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Customer indifference is the number one killer of new products and services. It can be tricky problem to solve and even more difficult to detect, because it’s often mistaken for something else.
Launching a successful Minimum Viable Product is only the beginning. Selling and scaling an MVP is harder and riskier. If our product doesn’t emerge from MVP and quickly generate enough revenue to push our startup into the growth phase, our startup will stagnate. However, there are a couple challenges we’ll face right out of the MVP gate.
There’s a right way to approach crowdfunding, and a whole lot of wrong ways. Some of those wrong ways could lead to litigious customers, fines, and even criminal charges. So let’s talk about avoiding the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when considering crowdfunding.
It’s easy for an entrepreneur, new or experienced, to fall into a loop where we freeze on decisions, second-guess ourselves, and get overwhelmed trying to map out the next steps of our company’s progress. At these points, we need help, experienced help, and we’re not sure where to turn.
In business, your leverage in negotiations is directly proportional to your size. When you're a startup, you're freaking tiny. So how do you get a deal done without giving away the company?
A startup has to get its pricing right or the product will be dead at launch. The problem is, there aren’t a lot of hard and fast rules for pricing a brand new product. Having launched dozens of digital, physical, and hybrid products to market, I’ve developed a few general guidelines that have worked for me when pricing an MVP.
A startup has to get its pricing right or the product will be dead at launch. The problem is, there aren’t a lot of hard and fast rules for pricing a brand new product. Having launched dozens of digital, physical, and hybrid products to market, I’ve developed a few general guidelines that have worked for me when pricing an MVP.
It doesn’t matter if it’s our first startup experience or our eleventh, the skills we need to master to get from where we are to where we want to be, they don’t really change. So here are those things we need to master to rise up through the startup ranks.
Startup burnout is a real thing. As the stigma traditionally associated with mental health issues melts away, we’re seeing a lot more entrepreneurs and startup employees raise their hands when the stress levels get too high.
Startups are founded on the premise of disruption, and the tech we use to facilitate that disruption likely has multiple efficiencies coded into it that can be reapplied to other use cases. This is where the crazy money is made, because it can elevate our company from niche product player to new market dominator.
To succeed in startup, you not only have to land the best talent, but you have to land and keep the best talent at the most value. Here’s how you do that, with four secrets no one else might tell you.
The early stages of startup are full of challenges for both new and repeat entrepreneurs alike. Minimum Viable is 25 of my best startup advice posts from behind Medium's paywall, covering the period from the very beginning of the idea stage through to the growth stage. This isn't business plans and pitch decks. It's proven strategies and new ideas for making, leading, and growing a startup.
Startup is for everyone. If buying the book doesn't fit your current budget, contact me. Let me know your story and I'll hook you up with a copy.
Do you feel like an outsider when it comes to startup, entrepreneurship, or starting or running a business? Are there rules and processes and terms you don't fully understand? Does it feel like a closed club sometimes?
Everything You Should Know About Startup is all the stuff I wish I knew when I was first starting out, run through the lens of having done it for so long and still doing it. It's not Silicon Valley buzzwords and mantras. It's nuts and bolts and logic that applies in the real world.