaging, product priorities, pricing implications, and the next round of experiments.

Step 4 — Final Forecast Pack + Follow-Up (Week 4)

You receive all spreadsheets, summaries, and pitch-deck slides — plus a 30-day follow-up session to adjust assumptions based on early learning.

Investment

Most Stage 2 engagements fall between $1.500 and $4,500, depending on:

  • Number of ICP segments modeled
  • GTM complexity
  • Sales cycle length
  • Depth of scenario planning required
  • Whether investor-ready slides are included

Payment plans are available for pre-revenue founders.

Who Stage 2 Is Perfect For

  • You’re pre-revenue, pre-seed, or seed stage and need a real plan — not spreadsheet fiction.
  • You want an investor-ready forecast grounded in evidence.
  • You want clarity on what to execute in the next 12 months.
  • You want alignment between GTM, product, and runway.
  • You want expert support from someone who has built enterprise SaaS forecasts before.

Not a fit if:

  • You want a simple spreadsheet template.
  • You’re unwilling to challenge assumptions.
  • You have no buyer conversations yet (Stage 1 comes first).
  • You’re building a B2C app or hobby SaaS product.

What Founders Say

“Stage 2 finally gave us a forecast we could stand behind. John built assumptions we could defend in investor meetings, and our raise went dramatically smoother.”

Pre-Seed FinTech SaaS Founder

“We’d been using made-up numbers for months. This was the first time we had a real GTM plan, aligned with ICP, product, and runway.”

Seed-Stage AI SaaS CEO

Ready for a Forecast Investors Will Believe?

Share where you are today, and I’ll give you an honest assessment of whether Stage 2 is the right next move — or whether Stage 1 or Stage 3 makes more sense.