PEF+: Founder Discovery Workshop: Know Yourself Before You Know What's Next
Join us if you're a post-exit founder in the "messy middle" - you've done some reflecting, but what comes next hasn't crystallized yet. You're not starting from scratch, but you need a method that isn't driven by outside expectations, pressure, or premature ideas.
In this 2-hour workshop, you’ll apply the same customer discovery discipline you used to build your company to one of the hardest problems you’ll face: figuring out what you want in this next chapter.
Why Customer Discovery for Founders?
As a founder, you know you can't just ask customers "what do you want?" You observe behavior, test assumptions, identify patterns, and build from evidence.
Figuring out what's next for yourself works the same way.
This workshop applies product development methodology to personal discovery:
Discovery before ideation - understand who you are before jumping to what you'll do
Behavior over narrative - what you actually do and need, not what you think you want
Build rubrics before deciding - create decision filters based on real criteria
Experiments over commitments - test before you commit
This isn’t introspection for its own sake. It’s a practical, founder-friendly method for rebuilding clarity and conviction using the same discipline you already trust.
What You’ll Do
Discover Your “Powers”
Surface your real strengths (including ones you’ve kept “outside of work”), the conditions where you tend to thrive, and what currently energizes versus drains you.
Optional pre-work: Ask a few people you trust what they consider to be your natural gifts, and when they’ve seen you thriving.
Build Your Decision Filter
Translate what you uncover into a small set of practical criteria you can use to evaluate opportunities going forward. Begin defining how you want to make decisions and measure success this time.
Create Your Identity Snapshot
Synthesize your reflections into a clear snapshot of who you are in this chapter. Practice language for talking about this in-between phase and get clearer on what you’re carrying forward versus intentionally leaving behind.
Orient Toward Next Steps
Gain clarity on what discovery work still remains before jumping into ideation or commitments. Learn simple language for naming where you are in the process (discovery, ideation, or testing) and how this session fits into a broader Founder Discovery arc.
What You'll Leave With
An identity snapshot: a grounded, honest way to articulate who you are and what you’re up to right now
A decision filter: practical criteria you can use to evaluate opportunities going forward
Clarity on stage: a better sense of what work still needs to happen before committing to “what’s next”
This workshop bridges the gap between unstructured reflection and premature idea generation, offering a grounded way to move forward without rushing or over-intellectualizing.
It can stand alone or serve as an entry point into a deeper Founder Discovery process.
About the Facilitator
Jeanette Mellinger helps founders and early-stage teams bring product rigor to the hardest questions, including whether, why, and how to build something next.
She works alongside founders and leadership teams, with deep focus on customer discovery, product development, and early company formation. Through partnerships with early-stage venture firms such as First Round Capital and Character Capital, her role as an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and her own advisory practice, Jeanette has worked with dozens of founders and pre-founders navigating moments of uncertainty, transition, and early conviction-building.
Earlier in her career, Jeanette built and led research organizations at hyper-growth companies including Uber Eats and BetterUp, where she pioneered applying discovery discipline to organizations and teams, not just products, leading to stronger, more durable outcomes. She also co-founded QuestBridge, an educational nonprofit, and holds degrees in psychology (MA) and human biology (BA) from Stanford, both focused on human behavior.
She's currently training as a Stanford GSB Interpersonal Dynamics course facilitator, deepening her work at the intersection of human behavior, identity, and strategic decision-making.
Learn more at jeanettemellinger.com