Document your ICP properly

Most startup founders have a decent mental picture of who their ideal customer is, or they're working towards one.

But here's the thing: that knowledge is trapped in your head, which means:

🙅‍♀️ Your team can't use it

🙅‍♀️ AI tools don't have the right context to help you

🙅‍♀️ New hires are flying blind

Without documenting what you know, you also can't spot gaps in your knowledge or work towards proving (or disproving) your hypotheses about who your ICP actually is and how they behave.

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Why this matters

Even if you think you know your customer inside out, getting it down on (virtual) paper changes everything. Suddenly that knowledge becomes transferable, searchable, and actually useful for anyone touching sales, marketing, product, customer success... you name it.

The whole process takes 15-30 minutes if you follow the steps below. Less time than your average "let's touch base" meeting, and infinitely more useful.

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What you'll need

📝 ICP & Buyer Persona Template – Our template that we use at Stella Startups (because staring at a blank page is the worst)

Download the template

Also in the above template (on separate "tabs") are the below prompts:

🤖 Deep Research Prompt – Instructions for Gemini’s Deep Research feature to supplement your knowledge with desktop research

🤖 "Fill in the template" Prompt - Instructions for your preferred LLM (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini) to help take the research report you generate and fill in the ICP & Buyer Persona template.

How to document your ICP in 6 steps

Step 1: Prepare your deep research prompt

Scroll down to the Deep Research Prompt section at the bottom of this page. Customise the template with your startup's details, this gives Gemini the context it needs to find relevant insights about your market and customers.

Step 2: Run the prompt in Gemini

Copy your customised prompt into Gemini and make sure to click "Deep Research" (not just regular chat). Gemini will spend a few minutes researching and compiling a comprehensive report.

Step 3: Export the report

Once Gemini finishes, export the report to Google Docs, then download it as a Markdown (.md) file.

Step 4: Let AI fill in your template

Upload both the Markdown report and the ICP & Buyer Persona Template to your preferred LLM (ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini all work well). Use the Template Filling Prompt provided below to instruct it to fill in the template based on the research report.

Step 5: Review and refine

Export the draft and review it for missing or incorrect information. Add anything from your own knowledge that the AI couldn't have known. This is where your insider understanding really matters.

Step 6: Share with your team

Circulate the final document with your co-founders and team. Get their input, validate assumptions, and make it a living document that evolves as you learn more about your customers.

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How to actually use your ICP document

Once you've got your ICP documented, here's how it becomes genuinely useful:

For content creation: Upload it to your AI tool before writing LinkedIn posts, blog articles, or ad copy. Suddenly your content speaks directly to the right people.

For sales conversations: Share it with your sales team (or brief yourself before calls) so everyone knows exactly what pain points to address and which language resonates.

For ad targeting: Use the demographic and psychographic details to set up more precise targeting on LinkedIn, Google, or Meta.

For product decisions: Reference it when prioritising features or planning your roadmap, does this serve your ICP or are you building for someone else?

For hiring: Give it to new team members so they understand who you're serving from day one, no lengthy onboarding required.

For partner conversations: When speaking with potential partners, investors, or advisors, you can confidently articulate exactly who you serve and why.

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Ready to get started?

Download our ICP & Buyer Personas template + AI Prompts

Your future self (and your future hires) will thank you.