Overall Progress
0 / 20 tasks
Phase One
Build the
Foundation
Foundation
Before anything else, you need the legal, financial, and conceptual groundwork in place. These aren't glamorous steps — but they're what makes everything that follows credible and protected.
1–3
Weeks
✓
Register Your Business Entity
Form an LLC in Arizona to protect yourself personally and establish True Jobs as a legal business. This takes about a week and costs under $100 via the AZ Corporation Commission.
Why first: You can't open a business bank account, sign contracts, or accept payments without this.
🔴 Do This First
✓
Secure "True Jobs" Domain & Brand
Check truejobs.com and alternatives (.co, .io, truejobsaz.com). Register what's available. Also check trademarks at USPTO.gov to make sure the name is clear to use.
Why now: A name conflict discovered later costs far more to fix than checking it today.
🔴 Do This First
✓
Open a Dedicated Business Bank Account
Keep business money completely separate from personal. A free business checking account (try Relay, Mercury, or a local credit union) also looks professional when invoicing employers.
Why it matters: Mixing funds creates tax and legal headaches later that are expensive to untangle.
🔴 Do This First
✓
Draft the "True Jobs Standards" Charter
Write the short document that both employers and applicants agree to when joining. Defines: response timelines, no-ghosting commitment, feedback obligations. This is your brand's most powerful differentiator — put it in writing.
Why this phase: Every other piece of copy, the website, and pitch all reference this document. It's the soul of the business.
🔴 Do This First
✓
Set Your Pricing Model
Research what Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter charge Phoenix employers per job posting or per applicant. Then set your rate at a meaningful discount. Know your numbers before talking to a single employer.
Why now: Employers will ask immediately. "We're cheaper and better" isn't enough — you need a specific number.
🟡 This Week
The Founder's Mindset for This Phase
Resist the urge to start calling employers right now. I know it's exciting — but arriving with a name, a legal entity, a charter, and a price is the difference between "I have an idea" and "I have a business." Employers can feel that difference in the first 30 seconds of a conversation.
Phase Two
Build the
Platform
Platform
Now you build what people will actually experience. You don't need perfection — you need something real enough to show and trustworthy enough to use.
3–7
Weeks
✓
Launch a "Coming Soon" Landing Page
You already have a beautiful concept — update it with the True Jobs name, your Standards Charter summary, and an email capture for both employers and job seekers. Go live immediately.
Why now: Every conversation you have from this point on ends with "go to our site and sign up." You need a place to send people today.
🔴 Critical
✓
Choose Your Tech Stack (MVP First)
You don't need to build custom software yet. An MVP can be built fast using tools like Notion + Tally forms, or a simple WordPress/Webflow site with job posting forms. Save custom dev for V2.
Why this matters: Many founders spend 6 months building the "perfect" platform before talking to a single user. Don't. Ship something, learn, then improve.
🟡 This Week
✓
Build the Employer Onboarding Flow
Design the step-by-step process an employer goes through: agree to Standards, fill out job details, set response timeline commitment, pay posting fee. Even a Google Form + invoice can work at first.
Why this phase: This is what you'll demo when you pitch to employers. They need to be able to picture themselves doing it.
🟡 This Week
✓
Create Email Templates for Every Touchpoint
Write the actual emails: applicant confirmation, employer receipt, "you've been shortlisted," "here's where you stand," "here's why you weren't chosen + how to improve." These templates ARE your product.
Why this is key: The email templates are literally how True Jobs delivers on its promise. They deserve as much care as the website.
🔴 Critical
✓
Set Up Social Presence
Claim @TrueJobs (or TrueJobsAZ) on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. LinkedIn is most important — that's where Phoenix employers and job seekers already live. Start posting 3x/week before launch.
Why early: Building an audience before launch means your first job posts get seen by real people, not just crickets.
🟢 Soon
Your Biggest Asset Right Now
The email templates and the Standards Charter aren't just operational tools — they're your sales pitch made tangible. When you sit across from an employer and show them the respectful rejection email their candidates will receive, that's when they lean in. That's when they get it.
Phase Three
Seed the
Market
Market
Now you're ready to reach out — but strategically. The goal here is to land 5–10 founding employers and build a waitlist of job seekers before anything goes fully public.
6–10
Weeks
✓
Choose Your First Industry Vertical
Don't try to serve all industries at once. Pick one sector in Phoenix where hiring frustration is high — hospitality, healthcare support, skilled trades, or retail. Dominate that niche first, then expand.
Why narrow: "The job board for Phoenix hospitality" is 10x more compelling than "a job board for everyone." Specificity builds trust.
🔴 Critical
✓
Identify 20 Target Employers to Approach
Search Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter right now for Phoenix employers actively posting in your chosen vertical. These are warm leads — they're already spending money and already frustrated. Build a simple spreadsheet with company name, hiring manager if visible, and where they're posting.
Why these people: They have budget, active need, and a pain point you solve. Perfect prospect.
🔴 Critical
✓
Craft Your Employer Outreach Pitch
Write a short, human, honest outreach message — email or LinkedIn DM. Lead with the problem they know ("hiring on Indeed feels like shouting into a void"), then your solution. Offer a free first posting for founding employers. Ask for 15 minutes.
Why this works: You're not selling a product — you're offering relief from a pain they feel every day.
🔴 Critical
✓
Build Your Job Seeker Waitlist
Reach out to Phoenix-based Facebook groups, Reddit (r/phoenix), local community boards, and LinkedIn. Tell your story honestly — you're building something different and you want people who are tired of being ghosted to be the first to experience it.
Why organic: People who find you because they believe in your mission become your best word-of-mouth ambassadors.
🟡 This Week
✓
Partner with Local Organizations
Connect with Phoenix-area workforce development orgs, community colleges (GCC, MCC, PVCC), and nonprofit job training programs. They serve job seekers who desperately need a more humane experience and will refer people to you.
The multiplier: One partnership with a workforce org can send you dozens of motivated, prepared job seekers at no cost.
🟡 This Week
The "Chicken and Egg" Problem — and How to Solve It
Every marketplace faces this: employers won't post without applicants, and applicants won't come without jobs. Solve the employer side first — even just 3–5 real job postings — then announce to your job seeker waitlist. A small number of real, high-quality postings is more compelling than a big empty board.
Phase Four
Public
Launch
Launch
You have employers posting, job seekers waiting, and a platform that works. Now you open the doors — and use your first real success stories to fuel everything that comes next.
10+
Weeks
✓
Set a Public Launch Date & Announce It
Pick a date and commit. Share it publicly on LinkedIn, in your email list, and in Phoenix community groups. Countdown content creates excitement and accountability. A deadline makes everything real.
Why commit publicly: It creates urgency for employers to post and job seekers to sign up before you go live.
🔴 Critical
✓
Pitch Your Story to Local Phoenix Media
Contact the Phoenix Business Journal, AZCentral, and local news stations. "Phoenix entrepreneur builds job board that guarantees no ghosting" is a compelling human-interest story. You don't need a PR firm — a well-written email pitch works.
Why media: A single local news mention can drive more traffic than months of social posting. And it's free.
🟡 Plan Ahead
✓
Collect & Publish Your First Testimonials
After your first successful hires, immediately ask both the employer and the hired candidate for a testimonial. "I finally heard back — and got real feedback" is more powerful marketing than any ad you could run.
Why fast: Social proof from real Phoenix people is your most credible sales tool. Collect it from day one.
🟡 Plan Ahead
✓
Define Your Success Metrics
Track what matters: response rate (% of applicants who heard back), time-to-response, employer renewal rate, applicant NPS score, and cost-per-hire vs. big boards. These numbers tell your story and prove your model works.
Why measure: In 90 days you'll want real data to show the next 50 employers. "98% of applicants received a response" is a headline that sells itself.
🟢 Ongoing
✓
Plan Your Expansion Roadmap
After Phoenix proves the model, map out: second vertical, second city, possible white-label for staffing agencies, and eventually a full tech platform. Keep this in a doc — it helps with investor conversations and keeps you motivated.
Why plan ahead: The vision of True Jobs isn't just Phoenix — it's a new standard for hiring nationwide. Keep that in view.
🟢 Future
The Bigger Picture
What you're building isn't just a job board — it's a new social contract between employers and job seekers. If True Jobs proves the model works in Phoenix, you have a story that could attract national attention, investor interest, and franchise potential. Document everything from day one. Your journey is part of the product.
🎉 You're ready to change hiring in Phoenix.