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As a startup, you must have, at least, once found yourself in this, “Getting started”, mood, at your early execution stage.
However, you probably, found out that, for quite a long time, it appears, as if you are not making any headway as you, continuously, find yourself in a loop of confusion.
This appears to be a major challenge that startups are faced with, in the early years of their startup journey.
Moving from the idea stage to scaling, definitely, takes some deliberate steps.
Getting to identify the steps to take, to scale, on your startup journey is, highly crucial, for your entreprenurial success.
Not passing through the essential stages might just be the cause of failure, for many start-ups.
Problem Identification
Every idea that springs, from your mind, as an entrepreneur, has its basis, on a problem that, you must have identified.
At this very first stage, what you ought to bear in mind is, how to identify customers’ needs.
If you have conceived some very great ideas in mind, if they do not have the potentials of solving the needs of your potential customers, then, there is no point in coming up, with your product.
Customers will pay for what will solve their problems, not the great product that you have in mind.
The startups’ personal experience will make him, or her, easily, find ways, to relate with the ideal customer, for the intended product.
When a large group of potential buyers, continuously, show a need, then, it appears that you have scaled this first stage and you, already, have validation on your product.
At this very early stage of your entrepreneurial journey, ask yourself, these salient questions:
- Do I know who my potential buyers are?
- Do I know about the other products that, I am competing with?
- Do my customers, need another product?
- If I offer a better product, would they be willing to pay?
- Getting answers to these questions would help you prepare for the next stage.
Ideas And Solution
At this stage, which involves the definition of your idea, there exists before you, a number of ideas, if you are, really, looking to make a difference, in the market.
No matter how small the opportunities before you may appear, if you have the right solution, it can, simply, turn into success for you, with the right strategy.
From the first stage, there are chances that, during the asking of questions, you already, have ideas for the solution you plan to build.
The answers you have gathered, have simply, served, as an idea-generating bank, for you to address the needs of your potential customers.
You are, therefore, saved from an unwarranted risk, of building a product that is not needed.
At this stage, coming up with a statement for your value proposition should be quite easy
Problem Fit
Mind you, the validations you got, from the answers to your questions, sometimes, might not just be enough.
Some aspects of the solution, might later, turn out invalid.
Startups have to know that, their initial plans, would not, always work, therefore, it will be ill-advised, to move quickly, into the product development stage.
What should be considered, as essential is, finding a solution that can fit, into the market, before you do actual product development.
In doing this, you will tend to offer an irresistible product, to your potential customers.
Prior to presenting your offer, you are required to have your product design and a value proposition that, puts you in a better position.
When people are committed, even, just by prepaying for your product, then, you have solved the issue of this problem fit stage.
Product Fit
Before this, you need to have obtained specific data on your customers.
This includes data, on the cost of acquisition, lifetime value and churn rate.
You can, only, get your hands on these data, after the launch and usage, of your product.
At this stage, you Make money, from new customers, coming on board.
Customer acquisition cost, goes down, which means that your customers are staying longer with you.
The longer they stay, the more money you make.
The signals this stage presents to you show that, as an entrepreneur, you need to think of getting out a product, that people need.
A product that they are not, just, needing, as they will, also, be willing to recommend you, to their family and friends.
Growth
At this final stage of your startup journey, what you should start thinking of, is growth.
By growth, you have increased your customer acquisition and new products in the market.
With growth, you are definitely going to be faced with new challenges.
To build a startup, your vision must be goal-oriented, with a step by step model, of how to scale the stages.
Don’t start by thinking about funding. Identification of the problem to solve is, a priority, you should hold onto.
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