April 2026 — Action Plan
Post-Incorporation Sprint: Get the House in Order
Context: Corporation formed week of March 30 with Marco Wai (Gowling WLG). April is about standing up the infrastructure so development, marketing, and sales can run in parallel starting late April / early May.
Rhythm: Weekly Monday standup begins April 6. Each week has a theme and a “done means done” checkpoint.
Week 1 · April 1–4 — Foundations
Theme: The corp exists. Now make it real.
| # | Task | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open business bank account (dual signature — Tim + Jeff) | Tim, Jeff | Bring articles of incorporation + director IDs. TD or RBC business chequing recommended for startup simplicity. |
| 2 | Apply for CRA Business Number (BN) — includes GST/HST registration number for later activation | Tim | Can be done online same day at canada.ca/business-registration. Don’t activate GST collection yet — only required at $30K revenue. |
| 3 | Finalize Founding Member terms — Household 1,000 (one-time, 12 months access) | Tim, Jeff | Lock the offer before marketing builds anything around it. |
| 4 | Claim and standardize social handles — LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok | Sharlyn | Secure “Focura” on all four platforms. LinkedIn company page is highest priority. |
| 5 | Set up CRM — Bigin by Zoho for advisor pipeline + household tracking | Tim | Free tier is fine to start. Structure: Advisors pipeline + Households pipeline. |
| 6 | Begin user journey map — inquiry → demo → onboarding → first success moment (advisor + consumer paths) | Tim, Jeff | Doesn’t need to be perfect yet. Sketch it so onboarding and marketing are aligned. |
Carry-forward from March (resolve this week):
| # | Task | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Meet with Wayne — confirm tax treatment of software development costs and OTB payments | Tim | Critical before signing OTB agreement. Structure payments for maximum deductibility (SR&ED eligibility?). |
| 8 | Confirm IP protection — trademark search for “Focura” and “FOCURA Method”, domain ownership verified | Tim | Marco can advise on trademark filing. Domain is secured. Confirm no conflicting marks. |
✅ Week 1 checkpoint: Bank account open. BN applied for. Social handles claimed. Wayne consulted on dev cost tax treatment.
Week 2 · April 7–11 — Infrastructure & Agreements
Theme: Money in, money out, and the legal scaffolding.
| # | Task | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finalize and execute OTB agreement — incorporate Marco’s feedback on IP ownership, termination, warranty period, and payment-milestone linkage | Tim | See review notes: tighten code IP clause, add termination mechanism, tie final 25% to delivery acceptance, add 60-day bug fix period. |
| 2 | OTB kickoff meeting — confirm Phase 1 scope, timeline, milestone structure, and weekly sync cadence | Tim, Ryan | Share FileMaker architecture, Data API docs, and Cytoscape estate map build. |
| 3 | Select and set up accounting platform — QuickBooks Online ($15/month) | Jill | Connect to business bank account once open. |
| 4 | Meet with Ken — bookkeeping setup and ongoing accounting support | Sharlyn | Coordinate with Jill on chart of accounts and expense categories. |
| 5 | Execute team agreements — Jeff (Sales), Sharlyn (Marketing), Jill (Admin) — roles, compensation, IP clauses | Tim | Keep these simple. 2–3 pages each. Marco can provide templates or review. |
| 6 | Obtain E&O and Cyber liability insurance quotes | Tim, Jill | Get 2–3 quotes. E&O covers professional advice liability; Cyber covers data breach. Both essential before handling client estate data. |
| 7 | Set up KPI dashboard — shared spreadsheet for weekly pulse tracking | Tim, Jill | Simple Google Sheet: demos booked, founding members, MRR, pipeline. Fancy tools come later. |
| 8 | First Monday standup — April 7 | All | What shipped? What was learned? What’s the single bottleneck? |
✅ Week 2 checkpoint: OTB agreement signed. Kickoff scheduled. Accounting platform live. Team agreements executed. Insurance quotes in hand.
Week 3 · April 14–18 — Marketing Foundation
Theme: The storefront goes up. Nothing launches yet — but everything is ready to.
| # | Task | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finalize brand guide — fonts, colours, tone/voice guide, logo files (final approved versions) | Sharlyn | Tone: professional but plain-language. Avoid jargon. Empathetic to executor overwhelm. Never say “estate planning” when describing Focura. |
| 2 | Install Google Analytics, Search Console, and Facebook Pixel on fiveways.ca | Sharlyn | GA4. Tag Manager recommended for clean implementation. |
| 3 | Optimize website for conversion — primary CTA: “Book a Demo” / secondary: “Start Your Free Account” | Sharlyn | Review every page. Clear CTA above the fold on homepage. |
| 4 | Create lead magnet: “The Executor Checklist” (PDF, email-gated) | Sharlyn | Anchor on the “bureaucracy of death” problem. Practical, not salesy. |
| 5 | Set up email collection — newsletter signup + resource download gate | Sharlyn | Mailchimp free tier or ConvertKit. Segment: advisors vs. consumers from day one. |
| 6 | Publish pricing page — clear tier comparison, founding member offer prominent | Sharlyn, Tim | Household tiers (199) + Advisor tiers (299/month) + Founding Member callout. |
| 7 | Publish Founding Member offer page — remaining spots counter, benefits list, CTA | Sharlyn | Maximum 20 households + 10 advisors. Urgency framing. |
| 8 | Build and deploy email nurture series — 5 messages / 3 weeks (consumer), 3 messages (advisor) | Sharlyn | Already drafted per checklist — needs deployment into email platform. |
| 9 | Create advisor one-pager PDF — the business case for Focura: engagement, estate map conversation, differentiation | Sharlyn, Jeff | Leave-behind for demos and LinkedIn outreach. Not a brochure — a value argument. |
| 10 | Define service SLAs — support reply within 24 hours, critical data issues within 4 hours | Tim, Jill | Document now, even if it’s just the two of you responding. Sets expectations. |
| 11 | Set up Stripe — connect to business bank account, configure consumer (annual) and advisor (monthly) billing flows | Tim, Jill | Can’t take Founding Member payments without this. |
| 12 | Finalize privacy policy and terms of service — coordinate with Marco | Tim, Jill | Must be published before collecting any user data or payments. |
✅ Week 3 checkpoint: Website has pricing, founding member offer, lead magnet, and email capture live. Stripe can accept payments. Privacy policy published.
Week 4 · April 21–30 — Content Launch & Outreach Begins
Theme: Start talking. Advisors hear from Jeff. The market hears from Sharlyn.
| # | Task | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Publish first weekly blog post — begin the cadence | Sharlyn | Mix of topics: bureaucracy of death, Tell Your Story, Estate Map, advisor value. One per week from here forward. |
| 2 | Launch LinkedIn advisor outreach — personalized by vertical (insurance, financial planning, accounting) | Jeff | Lead with Estate Map value, not software features. Minimum 50 targets from existing connections. |
| 3 | Create Founding Member outreach email + LinkedIn message | Jeff, Sharlyn | Warm contacts first. Personal, not templated. Jeff sends. |
| 4 | Write Tell Your Story explainer — what it is, why it matters, who it’s for | Sharlyn, Tim | Target audience: women in their 50s–70s who are primary organizers or estate survivors. |
| 5 | Build press/media kit — logo files, founder bio, app screenshots, company overview, key stats | Sharlyn | Ready for any PR opportunities that come up. Don’t wait until you need it. |
| 6 | Write advisor objection playbook — “We already calculate income tax on death” and other expected pushback | Jeff | Focura is additive, not competitive. The response framework matters more than individual answers. |
| 7 | Draft onboarding checklist for new advisor and household clients | Tim, Jill | What happens from payment to “first success moment”? Document it step by step. |
| 8 | Implement backup and disaster recovery for FileMaker + production data | Tim | Daily snapshots minimum. Test a restore. Don’t skip this. |
| 9 | Document data handling procedures — retention periods, deletion protocols, data portability | Tim, Jill | PIPEDA compliance. All data in Canada (AWS Canada East). |
| 10 | Build 12-month cash flow spreadsheet — monthly in/out, burn rate, break-even month, capital buffer | Tim, Jill | Use the budget numbers from the startup doc. Forecast expenses 2 months early, revenue 2 months late. |
| 11 | Book first three advisor demo calls | Jeff | Target: by April 30. Even if the product isn’t demo-ready, the conversation is. Use the FileMaker prototype. |
✅ Week 4 checkpoint: First blog post live. LinkedIn outreach running. Founding member emails sent to warm list. Cash flow model built. First demo calls on the calendar.
April Exit Criteria
By April 30, these must be true:
- Corporation is operational — bank account, BN, insurance bound
- OTB agreement signed and kickoff completed — Phase 1 build underway
- Team agreements executed — Jeff, Sharlyn, Jill formalized
- Website is conversion-ready — pricing, founding member offer, lead magnet, email capture, privacy policy all live
- Stripe is accepting payments
- First blog post published, weekly cadence established
- LinkedIn advisor outreach launched — 50+ targets contacted
- Founding member outreach sent to warm contacts
- 3 advisor demo calls booked for May
- Cash flow forecast complete — burn rate and break-even month identified
- Weekly standup rhythm established (4 completed by month-end)
Key Dependencies to Watch
| Dependency | Blocks | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Marco’s availability for agreement reviews | OTB signing, team agreements, privacy policy, trademarks | Send all docs to Marco in Week 1. Batch the legal work. |
| Wayne’s tax guidance | OTB payment structure, SR&ED eligibility | Book immediately — one meeting is enough. |
| Bank account opening | Accounting setup, Stripe, accepting payments | Go in person Day 1 with all docs. Don’t wait for an appointment. |
| OTB agreement finalization | Phase 1 kickoff, dev timeline | Don’t let legal perfection delay the kickoff. Get the critical terms right (IP, termination, warranty) and sign. |
| Brand guide completion | All marketing materials, pricing page, one-pagers | Sharlyn needs to deliver this by Week 3 or everything downstream slips. |
Document created: March 30, 2026 Next review: April 7, 2026 (first Monday standup)