Startup root file · StartupBuilder

Property	Value
Path	`startup.ts`
Holds	Startup
Kind	file
Leaders	db-first, git-first
Team	Founding Team
Written by	Startup.create, Template.extend, Change.merge
Compiled by	StartupBuilder

Example

startup.ts in a Startup repository.

startup.ts

import { Startup } from 'startup-builder'

export default Startup({
  name: 'Closewise',
  domain: 'closewise.com',
  extends: 'agent-run-services',
  idea: 'Monthly books for small agencies, reconciled and reviewed.',
  hypothesis: {
    customer: 'Agencies with 5 to 50 staff and no in-house bookkeeper',
    problem: 'Month-end takes three weeks and still misses entries',
    approach: 'Agents reconcile every entry, and a controller reviews each month',
    switch: 'A part-time bookkeeper and a spreadsheet',
    differentiation: 'Books done within three business days of month end',
  },
  msc: { metric: 'outside-revenue', value: 5000, by: '2027-06-30' },
  signup: 'magicLink',
  refundWindow: '14d',
  offers: {
    'monthly-close': {
      price: { amount: 499, currency: 'USD' },
      interval: 'month',
      terms: 'Books done within three business days of month end, tied out to the bank.',
    },
  },
})

Exports

Export	Kind	Type
`default`	default	`Startup`

Signature

TypeScript

Startup(definition: StartupDefinition): Startup

Generates

StartupBuilder compiles it into these records, Verbs and routes.

Kind	What
Records	Startup, Setting, Interface
Verbs	Startup.create, Template.extend
Routes	`/{ns}`, `/{ns}/api`

Keys

Every key the root file takes, in TypeScript, MDX frontmatter or JSON. A key under a map sits below one member, written *.

Key	Type	Default	Description
`name`	`string`	Required	The Startup’s name, as buyers see it. Example: `'Closewise'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`domain`	`url`	None.	Its home Domain; its Sites, API and docs serve there. Example: `'closewise.com'`. Read by SiteBuilder.
`extends`	`startup-template`	None.	The Startup Template it extends; everything it does not set is inherited from it. Example: `'agent-run-services'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`idea`	`text`	None.	The Idea in one sentence. Example: `'Monthly books for small agencies, reconciled and reviewed.'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`hypothesis`	`object`	None.	The Founding Hypothesis, one key per slot. Read by StartupBuilder.
`hypothesis.customer`	`text`	None.	Who it is for. Example: `'Agencies with 5 to 50 staff and no in-house bookkeeper'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`hypothesis.problem`	`text`	None.	What they struggle with. Example: `'Month-end takes three weeks and still misses entries'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`hypothesis.approach`	`text`	None.	How the Startup solves it. Example: `'Agents reconcile every entry, and a controller reviews each month'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`hypothesis.switch`	`text`	None.	What they use today and would leave. Example: `'A part-time bookkeeper and a spreadsheet'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`hypothesis.differentiation`	`text`	None.	Why they would switch. Example: `'Books done within three business days of month end'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`msc`	`object`	None.	The Minimum Success Criteria: the Metric, the value and the date that make the Startup worth keeping. Read by StartupBuilder.
`msc.metric`	`metric`	None.	The Metric it is judged on. Example: `'outside-revenue'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`msc.value`	`number`	None.	The value the Metric must reach. Example: `5000`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`msc.by`	`date`	None.	The date it must reach it by. Example: `'2027-06-30'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`reserve`	`object`	None.	The reserve page’s two values nothing else supplies: the ship date and the threshold. Read by SalesBuilder.
`reserve.ships`	`date`	None.	The date reservers are told the product ships. Example: `'2027-01-15'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`reserve.threshold`	`object`	None.	The bar the reserve test must clear, fixed before the page goes live. Read by SalesBuilder.
`reserve.threshold.deposits`	`number`	None.	How many outside deposits pass the test. Example: `8`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`reserve.threshold.reached`	`number`	None.	How many people the page must reach. Example: `40`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`reserve.threshold.by`	`date`	None.	The date the deposits must arrive by. Example: `'2026-11-05'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`offers`	`map`	None.	Its own Offers, keyed by id; a larger Offer lives in `offers/`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`offers.*.price`	`money`	None.	The amount and currency it charges each interval. Example: `{ amount: 499, currency: 'USD' }`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`offers.*.interval`	`string`	None.	How often it bills: `once`, `day`, `week`, `month` or `year`. Example: `'month'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`offers.*.terms`	`text`	None.	What the buyer gets, in one sentence. Example: `'Books done within three business days of month end.'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`routes`	`map`	None.	Routes to a Custom Implementation, keyed by path; every other route is generated. Read by SoftwareBuilder.
`routes.*.to`	`string`	None.	The program in `code/` that serves the route. Example: `'code/legacy-webhook'`. Read by SoftwareBuilder.
`routes.*.reason`	`text`	Required	Why no Verb, saved query or MCP tool could serve it. Example: `'A partner posts form-encoded webhooks that no Verb accepts.'`. Read by SoftwareBuilder.
`locale`	`string`	`'en-US'`	The language and region its Pages and Messages are written for. Example: `'en-GB'`. Read by SiteBuilder.
`signup`	`string`	`'email'`	How a buyer signs up: `email`, `workEmail`, `magicLink`, `keyless`, `apiKey`, `oauth` or `agentIdentity`. Example: `'magicLink'`. Read by SoftwareBuilder.
`doubleOptIn`	`boolean`	`false`	Whether a Waitlist sign-up confirms by email before it counts. Example: `true`. Read by SiteBuilder.
`priceUnit`	`string`	`'seat'`	The unit its Prices count by default. Example: `'month'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`trial`	`string`	`'14d'`	How long a trial runs before the first charge. Example: `'30d'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`agreement`	`string`	`'clickwrap'`	How a buyer accepts the terms: `clickwrap` or `msa`. Example: `'msa'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`termsTemplate`	`string`	`'standard'`	Which terms Template its `/terms` Page is built from: `standard`, `developer`, `b2b`, `consumer` or `agent`. Example: `'b2b'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`taxDisplay`	`string`	`'exclusive'`	Whether Prices show tax: `exclusive`, `inclusive` or `reverseCharge`. Example: `'inclusive'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`refundWindow`	`string`	`'30d'`	How long after a charge a refund is granted without review. Example: `'14d'`. Read by SalesBuilder.
`consent`	`string`	`'strictest'`	Whose consent rules apply: the strictest everywhere, or each region’s own. Example: `'byRegion'`. Read by SiteBuilder.
`approvalHours`	`number`	`48`	How long an Approval waits before it escalates. Example: `24`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`budget`	`number`	`200`	Its monthly spend budget, in USD, before an Approval. Example: `500`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`autoUpgrade`	`string`	`'onGreen'`	When a Startup Template upgrade merges: `onGreen`, `qualityGates` or `manual`. Example: `'manual'`. Read by StartupBuilder.
`closeByDay`	`number`	`5`	The business day of the month by which the books close. Example: `3`. Read by StartupBuilder.

Errors

A push whose root file breaks a key fails sb/parse with one of these, naming the line.

Error	Cause	Keys
Wrong type	A key in the Startup root file holds a value of another type than the key takes.	Every key
Not literal	A key in the Startup root file is computed by a loop, a call or an expression, so it cannot be parsed.	Every key
Missing key	The Startup root file leaves out a key it requires, such as the Startup’s name.	`name`, `routes.*.reason`
Setting set twice	A Setting is set both in the Startup root file and in the Settings file, so its value has two homes.	14 keys

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