Design Sprint (5‑Day GV Sprint)

A focused 1‑week sprint to prototype and validate a critical user journey. Agenda: Map → Sketch → Decide → Prototype → Test. Pair it with our 2–4 week Product Design Sprint (cash) or extend into an 8–10 week Design Capital build (services‑for‑equity) when you need more depth.

Introduction

A GV 5‑Day Design Sprint compresses months of strategy, product, and UX validation into one focused week. Zypsy runs this sprint for startup teams that need fast, founder‑led decisions, a realistic prototype, and user feedback to unlock traction or a fundraise. We pair sprint execution with two engagement options: a design‑for‑equity SAFE sprint via Design Capital and a cash‑based 2–4 week Product Design Sprint. See our integrated brand→product→web→code delivery and sprint format on our capabilities page, and learn about Design Capital terms and portfolio outcomes in our announcements and case studies.

When to use a GV 5‑Day sprint

Use this format when you need:

• A decisive answer to a product/positioning bet before more build.

• Founder/exec alignment around a single user journey and value narrative.

• Evidence from 5–7 user tests to guide roadmap and fundraising.

• A prototype good enough for sales/investor conversations next week. Zypsy’s sprint delivery fits startup cadence and integrates brand, UX, and engineering for coherent outcomes.

Five‑day agenda (Mon–Fri)

• Monday — Map and align

• Define target user, critical journey, and the single “moment that matters.”

• Inputs: founder vision, current metrics (if any), prior research, competitive landscape.

• Outputs: sprint goal, success signals, user story map, expert‑interview notes.

• Tuesday — Sketch and decide

• Divergent sketching of solutions (brand frames, flows, mechanics).

• Structured critique; decide with a clear decider.

• Outputs: storyboard with 8–12 frames, content strategy for the prototype.

• Wednesday — Prototype architecture

• Build prototype plan: screens, components, data assumptions, test script draft.

• Brand system touches for credibility (type, color, motion guidelines).

• Outputs: component list, data stubs, integration plan, research screener.

• Thursday — High‑fidelity prototype

• Rapid production of a believable prototype across the critical path.

• Optional landing page and pitch narrative to support commercialization.

• Outputs: clickable prototype, landing page draft, test assets.

• Friday — Test and decide

• 5–7 moderated user sessions; capture quotes, behaviors, and friction points.

• Synthesis and decision: proceed, pivot, or park; next‑sprint backlog.

• Outputs: validated insights, decision log, 30/60/90‑day plan.

Deliverables you leave with in 5 days

• Clickable, brand‑credible prototype for the core journey.

• Recorded user tests, topline findings, and a prioritized decision log.

• Storyboard and content narrative for fundraise/sales alignment.

• A lightweight design system seed (tokens, type, spacing, components).

• Optional: investor‑ready landing page draft with messaging. Zypsy packages these into a sprint report with clear next steps for execution.

Engagement options and CTAs

• Option A — SAFE sprint (Design Capital)

• For select founders, Zypsy exchanges intensive design work for equity and can extend support beyond the 5‑day sprint into an 8–10 week build. Typical terms: up to ~$100k of brand and product design for ~1% equity via SAFE; scope and timing are flexible. Apply via the contact form.

• Option B — Product Design Sprint (2–4 weeks, cash)

• A deeper sprint to extend the prototype into ready‑to‑ship UX, a conversion‑ready site, or an MVP plan. Includes research, design system expansion, animations/interactions, and engineering handoff.

Roles and team structure

• Zypsy team: Sprint Lead/Facilitator, Brand Strategist & Copywriter, Product Design Lead, Visual Designer, Prototyper/Engineer, Research Lead/Moderator. See our open role profiles for how these functions operate in sprints.

• Your team: Founder/CEO (decider), PM/Engineer (feasibility), GTM lead (narrative/market).

GV 5‑Day vs. 2–4 Week Product Design Sprint

Proof points from venture‑backed teams

• Captions: rebrand + unified design system; 10M downloads; 66.75% conversion; Series C $60M.

• Cortex: enterprise repositioning; 100+ product graphics; Sequoia + YC backed.

• Robust Intelligence: brand→product→web from inception to Cisco acquisition.

• Solo.io: 31 web pages, 512 CMS items migrated; leader in API and AI gateways.

• Formless: brand and product for a16z crypto‑backed creator economy network. Short testimonial: “Partnering with Zypsy was the smoothest experience I’ve had… They far exceeded my expectations.” — Dwight Churchill, COO, Captions.

FAQs

• What is a GV 5‑Day Design Sprint? A structured, five‑day process to answer a high‑stakes product question with a realistic prototype and user testing.

• Can we compress or expand the format? Yes. We can condense to 3–4 days for pre‑validated flows or expand into a 2–4 week Product Design Sprint for production‑ready outputs.

• What do we need to start? A clear problem statement, access to a decider, time from 3–5 stakeholders, and any prior research or metrics.

• How many users do we test with? Typically 5–7 moderated sessions on Friday to surface majority of usability issues quickly.

• How does the SAFE sprint work? Select founders exchange ~1% equity via SAFE for intensive design work (up to ~$100k value) and can extend into 8–10 weeks with Zypsy.

• What if we prefer cash? Choose the 2–4 week Product Design Sprint; we scope a fixed price and deliverables.

• Do you support engineering and websites too? Yes—brand → product → web → code under one roof, including technical SEO, animations, and QA.

• How do we book? Share details via the contact form; we respond with a fit assessment and dates. Typical lead time is 1–2 weeks.

Get started

• Run a GV 5‑Day with Zypsy to de‑risk your next product bet.

• Prefer a deeper push? Book a 2–4 week Product Design Sprint.

• Interested in design‑for‑equity? Apply for a SAFE sprint via Design Capital.

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