Section 6: Crisis Support / Company Repair

Overview

Not every mission goes as planned. For founders experiencing turbulence—missed milestones, team breakdowns, failed fundraises, or lost traction—this section provides structured frameworks to triage issues, repair company fundamentals, and regain forward momentum.

This is your emergency docking station.

Part 1: Crisis Diagnosis Framework

Purpose: Identify what kind of crisis you’re in—so you can treat the root cause, not the symptoms.

Tool: Company Crisis Typology

1. Cashflow Crisis – Runway < 90 days; raise or revenue stalled.

2. Team Crisis – Founder misalignment, toxic dynamics, lost key talent.

3. Product/Tech Crisis – Missed milestones, TRL delay, demo failure.

4. Market Crisis – Customer apathy, missed fit, changed landscape.

Worksheet: Crisis Audit Map

• What are the visible symptoms?

• What are the underlying causes?

• What decisions (or lack thereof) led here?

Part 2: Rapid Response Playbook

Purpose: Stop the bleeding and stabilize the mission.

Template: 14-Day Emergency Plan

• Freeze unnecessary spending

• Prioritize internal comms to team & key stakeholders

• Create revised milestone map with “survivability” targets

• Schedule investor updates to reset expectations

• Identify lifeline options: bridge funding, contract extensions, grant windows

Tool: Emergency Operating Plan Builder

• Daily Checklists (Week 1)

• Core Metrics to Track (Burn, morale, runway, tech progress)

Part 3: Founder Leadership Reset

Why It Matters: Founders lead the emotional tone of the company—especially during crisis.

Exercise: The Reality Reset Brief

• Write down the brutal facts of the situation (no spin)

• Write your revised 90-day vision and rallying message

• Reconnect with your “why”—why are you still in the fight?

Tools:

• Founder Mental Fitness Toolkit

• 1:1 Reset Agenda with Co-Founders

• Company Recommitment Ritual (Team Sync Template)

Part 4: Strategic Options & Decision Tree

Purpose: Explore and evaluate hard decisions with clarity.

Crisis Decision Tree:

1. Can the company be restructured to survive?

2. Is a pivot viable with current tech and team?

3. Is a strategic acquisition or merger a better path forward?

4. Is an orderly wind-down the most ethical route?

Resources:

• Bridge Round Templates

• Strategic Pivot Canvas

• Wind-Down Checklist & Communications Guide

Part 5: Outside Help & Triage Support

Tool: Crisis Allies Map

• Warm intros to mission-aligned angels for emergency bridge

• Fractional turnaround CFOs / advisors

• Founder therapist / mental health support

• Legal and employment counsel

Best Practice: Don’t fly solo. Use your network and ours.

Part 6: Debrief & Repair Protocol

Purpose: Conduct a no-blame post-mortem to extract learning and rebuild trust.

Tool: 3R Debrief Framework

• Reflect: What actually happened? What did we miss?

• Reframe: What was in our control vs. not?

• Rebuild: What systems, habits, or norms must change?

Output: A new operating rhythm grounded in reality, not hope.