​Foundations of a Startup

​Business documentation, financials, GTM & the anatomy of a pitch deck

​Most founders have the conviction. What they're missing is the structure.

​This is the session where the energy of the first five sessions gets translated into something an investor can read, a bank can assess, and a co-founder can commit to. Session 6 of The Psychology of Startups: Building Something Meaningful is the most practically loaded session in the series — and the one most founders wish they'd attended before they built anything.

​We don't just hand you templates. We stress-test your Business Model Canvas live in the room, walk through a three-scenario financial model you can actually use, and show you exactly how the PESO model turns your go-to-market strategy from a slide into a sequenced plan.

​By the end of this session, you'll have the bones of a complete business case — and you'll understand, for the first time, how each element connects to everything else.

​Led by Morné Maritz, Founder & CEO of Cogniate, former EY and Accenture partner, and an organisational psychologist who has built financial models for investors, co-created enterprise platforms, and is actively inside a live fundraising round.

​✅ What You'll Learn

• ​How to complete — and stress-test — a Business Model Canvas that actually changes your decisions

• ​How to apply Porter's Five Forces to map the competitive forces working for and against you

• ​How to build a 3-scenario financial model (base, bull, bear) without an MBA or a finance background

• ​How to design a Go-to-Market strategy using the PESO model (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned)

• ​How to use the Berkus Valuation Method to understand your pre-revenue worth across 5 criteria

• ​The 15-slide pitch deck architecture — what each slide must do, and why order matters

​🎤 Your Facilitator: Morné Maritz — Founder & CEO, Cogniate | MBA, Melbourne Business School (modules at Berkeley, WHU & Shanghai) | Former EY & Accenture Partner | Currently raising pre-Series A with Fortune 500 Letters of Intent | Author, The Leadership Balance Triangle | Morné builds what he teaches.

​🎤 Your Host: Diane Gogoleva — [Networking Expert & Events Curator | Founder of ________ | The person who makes sure the right founders are in the room when the frameworks land.]

​📥 Session Resource: Download the Commercial Worksheet (6-tab Excel workbook) — pre-populated with the BMC, financial model template, and PESO channel planner. Available to all registrants.

​Session 6 of 9. Each session stands alone — the series compounds.