# Mullins 7 Domains Model

**Source:** John W. Mullins, "The New Business Road Test" (4th ed., 2017, FT Press)
**Purpose:** Screen a business opportunity across 7 independent domains before committing resources. The weakest domain caps the opportunity.

## The Core Thesis

Most business plans fail because the founders fell in love with an idea and never stress-tested it. Mullins argues that any opportunity must score well on ALL seven domains to be worth pursuing. A GREEN team cannot rescue a RED market. A GREEN market cannot rescue a RED team.

This framework is designed for **Validation stage** -- after the problem is defined, before capital is deployed.

## The Seven Domains

### Market Domains (Is there demand?)

**Domain 1: Target Segment Benefits and Attractiveness (Micro-Market)**
- Who EXACTLY is the target customer?
- What pain or benefit does the product deliver?
- How severe is the pain? How often does it occur?
- Are customers willing and able to pay?
- Is the target segment reachable through identifiable channels?

**Key question:** Is there a specific, reachable group of people who will gladly buy this?

**Domain 2: Market Attractiveness (Macro-Market)**
- How large is the total market?
- What is the market growth rate?
- Are there macro trends that favor the opportunity?
- Is the market currently in growth, maturity, or decline?

**Key question:** Is the market big enough and growing fast enough to support a serious business?

### Industry Domains (Is the playing field favorable?)

**Domain 3: Industry Attractiveness (Macro-Industry, Porter's Five Forces)**
- Supplier power: Can suppliers squeeze margins?
- Buyer power: Can customers dictate terms?
- Threat of substitutes: What else can customers use instead?
- Threat of new entrants: How hard is it for competitors to enter?
- Competitive rivalry: How intense is the fight for customers?

**Key question:** Is this an industry where money can be made?

**Domain 4: Sustainable Advantage (Micro-Industry)**
- Do you have proprietary capabilities (IP, data, process, relationships)?
- Are your capabilities superior to existing players'?
- Can customers get SIGNIFICANT economic benefit from what you offer?
- Can you MAINTAIN the advantage over time?

**Key question:** Do you have something the competition can't copy fast?

### Team Domains (Can you pull it off?)

**Domain 5: Mission, Aspirations, Propensity for Risk**
- Is this opportunity aligned with what the founders actually want out of life?
- Are the founders' risk tolerances compatible with what this opportunity demands?
- Is the founding mission inspiring enough to survive the hard years?

**Key question:** Are the right PEOPLE doing this for the right REASONS?

**Domain 6: Ability to Execute on Critical Success Factors**
- What are the 3-5 things this specific opportunity DEMANDS be done well?
- Does the team have proven capability in each of those things?
- If not, can the team realistically hire or partner for them?

**Key question:** Can THIS team actually execute THIS plan?

**Domain 7: Connectedness Up, Down, and Across the Value Chain**
- Does the team know the suppliers?
- Does the team know the distribution channels?
- Does the team know the customers?
- Does the team know the regulators, influencers, and industry gatekeepers?

**Key question:** Can the team pick up the phone and reach the people who matter?

## Scoring System

Each domain gets a 1-5 score:

| Score | Status | Meaning |
|-------|--------|---------|
| 5 | GREEN | Strong evidence, proven |
| 4 | GREEN | Good signal, reasonable confidence |
| 3 | YELLOW | Mixed evidence, needs work |
| 2 | RED | Weak evidence, major concern |
| 1 | RED | No evidence or negative evidence |

## Decision Rules

- **All 7 GREEN** → PROCEED with conviction
- **1-2 REDs** → KILL OR PIVOT. Do not soldier on.
- **3+ YELLOWs** → NOT-YET. Fix the weakest two before committing.
- **Mixed REDs and GREENs** → The GREENs do NOT rescue the REDs. Weakest domain caps the opportunity.

## Why This Framework Is In The Door Pool

Mullins is the most rigorous go/no-go framework in the PWS methodology. A room that has a filed Mullins artifact has been stress-tested across all three dimensions that matter (market, industry, team) -- which is exactly what an investor, an advisor, or a future teammate wants to see on the landing page of a data room.

## Cross-Framework Connections

- **Before Mullins:** `/mos:analyze-needs` (feeds Domain 1), `/mos:macro-trends` (feeds Domain 2), `/mos:explore-domains` (feeds Domain 3)
- **Weakens Mullins:** A failed `/mos:challenge-assumptions` on Domain 4 (sustainable advantage)
- **Complements Mullins:** `/mos:leadership` (deepens Domains 5-7)
- **Chains from Mullins:** A GREEN Mullins → `/mos:build-thesis` (full investment thesis)