# Foundation Sprint Brief: Brainshelf

A worked brief for the Brainshelf founding team, following a Go verdict from `tool-foundation-sprint-readiness` with one yellow flag (competitor research, closed via May 12 evening prep).

## Initiative Statement and Stakes

Brainshelf is a pre-seed B2C product for readers who want a better way to track what they have read and what they want to read next. The founding team is preparing for a friends-and-family raise in Q3 2026. Wrong product direction now could mean rebuilding the core experience post-raise, burning runway, and weakening the case to seed investors. The sprint exists because the team is divided on a load-bearing strategic call (individual collectors vs social readers) and needs to commit before MVP scoping.

## Decision the Sprint Must Unlock

> Should Brainshelf optimize first for individual collectors (private library tracking, personal recall, low social friction) or for social readers (community feeds, recommendations, book clubs, public profiles)?

## Sprint Logistics

| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Dates | Wednesday 2026-05-13 and Thursday 2026-05-14 |
| Hours | 09:00 to 17:00 each day (PT) |
| Location | Hybrid (Jamie and Sam in-person at Seattle co-working; Alex and Riley remote on Zoom and Miro) |
| Format | Workshop with structured digital whiteboard |
| Tools | Miro (board), Zoom (video), shared Notion (decision log) |
| Daily rhythm | 09:00 standup, 12:30 lunch (45 min), 16:45 day-end review |

## Team Roster

| Attendee | Role | Day 1 AM | Day 1 PM | Day 2 AM | Day 2 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie | Decider, PM | required | required | required | required |
| Alex | Design lead | required | required | required | required |
| Sam | Engineering lead | required | required | required | required |
| Riley | Customer expert | required | required | required | required |

No cameo experts. The team is the team.

## Existing Inputs to Bring

1. **22-interview synthesis** (Riley). Themes already clustered; printed copies for Day 1 morning reference.
2. **One-page competitor cards** (Riley). Goodreads, StoryGraph, Bookly, LibraryThing, compiled May 12 evening per readiness precondition.
3. **Discord notes on reader frustrations** (Riley). Anonymized from her 12k-member book-blogger network.
4. **Pre-seed pitch deck draft** (Jamie). Context only, not for input.
5. **Brand and visual sketches** (Alex). For Day 1 PM differentiation context only.

## Success Criteria

The sprint is **successful** if:

1. By end of Day 2, the team ratifies a single Founding Hypothesis using the canonical "If we help X solve Y with Z..." template.
2. The Hypothesis is specific enough to translate into a Design Sprint challenge.
3. The Hypothesis Scorecard identifies the highest-risk assumption (the one the Design Sprint should test first).
4. The team has a documented backup plan (the runner-up approach) if the top bet invalidates.

The sprint is **unsuccessful** if any of the above is missing or if the team ratifies a hypothesis that is structurally too vague to test ("we will build a great book app for readers" is not testable).

## Readiness Reaffirmation

The Go verdict from `tool-foundation-sprint-readiness` (2026-05-12) remains in effect.

- [x] Decider availability still confirmed for both days (Jamie).
- [x] Preconditions closed: Riley completed the competitor one-pagers on the evening of May 12 as planned.
- [x] No new risk factors have surfaced.
- [x] Conditional Go yellow flag (competitor research) is now closed.

## Decider Checkpoint

**Decider sign-off required before Day 1 begins.**

- [x] Jamie confirms scope: a single Founding Hypothesis is the deliverable.
- [x] Jamie confirms team and attendance windows.
- [x] Jamie confirms success criteria (testable hypothesis ratified by end of Day 2 with scorecard and backup plan).
- [x] Jamie acknowledges that the team will NOT preserve both individual-collector and social-reader paths at the end of Day 2; one becomes the top bet, the other becomes the backup or is dropped.
- [x] Jamie commits to attending the Day 2 closing session.

**Signed:** Jamie (founder, PM), 2026-05-12 21:30 PT
