Free tool. Stage-gate template for your type of business.
Start from a reference cycle of six stages, see the question each gate answers, then rename, add or remove stages until it fits how you work.
What is a stage-gate template?
A stage-gate template is a list of stages, each closed by a gate: a question the project must answer with evidence, measurable criteria to pass, and a kill criterion that would stop it. People decide at each gate whether to go, stop, hold or redirect.
How to use it
The stages are a starting point, not a rule.
Choose the type of business
Software, a new line inside a company, or the reference cycle. Each type changes what the gates ask for.
Choose the stage names
A founder may say MVP; a company may say Pilot. The question behind each stage stays the same.
Write what each gate must prove
At least one measurable criterion per gate, with a number or a yes/no, and one kill criterion.
Export and agree it
Share the cycle before the first stage starts, so nobody changes the bar halfway.
Build your cycle
This tool needs JavaScript. The method and a worked example are below.
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Worked example
A new line inside an insurer, with company stage names. Example thresholds.
Illustrative data — Fictional company, ideas and figures, shown for illustration only.| Stage | Question the gate answers | Gate criterion | Kill criterion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 · Exploration | Is there demand for this product in a channel the company can use? | 50 purchase commitments within 90 days, through a real company channel | Fewer than 10 commitments within 90 days of starting the experiment |
| 02 · Pilot | Does the product work with real customers, within the company’s governance? | Product approved by internal governance and 100 active contracts in the pilot | Fewer than 25 active contracts 90 days after the pilot starts |
| 03 · Launch | Do customers pay repeatably, with healthy unit economics? | 1,000 active contracts and lifetime value at least 3× acquisition cost | Fewer than 250 active contracts 180 days after launch |
| 04 · Consolidation | Does it grow, do customers stay and is the cost to serve under control? | Annual retention of 80% or more and 20% annual growth | Annual retention below 70% |
| 05 · Deployment | Does it reach a size that matters to the company, profitably? | Break-even and revenue at the company’s materiality threshold | Still losing money three years after launch |
| 06 · Integration into the business | Does it perform as part of the business, or is it time to sell or wind down? | Annual decision: integrate, keep separate, sell or wind down | Losses sustained for 12 months |
FAQ
Is a stage-gate template the same as a stage-gate process?
No. The process is how projects move through stages and gates; the template is the written cycle you run it with: the stages, the question each gate answers and its criteria.
How many stages should a cycle have?
Six is a common reference, from validation to maturity. Many teams use four or five. What matters is that each gate asks one clear question and has measurable criteria.
Is stage-gate the opposite of lean startup?
No. Lean experiments answer each gate’s question quickly; the gate is where someone decides, with the evidence, whether to keep spending.
Who should decide at each gate?
Whoever owns the budget for the next stage: a founder, a studio’s partners, an innovation committee or a business sponsor. Write the role down before you start.
Is my cycle stored anywhere?
No. Everything stays in your browser until you export it or clear it.
What FounderFold adds
- Agents propose the stages and gates for each project from its type of business and your type of organization.
- Each portfolio and each project can adjust them; skipped gates stay visible as gate debt.
- Gate decisions are recorded by role, with date and reason, and feed the board report.
Example thresholds come from FounderFold’s reference cycles. Adjust them to your case.