The Entrepreneur’s Guidebook

IDEATION & FORMATION

 

Ideation

Define and validate your idea, so you can clearly communicate what you do, why you do it and for whom. This is a stage to identify prospective buyers, test your hypothesis, identify competitors. Be prepared to iterate and evolve your idea based on what you learn.

 

Takeaway

Know your best potential customer and what unique value you will deliver.

 

Outputs Checklist

• Value Proposition
• Business Model Canvas
• Customer Profile
• Primary Use Cases
• Incorporation Documents
• Problem Statements

 

Milestones for Ideation & Formation:

Clearly Define Your Concept: Who are you, what do you do, why do you do it?

Validate Your Idea: What pain are you solving? Who will be willing to spend money on your offering, and why? Will they be repeat buyers?

Define Your Business Model: How will your organization create and deliver its products/services, and sustain itself?

Understand Startup Costs: What will it take to get things off the ground through to launch?

Get Your Legal Ducks In a Row: Which legal business framework is best for your business? Are there any other legal or regulatory requirements you need to meet?

 

Outputs Checklist:

• Value Proposition
• Business Model Canvas
• Primary Use Cases
• Incorporation Documents
• Tax ID’s
• Problem Statements

MVP and Development

 

Based on what you have learned, begin building a simple solution to test. The goal is to define and create the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that reflects your Value Proposition.

 

Takeaway

This is a build and test stage. Listen to customers, test and iterate on your offering. They will help you find the best solution.

 

Outputs Checklist

• Executive Summary
• Website/Social
• Investor Pitch Deck
• Early Sales Deck
• Sales Funnel Outline
• Financial Model
• Initial Product Roadmap
• Early Financial Model
• Minimal Viable Product (MVP)

 

Goals/Objectives for MVP & Development

Design Your Product: Develop the initial features and functionalities of your product, using the core concept from the idea stage.

Create Go-To-Market Strategy: Create a plan to get, keep and grow your customer base.

Be Able To Tell Your Story: Telling your story clearly and doing it concisely is essential at this stage. Whether it’s a chance encounter in an elevator, a pitch competition, hiring your first employees, or a presentation for potential investors or customers, now is the time to develop and refine your business story.

 

Outputs Checklist:

• Executive Summary
• Website/Social
• Brand & Messaging Guidelines
• Investor Pitch Deck
• Sales Pitch Deck
• Sales Funnel Outline
• Financial Model
• Initial Product Roadmap
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Launch & Early Growth

 

Introduce your solution to the world. Validate all your previous assumptions. Iterate and expand the offering. Test assumptions for scaling sales. Focus on information gathering that will help you to fuel ongoing development and growth.

 

Takeaway

Work out Critical Path items, Planning, Identification of resources needed to grow.

 

Outputs Checklist

• Demand Generation Plan
• Product or Service Launch Plan
• Customer Success Plan
• MVP 2.0+ (bridge to actual product)
• Pilot Plan with Development Partners
• Key Performance Indicators for the business
• Refined Pitch Decks (investor & sales)
• Target Investor List
• Investor Newsletter
• Employee Handbook

 

Goals & Objectives for Launch & Early Growth

Deploy Pilots or Beta versions to Refine your MVP: Leverage early adopter usage to validate product-market fit. Refine as necessary.

Build your Sales Funnel, Service Customers: Implement a formal process to take prospects from awareness to acquisition. Learn costs of acquisition. Work on servicing your customer for the long term. Keeping the customers that you acquire is essential.

Build the Team: Consider the cultural aspects of building a team. Early “many hat” employees will evolve during this phase.

 

Outputs Checklist:

• Demand Generation Plan
• Product or Service Launch Plan
• Customer Success Plan
• MVP 2.0+
• Pilot Plan with Development Partners
• Key Performance Indicators for the business
• Refined Pitch Decks (investor & sales)
• Target Investor List
• Investor Newsletter
• Employee Handbook

Scale & Market Expansion

 

Finding a path to scale the business means understanding sales strategies, team expansion and customer retention. Now you will build the necessary systems to support the evolving needs of the organization and its customers.

 

Takeaway

Ability to Identify and Add Resources to Scale. Consider new markets.

 

Outputs Checklist

• Expanded Sales/Marketing Materials
• Refined Pitch Deck
• Updated Product Roadmap
• Talent Growth Plan
• Plan the systematic entry into new geographies/markets
• Capitalization Plan for scaling growth

 

Goals & Objectives for Scale and Market Expansion:

Release Expanded Functionality: Make product enhancements based on customer
feedback. Keep close track of competitor moves.

Aggressively Pursue Customers: Demonstrate business model and customer acquisition tactics. Consider new markets and additional channel partners to scale.

Talent Acquisition: Identify and hire key personnel around business and technical functions.

 

Outputs Checklist:

• Expanded Sales/Marketing Materials
• Refined Pitch Deck
• Updated Product Roadmap
• Talent Growth Plan
• Plan the systematic entry into new geographies/markets
• Capitalization plan for expanding growth