Start with a founding theory, not just an idea.
TheoryUp helps founders uncover and form the founding theory of human nature that startups compound from.
Uncover Your Founding TheoryWhy do some startups compound into unicorns while most don’t?
The difference isn’t effort, talent, or speed.It’s the theory about human nature that the startup is built on, whether it was formed and tested or assumed.
- Many startups are well executed.
- Many even show early traction.
- But few grow into unicorns.
What does TheoryUp actually produce?
TheoryUp turns beliefs about human nature into a testable foundation. It surfaces and structures the core elements that define what a startup is actually built to test:
- The human drives the founder is trying to satisfy.
- The human truth that the founder believes is being overlooked.
- The assumption about the behavior the founder is challenging.
- The behavioral change the founder expects to occur.
- A founding theory that ties these together.
- Clear boundaries and criteria for what the startup can and cannot be.
- The alignment between the founder’s belief of human nature and what they are building.
Three modes for founders at different stages
Mode 1: Founder with No Idea
Reveals the assumptions about human nature that a founder is already acting from.
- Surfaces the founder’s underlying assumptions about human nature.
- Clarifies the kinds of problems this founder is structurally positioned to work on.
- Prevents idea-first startups built on accidental or borrowed assumptions.
Mode 2: Founder with an Idea
Examines what founding theory about human nature the idea is actually testing, and whether it aligns with the founder.
- Identifies the assumption about human nature embedded in the idea.
- Evaluates alignment between the founder’s understanding of human nature and the idea itself.
- Reveals internal inconsistencies before execution begins.
Mode 3: Existing Startup
Identifies the founding theory about human nature that the startup is executing, and whether it still matches the founder.
- Identifies what the startup is implicitly testing about human nature in reality.
- Compares this to the founder’s original assumptions.
- Highlights drift between the founder and what the company has become.
What TheoryUp is not?
TheoryUp is not:
- An idea generator
- A strategy tool
- A validation platform
- A Go-to-market system
- A pitch assistant
Those operate on decisions. TheoryUp operates on what makes decisions valid.
What's missing from startup creation?
Startups have systems for building, launching, and scaling. All the startup systems begin after the idea and act based on the idea.None helps form the belief about human nature that the idea is built on.TheoryUp operates at that missing starting point.