The tricks of creating a startup: what you need to remember at an early stage
Michael Cerda article about what you should not forget at the stage of creating a startup.
The level of preparation of the reader: low - medium .
Here is a list of things that you should keep in mind in the early stages of creating a startup, based on the stuffed cones.
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Product: Your product should be analgesic, not vitamins.
Make sure that he solves problems or meets needs. It should not be something, the need for which you have to explain each time, referring to any major market trends. The product should be obvious and should be described in one sentence. If you are wrong, you have lost before starting.
Make sure that your target audience can quickly and easily dive into the testing process from a usability point of view. Make sure that work with the product gives instant reward, arousal and desire to return for new impressions. Avoid changing pricing directly dependent on the use of each function of the product (although you should not understand it too literally).
Marketing: integrate marketing into your product.
The term “viral marketing” is often misused. Rumor is good, but it is not a virus. A virus is something that spreads by itself, because it is used or happens. Think of a person from your office who "gave" you a cold last winter - this is a virus.
Avoid paying for each new customer or at least keep it to a minimum. If you fool yourself with unnatural metrics, it will affect you. However, keep a small marketing budget for branding and PR; Vigilance comes in handy at a turning point.
Finance: outsource as long as you can.
In the early days, this is not critical, but should be taken into account. The outsourced accountant is proud to cover his own ass, use this. If you hired someone for a full day too early, you risk getting the opinion that this path is too conservative at this stage for your company.
Tactically, you can be sure that you have a short weekly report that includes the number of employees, cash flow, forecast both for the coming months and when the money runs out.
Business Development / Sales: Do not do this until the product is ready to start working with partners. Willingness means that the product is in a state where you can quickly change product lines. An old adage says: “Your partners can love you to death.” So choose your battles wisely, and be as modular as you can.
Consider that 80% of business development transactions do not reach the level of return you expect from them. Two people participate in tango, and every time you fight an elephant, it doesn’t affect your score. If you have a company with changing partnership opportunities, fine - but foresee changes in the terms of the deal, especially if you are making a deal so early with the elephant that is testing you. On the other hand, the right product, the right partners, and the right deal at the right time can lead you to the promised land.
Operational activities: rent, not buy.
Do not even try to intervene if it is possible. Keep costs as low as possible, and keep the company as economical as possible. Look for the most favorable deals and conditions to start from all possible, but do not enter into long-term agreements. What looks like a good discount now may not be so in the future. And you cannot know the volumes of anything until you start working.
Team: create according to needs, not for a view.
All too often, investors, partners, the press and others have a superficial perception of the team. Big names + famous logos = a lot of headaches.
Investing: use the "6 months" rule.
If you are looking for funding for six months in a row and have met with half of Sand Hill Road, stop, quit and run. Fold this tent and unfold a new one. There is a “half-life”, after which you risk being left with nothing. The longer you look for investing, the more “stale” you get. In addition, in fact, you do not want money from companies that are at the bottom of your list. Such is the special psychology of every investment transaction. I will tell more next time.
This translation to Translated.by: translated.by/you/startup-hacks-an-early-stage-checklist
This translation is on the JumpIDEA blog: spring.jumpidea.com/2008/08/michael-cerda-startup-checklist.html
Original text: mashable.com/2008/08/06/startup-hacks-early-stage-checklist
The translation was made at the initiative of the company JumpIDEA .
Thank you so much for the work on the translation to all participants!
And personal thank you: ikuznetsov2.moikrug.ru , Fenrir , babysas , vgusakov, sms, gribunin , maieutic , lightalloy , explanent .
PS I ask all subscribers of the “Startups” blog to express whether we should continue to publish thematic translations further.
The level of preparation of the reader: low - medium .
Here is a list of things that you should keep in mind in the early stages of creating a startup, based on the stuffed cones.
')
Product: Your product should be analgesic, not vitamins.
Make sure that he solves problems or meets needs. It should not be something, the need for which you have to explain each time, referring to any major market trends. The product should be obvious and should be described in one sentence. If you are wrong, you have lost before starting.
Make sure that your target audience can quickly and easily dive into the testing process from a usability point of view. Make sure that work with the product gives instant reward, arousal and desire to return for new impressions. Avoid changing pricing directly dependent on the use of each function of the product (although you should not understand it too literally).
Marketing: integrate marketing into your product.
The term “viral marketing” is often misused. Rumor is good, but it is not a virus. A virus is something that spreads by itself, because it is used or happens. Think of a person from your office who "gave" you a cold last winter - this is a virus.
Avoid paying for each new customer or at least keep it to a minimum. If you fool yourself with unnatural metrics, it will affect you. However, keep a small marketing budget for branding and PR; Vigilance comes in handy at a turning point.
Finance: outsource as long as you can.
In the early days, this is not critical, but should be taken into account. The outsourced accountant is proud to cover his own ass, use this. If you hired someone for a full day too early, you risk getting the opinion that this path is too conservative at this stage for your company.
Tactically, you can be sure that you have a short weekly report that includes the number of employees, cash flow, forecast both for the coming months and when the money runs out.
Business Development / Sales: Do not do this until the product is ready to start working with partners. Willingness means that the product is in a state where you can quickly change product lines. An old adage says: “Your partners can love you to death.” So choose your battles wisely, and be as modular as you can.
Consider that 80% of business development transactions do not reach the level of return you expect from them. Two people participate in tango, and every time you fight an elephant, it doesn’t affect your score. If you have a company with changing partnership opportunities, fine - but foresee changes in the terms of the deal, especially if you are making a deal so early with the elephant that is testing you. On the other hand, the right product, the right partners, and the right deal at the right time can lead you to the promised land.
Operational activities: rent, not buy.
Do not even try to intervene if it is possible. Keep costs as low as possible, and keep the company as economical as possible. Look for the most favorable deals and conditions to start from all possible, but do not enter into long-term agreements. What looks like a good discount now may not be so in the future. And you cannot know the volumes of anything until you start working.
Team: create according to needs, not for a view.
All too often, investors, partners, the press and others have a superficial perception of the team. Big names + famous logos = a lot of headaches.
Investing: use the "6 months" rule.
If you are looking for funding for six months in a row and have met with half of Sand Hill Road, stop, quit and run. Fold this tent and unfold a new one. There is a “half-life”, after which you risk being left with nothing. The longer you look for investing, the more “stale” you get. In addition, in fact, you do not want money from companies that are at the bottom of your list. Such is the special psychology of every investment transaction. I will tell more next time.
This translation to Translated.by: translated.by/you/startup-hacks-an-early-stage-checklist
This translation is on the JumpIDEA blog: spring.jumpidea.com/2008/08/michael-cerda-startup-checklist.html
Original text: mashable.com/2008/08/06/startup-hacks-early-stage-checklist
The translation was made at the initiative of the company JumpIDEA .
Thank you so much for the work on the translation to all participants!
And personal thank you: ikuznetsov2.moikrug.ru , Fenrir , babysas , vgusakov, sms, gribunin , maieutic , lightalloy , explanent .
PS I ask all subscribers of the “Startups” blog to express whether we should continue to publish thematic translations further.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/36982/
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