Stanford GSB Lecturer and former founding Chairman and CEO of VERITAS Software Mark Leslie has spent four decades as a tech founder, advisor, board member and investor. What’s the most common company-ending mistake he sees startups make? They fail to determine whether their go-to-market strategy should be led by marketing or sales. He created a simple set of questions to help startups deploy their limited resources in the right direction and give them the best shot at a successful launch: Price: Is this a large or small economic decision for the buyer? Market Size: Is it easier for them to find you or for you to find them? Level of Complexity: Can a customer self-serve to use or is education required? Fit and Finish: After all is designed, done and shipped, is there still much more for the consumer to do? Customer: Am I predominately selling directly to people or companies? Relationship: Do I measure successful customer relationships by transactions or longevity? Touch: How much agency do you have in developing your relationship with your customer? Can your efforts compound or are the mostly one-off?
Mostly the budding entrepreneurs do two mistakes at the start: Most budding entrepreneurs do not have a funded business and also haven’t raised a venture capital. In terms of the money they have only six months and between that, they have to achieve their goal. While they are dreaming of every possible aspect which can assist them in order to attain the goal. Soon the realization hits them and they run out of cash. Secondly, there are a few who are well funded and they don’t make the necessary efforts to generate the revenue. They are so used to the ideas that losing a huge amount in burn rate is completely fine because they have a funded company. Such people focus more on raising their next round instead of actually making the profitable business. More information can be read at Entrepreneur resourses.
Do not wait until you launch your business to get customers or consumers, because they are the central element that determines the success or failure of your initiative. Make as much networking as possible! Gather contacts! Offer samples with your product / service! It’s never too early to start marketing for your business. The main motivation for writing your business plan before you start is to save time and money later during the business development. In addition, the business plan helps you to clarify your business concept and gives you a general map based on which you will invest in growing your business. There is no need to make a detailed and fluffy business plan, focus on those essential elements of the plan that will help you throughout your business development. More information and tips on writing a business plan can be found in the How to write a business plan section.
Most leaders settle for learning by themselves. They read a book or attend a conference by themselves. Good leaders learn with the help of a mentor. A coach can come alongside a leader and help the leader see things from a different perspective. The best leaders learn with a team. An old proverb teaches that where there are many advisors, there is much success. – Ken Gosnell, CXP – CEO Experience Source: https://theentrepreneurresearch.com/.