It's Monday. Product tells you the new feature ships Friday. Sales has already mentioned it to prospects. Nobody has written release notes. The demo script doesn't exist. Customer success doesn't know it's launching.
This is every startup launch.
Launch readiness isn't about perfection. It's about ensuring the minimum viable enablement exists so launches don't create chaos, confusion, or missed opportunities.
Here's the checklist that keeps early-stage launches from imploding.
The 72-Hour Minimum Checklist
If you have three days until launch, you need these six things:
1. One-page launch brief
- What's launching (one sentence)
- Who it's for (specific persona)
- Why it matters (customer outcome)
- How to access it (where is it in the product)
- Key messages (three bullets)
2. Internal announcement
- Slack post or email to all teams
- Link to launch brief
- "Ask me anything" time for questions
3. Sales talking points
- Three-sentence pitch for the new capability
- When to mention it in sales conversations
- Who to target with it
4. Customer communication
- Email to existing customers OR in-app notification
- Explain what's new and how to use it
- Link to documentation or help article
5. Support documentation
- Help article or FAQ
- Screenshots showing how to access
- Common questions answered
6. Demo capability
- At least one person who can demonstrate it (product, sales, or you)
- Screen recording showing it in action (Loom video works)
If you ship with these six things, you've met minimum launch readiness. Everything else is optimization.
The One-Week Checklist
If you have seven days, add these items:
Sales enablement:
- Updated pitch deck with new capability
- Battlecard if it affects competitive positioning
- Objection responses if it addresses common concerns
- Email templates for reps to send prospects
Customer success enablement:
- Guide for how to introduce to existing customers
- Use cases for different customer segments
- Migration guide if it replaces existing functionality
Product marketing assets:
- One-pager (PDF) explaining the capability
- Updated website copy if it's a major release
- Social media posts (2-3 variations)
Measurement plan:
- What success looks like in 30 days
- How you'll measure adoption
- Who owns tracking and reporting
With one week, you can create professional enablement that positions the launch for success.
The One-Month Checklist
If you have 30 days, you can do a proper launch:
Pre-launch activities (Weeks 1-2):
- Identify beta customers for early access
- Conduct pre-launch interviews to validate positioning
- Build comprehensive sales and CS enablement
- Create demo environments or sample data
Launch week activities (Week 3):
- Internal announcement and training
- Customer email or in-product announcement
- Website updates
- Sales outreach to target accounts
Post-launch activities (Week 4):
- Monitor adoption metrics
- Gather early customer feedback
- Update materials based on real usage
- Create case studies from early wins
30 days enables a proper launch rhythm, not just shipping and hoping.
The Launch Brief Template
Every launch needs a brief. Here's the template:
What's launching: [Product name / feature name]
Launch date: [Date it becomes available to customers]
Who it's for: [Specific customer segment or persona]
Problem it solves: [Customer pain point this addresses]
Key capability: [What it does in one sentence]
Why it matters: [Business outcome for customers]
How to access: [Where customers find it in product]
Success metrics: [How we'll measure if it's working]
Key messages:
- [Message 1]
- [Message 2]
- [Message 3]
Owner: [Who's responsible for launch execution]
This fits on one page. Circulate it to all stakeholders before launch. Get sign-off.
Sales Readiness Questions
Before any launch, ask your sales team:
"Can you explain this capability in one sentence?"
If they can't, your positioning is unclear.
"Who should you talk to about this?"
If they say "everyone," your ICP targeting is too broad.
"What objection does this overcome?"
If they don't know, you haven't connected it to real sales challenges.
"How will you know if a prospect cares about this?"
If they can't identify qualifying questions, they won't know when to pitch it.
If sales can't answer these four questions, delay the launch until enablement improves.
Customer Success Readiness Questions
Ask your CS team:
"Which customers should hear about this first?"
If they say "all of them," you haven't prioritized rollout.
"What will customers ask about this?"
If they don't know, you haven't thought through customer concerns.
"What could go wrong during rollout?"
If they say "nothing," you're not being realistic.
"How will we support customers who need help?"
If there's no plan, launches create support chaos.
CS readiness prevents launches from creating retention problems.
The Internal Launch Meeting
Three days before launch, run a 30-minute alignment meeting with product, sales, CS, and marketing.
Agenda:
Review launch brief (5 min): Confirm everyone understands what's launching and why.
Walk through customer experience (10 min): From awareness to activation, what's the customer journey?
Confirm readiness (10 min):
- Are sales materials ready?
- Is support documentation live?
- Are emails scheduled?
- Is the product actually shipping on time?
Flag risks and blockers (5 min): What could go wrong? What's not ready?
This meeting catches 90% of launch disasters before they happen.
The Launch Communication Sequence
Proper launches follow a communication sequence:
T-3 days: Internal teams
- Brief product, sales, CS, support
- Share all enablement materials
- Conduct live training if needed
T-1 day: Final check
- Confirm product is shipping on time
- Verify all materials are accessible
- Test customer communication (send to small group first)
Launch day: Customers
- Email announcement or in-app notification
- Update website and documentation
- Enable sales team to pitch it
T+1 day: Check adoption
- How many customers activated?
- What questions are coming in?
- What's broken or confusing?
T+7 days: Iterate
- Update materials based on early feedback
- Fix documentation gaps
- Share early wins with teams
This sequence prevents chaos and enables fast iteration.
Common Launch Failures
Launching without support docs: Customers try it, get confused, give up. You've created a negative experience.
Sales finds out when customers do: Reps look uninformed. Customers ask questions sales can't answer.
No measurement plan: You don't know if the launch succeeded or failed.
Overpromising timeline: Product slips by 3 days. Sales already told customers it's live. Credibility damaged.
No demo environment: Sales can't show the capability. Prospects can't understand value.
All of these are preventable with a checklist.
The Post-Launch Review
One week after launch, conduct a 30-minute retrospective with key stakeholders.
Three questions:
What worked well? Celebrate successes. Repeat these patterns.
What didn't work? Identify failures without blaming people. Fix the process.
What would we do differently next time? Update your launch checklist based on lessons learned.
Document these insights. Your next launch should be better than this one.
When to Delay a Launch
Delay if:
Core functionality isn't ready: Broken features destroy trust faster than delays build impatience.
Critical enablement is missing: Sales can't pitch it, support can't help with it, customers can't find it.
Major customer issues are unresolved: Launching new capabilities while existing features are broken frustrates customers.
Key stakeholders aren't aligned: Product says one thing, sales says another, customers get confused.
Delayed launches are disappointing. Broken launches are disastrous.
The Minimum Viable Launch
Early-stage companies can't do perfect launches. Aim for minimum viable:
Must have:
- Clear positioning (what it is, who it's for, why it matters)
- Sales talking points
- Customer communication
- Support documentation
- Someone who can demo it
Nice to have:
- Professional graphics
- Video demos
- Case studies
- Press coverage
- Events or webinars
Ship the must-haves. Add nice-to-haves as you scale.
The Launch Readiness Scorecard
Before any launch, score readiness 1-5 on each dimension:
Product readiness: Is it actually shipping and stable?
Sales readiness: Can reps pitch it and know who to target?
CS readiness: Can CS introduce it to customers and support adoption?
Documentation readiness: Can customers self-serve if they have questions?
Measurement readiness: Do we know how to track if it's working?
If any dimension scores below 3, address it before launch.
Start With the Checklist
Print this launch readiness checklist. Use it for every launch.
Over time, you'll customize based on what your company needs. But starting with a systematic checklist prevents ad-hoc chaos.
Launch readiness isn't about perfection. It's about ensuring minimum viable enablement exists so:
- Sales can sell it
- Customers can use it
- Support can help with it
- You can measure if it worked
Get these four things right and launches create value instead of chaos.
That's how launch readiness works for startups.