Wardley Mapping – Solopreneur Strategy

A public, version-controlled Wardley map that captures the entrepreneurial system behind Sudo Make Me a CTO. This repo has been created with the double purpose of illustrating the use of Wardley Mapping and helping me explore the nature of the business I'm trying to build.

This repository hosts two complementary and alternative Wardley maps that serve as a means to explore the Sudo Make Me a CTO system:

1. solopreneur.wm – "Take 1" focuses on the full value chain that connects Tech Leaders, Tech Companies, and Investors to the platforms, services, and utilities behind the offering. See solopreneur.wm.
2. solopreneur-2.wm – "Take 2" reframes the same landscape around 👤 B2C and 💼 B2B client anchors, highlighting how offerings such as Coaching/Mentoring, Fractional CTO work, Tech Assessments, and the SMMC Community participate to the Personal Brand & Trust asset. See solopreneur-2.wm.

Ultimately, there isn't a single right way to draw these maps, each one serving a slighly differen purpose, and helping surface different aspects of the business (or system) being evaluated.

These two maps are to be considered as realistic examples, but they don't pretend to be comprehensive or final in any way.

Why this repo exists

1. Build in Public – Publish the map referenced from makemeacto.substack.com so readers can inspect every component.
2. Iteration – Track changes to the landscape as my solopreneur business evolves and as I deepen my expertise with Wardley maps.
3. Sharing is caring – Invite feedback and extensions from the community while providing real examples that could serve as inspiration for others.

Map anatomy

Anchors & primary users

• Tech Leader – Customers seeking personal development, career progression, and practical levers to improve engineering effectiveness.

• Tech Company – Organisations focused on engineering efficacy and efficiency improvements.

• Investors – Stakeholders interested in identifying and funding the right bets.

• B2C Client – Individuals entering via mentoring, community, or CTOBox experiments.

• B2B Client – Organisations buying Fractional CTO engagements or due-diligence projects.

Value chain highlights

• Acquisition & audience – Referral Network, SMMC Newsletter, SMMC Community, Social Networks.

• Advisory services – Tech Assessment, Tech Consulting, Coaching & Mentoring, CTOBox.

• Operational enablers – Newsletter Platform, Chat, Videoconferencing, Calendar Booking, Static Website Generator, Note Taking App, Cloud Platform, Video tooling.

• Decorators – (Ab)using the Pioneers/Settlers/Town Planners overlays to reason about categories of products and services.

• GTM & asset flywheel – Coaching/Mentoring, Fractional CTO, Tech Assessment/DD, SMMC Community, and CTOBox all reinforce Personal Brand & Trust, which in turn powers the Newsletter and Website funnels, which in turn bring in new customers.

Repository structure

.
├── README.md               # You are here
├── solopreneur.wm          # Wardley map – Take 1 (value chain emphasis)
├── solopreneur-2.wm        # Wardley map – Take 2 (B2C/B2B GTM emphasis)
└── LICENSE                 # MIT License for shared artifacts

The .wm file is human-readable text—ideal for diffs, comments, or PR reviews.

View or remix the map

1. Open an online Wardley map editor such as OnlineWardleyMaps or WardleyMap.com.
2. Paste the entire contents of either solopreneur.wm or solopreneur-2.wm into the editor.
3. Adjust positioning, labels, or overlays as desired.
4. Export a PNG/SVG for articles or presentations.

Tip: Because this repository tracks the raw text, you can branch, edit the .wm file, and open a pull request that shows the diff of every component you moved or renamed.

Extending the landscape

Future evolutions of the maps will involve one or a combination of the following:

• Track experiments – Add new iterations of the map to explore new value chains (e.g., productized services, automation layers) or the evolution of maturity for existing ones, without losing today's baseline.

• Evolve doctrine – Introduce more elements from the Wardley doctrine to reason about environment, climate and overall approaches to evolving the maturity of products and services.

• Attach narratives – Link future Substack posts directly to git commits so readers can see the strategic context as it evolves over time.

Contributing

If you're interested in contributing to the maps, please follow these steps:

1. Fork or clone the repo.
2. Edit any of the .wm files in your preferred Wardley map editor, or add your own variant to capture a new storyline.
3. Submit a pull request describing the strategic insight or change you are proposing.

Suggestions, corrections, or remix ideas are always welcome. I'm a big propopent of learning together.

License

Distributed under the MIT License. Feel free to use, remix, or extend these maps while preserving attribution.