Startup Guide

When you launch a new business, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the first few days and weeks. But with so much riding on your company’s future, you can’t afford to take things lightly. You need a plan. A detailed strategy for launching your new venture that starts from day one and continues all the way through to success and profitability. We all know that launching a startup isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be as challenging as it sometimes feels. In fact, if you have the right knowledge, support network, and patience – not to mention some good luck along the way – launching a new business can be extremely rewarding. Let’s look at some useful insights from real entrepreneurs who have launched their own startups recently…

Know your target customer and market

It’s easy to get excited about your idea and forget to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. What is your target customer? How old are they? What are their demographics? What do they want? What do they struggle with most in life? What keeps them up at night? What is the market your product is going after? Is it a B2B or B2C product? Is it something that currently exists or is it a new concept? What makes your product stand out from the rest?

Build the right team

As we’ve discussed, the early stages of a business are all about assumptions. You make assumptions about your customers, about your product, about your competitors, and about the market. You base your entire strategy on these assumptions, but the one thing you don’t want to assume is that you can do everything on your own. For example, if you’re a tech company, you need to make sure you’re hiring the right web developers and designers to build your product. If you’re a B2C company, then you need to hire people who have experience in eCommerce and marketing. When you’re just starting out, you’ll probably have to take on some of these roles yourself, but you shouldn’t try to do everything. Make sure you hire people with the right skills as early as possible to offload some of your workload and ensure your team is balanced and able to take on everything.

Don’t skimp on research and development

As you build your product and refine your strategy, you should make sure you’re not skimping on research and development. After all, this is your time to experiment. To try new things and tweak your product to make sure it’s exactly how your customers want it. You might be tempted to spend all of your time and effort on developing your product, testing it with customers, and getting it to market as quickly as possible. But that’s not a good idea. Most businesses fail because they launch before they’re ready, and the only way to make sure your business doesn’t fall into that trap is to make sure you’re not skimping on research and development. Take your time, and make sure you’ve ironed out all the kinks in your product before you present it to the world.

Make sure you’re solving a problem

As we’ve already discussed, your product or service needs to solve a problem in order to succeed. Ideally, you want to solve one of the most common problems in your chosen market. One that affects a lot of people, but that no one has found a good solution for yet. That doesn’t mean your business has to solve one of the world’s biggest problems, but it does need to solve something that people care about. Ideally something they care enough to spend their money on. For example, if you’re launching a startup that sells books online, you’re not solving a problem. You’re selling a luxury item that no one needs. But if you’re selling eBooks on how to learn a new skill or upgrade your career, then you’re solving a problem.

Set a specific launch date and deadline

There’s one other thing you need to do before you launch your business, and that’s set a specific launch date and deadline. You don’t want to be one of those entrepreneurs who keeps saying that their product is “almost ready” and “coming soon”. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to pick a date and stick to it. Make it clear to potential customers and investors when they can expect to be able to access your product or service, and then make sure you stick to your deadline. Whatever you do, don’t delay your launch date unnecessarily. You might be worried that you’re not ready, or you might be tempted to wait until you have more funding, but don’t do it. Every day you wait is one less day you have to get your product out there, get it in the hands of customers, and start making money.

Summary

Launching a successful startup is challenging, but if you know how to do it right, the rewards can be well worth the effort. Make sure you know your target customer and market, and that your product solves a problem. Pick a launch date and deadline, and don’t skimp on research and development. Don’t forget to make sure you’re taking advantage of all the support networks and resources that are out there for entrepreneurs.

When you think of entrepreneurs, you probably picture someone striking out on their own and starting their own business. However, entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting your own company. It’s about having the drive and passion to succeed in any type of business venture. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks and making a mark in the world by creating something that hasn’t been done before. Many people think it takes a special person to become an entrepreneur — but you don’t have to have a special personality or be born under a certain star to be one. Anyone can be an entrepreneur, even if you are not yet ready to strike out on your own and start your own business. You just need the right attitude, some perseverance and these useful tips for budding entrepreneurs from successful entrepreneurs who made it big:

Finding your niche

If you’re just getting started in business, it can be helpful to choose a niche for your product or service. This will allow you to focus on a specific area of the market, which can make it easier to succeed. You can also pivot within your niche if you find that your first idea isn’t profitable enough. When choosing a niche, keep in mind that you don’t want to choose something too narrow. You want your product or service to be appealing to a large enough audience to generate a profit. Also, you need to make sure that your niche has enough interest or demand to sustain your business. You don’t want to pick a niche that no one is interested in, since that will make it difficult for you to market your products or services and make a profit. Keep in mind that you don’t have to choose a niche right away. You can start by creating a product or service that applies to a wide range of people, and then once you get your business going, you can focus on narrowing your niche down.

Network, network, network

If you want to be successful as a budding entrepreneur, you need to build a network of people that can help you along your journey. Start by joining or attending entrepreneurial meetups in your area. You can also find online communities where entrepreneurs gather to discuss challenges and successes in the business world. By getting to know others in your field, you can make connections and find potential partners that can help your business grow. You can also learn from their challenges and mistakes so you can avoid them yourself. Additionally, networking can help you find mentors who can guide you along your path to success as an entrepreneur. You can find mentors in many different places, including online entrepreneur forums, professional organizations and mentoring programs offered by your university. Having mentors can help guide you through the process of becoming a successful entrepreneur and give you advice on how to avoid common pitfalls.

Know your numbers

Before you start any kind of venture, you need to have an idea of how much money you need to get started, how much you can expect to make and how long it will take to break even. This will help you decide if now is a good time to start your new business venture. It’s important to have realistic expectations for your new business. If you set your goals too high, you’re more likely to get discouraged and give up when you don’t reach your expectations. As you’re creating your business plan, keep in mind that your business may not make a profit for the first few years of operation. This is normal for many types of businesses. It often takes time to build up a customer base and find the right marketing strategies to make a profit. However, you may need to come up with a funding strategy to get your business started. There are many sources of funding available to entrepreneurs, including loans, investments, government grants and business accelerators.

Build your brand

Your brand is how your customers and potential customers perceive your business. Although it is important to have a product or service that customers want, it is just as important to have a brand that customers trust. A strong brand can help you build a loyal customer base. Customers are more likely to continue to buy your product or service when they have formed a connection with your brand. When building your brand, it’s important to consider the image you want your business to portray. How do you want customers to feel when they think about your brand? Are you trying to be seen as a high-end brand or a more down-to-earth business? What message do you want your brand to convey? You can create a brand for your business by coming up with a mission statement, designing a logo and creating a brand slogan.

Don’t be afraid to fail

While it’s important to be careful with how you spend your money, it’s also important not to be too cautious when starting your new business. If you are too careful with your spending and don’t take enough risks, you may never find out if your business will be successful. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks. You don’t know if your business will be successful unless you try it out. While entrepreneurship is often associated with risk-taking, it is important to keep in mind that you want to minimize the risks associated with starting a new business. One way to do this is by making sure that your business idea is valid and will appeal to your target audience. You should also research your business idea and make sure that there is enough demand for your product or service to sustain your business.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship can be a great option for people who are interested in starting their own business but don’t have an idea or product that they can sell. If you have a creative side and the passion to succeed, you can turn those skills into a viable business opportunity. It’s important to remember that becoming an entrepreneur isn’t easy. It takes hard work and perseverance to make a profit with your business. However, it can be a very rewarding experience and can teach you things about yourself that you never thought you would learn.

Lean startup methodology is a set of principles and practices that are focused on testing assumptions, measuring outcomes, and iterating solutions quickly. It is a way of working that helps entrepreneurs build and launch products quicker, cheaper, and with less risk. The lean startup movement has transformed the way new businesses are launched and grow. Many startups are choosing to adopt lean concepts early in the development process to test their ideas cost-effectively before bringing them to market. In this blog post, you will learn everything you need to know about how to build a lean startup. Let’s get started!

What is a lean startup?

A lean startup is an entrepreneurial venture that uses minimal resources to explore the product/market fit. It uses the build-measure-learn feedback loop to identify the product/market fit and pivot as needed. The goal of a lean startup is to build something quickly, test the product hypothesis, and adjust accordingly. A lean startup focuses on discovering product/market fit rather than trying to raise large amounts of capital. This approach is also referred to as “build, measure, learn” – where you start with a hypothesis, build a product to test the hypothesis, measure the results, and then use that data to inform future decisions. Lean startups are about rapid experimentation and demonstrating progress. This means using the minimum amount of resources necessary to achieve your goal. It is important to note that a lean startup is not the same as a bootstrapped startup. A bootstrapped startup is one in which the founders do not raise outside capital.

The Lean Startup Movement

The Lean Startup movement first appeared in 2011 and helped entrepreneurs to test their ideas before spending months or even years building products or services that customers didn’t want. Lean startups are based on the idea of ‘building a minimum viable product’ (MVP) and then validating the product idea before investing a lot of time and money into bringing it to market. A key part of lean startups is the build-measure-learn feedback loop. This is a process that helps entrepreneurs test their assumptions, build a minimum viable product, and gather data to inform future decisions. The Lean Startup movement has helped thousands of entrepreneurs to build successful businesses. It has transformed the way startups are developed and managed. Startups have always been a risky venture, but lean startups have helped to reduce this risk.

Why build a lean startup?

There are many benefits to building a lean startup including reduced costs, less risk, quicker time to market, and higher customer satisfaction. Reduced costs – When you build a lean startup, you are not investing a lot of money and time into your product. You are gathering customer feedback and then making changes based on that feedback. This helps to reduce the costs of your product. Less risk – The whole point of a lean startup is to test the idea before you invest a lot of time and money into bringing it to market. You know what the market wants and you have a better idea of how many products you need to sell to be successful. Quicker time to market – When you are building a lean startup, you are not investing a lot of time into building your product. You are testing the idea to see what customers think and then making changes based on their feedback. Higher customer satisfaction – A lean startup delivers a good product to the customer sooner. This helps to increase customer satisfaction because they are receiving the product sooner than expected.

Build – Measure – Learn Feedback Loop

Building a successful lean startup begins with the build-measure-learn feedback loop. This is a process that is used to test product ideas and customer engagement. The first step in the process is to build a prototype and gather customer feedback. Once you have customer feedback, you need to measure the results (the key metrics). Based on the feedback, you need to make changes to your product. Then, you go back to the first step and build another prototype. This process continues until you have a product that customers want. Building a prototype is the first step in the process. You want to build something that represents your product idea. You do not need to create a finished product. The prototype will help you to gather customer feedback. After you have gathered feedback, you need to measure the results. You need to determine what your customers like and dislike about your product. This will help you to make changes and find a product that customers want.

Define your founding vision and value proposition

When you are building a lean startup, it is important to define your founding vision and value proposition. Your founding vision is the reason you started the company in the first place. Your value proposition is the benefit that your product provides to customers and clients. A good way to define your founding vision and value proposition is to create a one-page founding vision statement. You can also include your value proposition in the same document. Once you have your vision and value proposition, you can use them to create different marketing and sales materials. They will also help you to make decisions when you are faced with challenges along the way.

Summary

The lean startup methodology is a way of working that helps entrepreneurs build and launch products quicker, cheaper, and with less risk. The lean startup movement has transformed the way new businesses are launched and grow. Many startups are choosing to adopt lean concepts early in the development process to test their ideas cost-effectively before bringing them to market.

Before you launch your startup, you need to do a lot of planning. One way to increase your company’s chances of success is by joining an accelerator program. Accelerators are programs that support and fund startups, helping them grow faster than they could on their own. Accelerators offer mentorship, networking opportunities, and often access to potential investors. While there are many different types of accelerators, most have the same general principles: accelerate the growth of early-stage ventures through advice, education, and sometimes funding to produce a more mature company ready to take on outside investors and thrive in the wider world. There are many Accelerator programs available today for entrepreneurs interested in launching a startup. This section will explain what an accelerator is, what kind of accelerator is right for you or your business, and how to get accepted into one.

What is an accelerator program?

An accelerator program is a selective mentorship program designed to help entrepreneurs launch new companies. Accelerators can vary in terms of their focus, their funding model, their duration, and the amount of mentorship and support they provide. Accelerator programs can be as short as three months, or as long as two years. Some accelerators offer equity in the form of convertible notes, whereas others offer more money upfront. Generally, accelerator programs provide startups with seed funding, advice, mentorship, and networking to help them get off the ground and become sustainable businesses with real potential for growth. Many accelerators will ask for a small percentage of equity in the company, in exchange for the resources and mentorship they can provide. Accelerator programs are often highly competitive, so you’ll want to make sure you’re applying to the right one for your business.

How do accelerator programs work?

You’ll need to apply to an accelerator program and then be accepted into the program before you can join. If you’re accepted into a program, you’ll usually need to move to the city where the accelerator is based to participate in the program. Most accelerator programs require you to be physically present to take advantage of the networking and mentorship opportunities they provide. Once you’re in the program, there will often be regular meetings with your “mentor team”—a group of mentors who will be available to answer questions about business and give advice on how to grow your company. You may be expected to attend workshops, seminars, and other educational events, and you’ll likely be expected to present your company to potential investors and other mentors in the program regularly.

Types of accelerators

While all accelerators have the same goal of helping entrepreneurs launch new companies, there are many different types of accelerators, each with its focus and goals. Some of the most common types of accelerators include:

• Early-stage incubators – Incubators select companies at an earlier stage than accelerators, and provide smaller investments and more mentorship.
• Growth-stage incubators – These incubators are for more mature companies and provide larger investments, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
• Angel-focused incubators – Angel-focused incubators are similar to early-stage incubators, except that they specialize in helping companies raise angel investment from accredited investors.
• Accelerators focused on a specific sector or type of company – Sector-focused accelerators focus on a specific industry or sector, such as biotech or robotics and can help you launch a company in that space.
• Women-focused accelerators – Some accelerators focus specifically on helping women entrepreneurs launch their businesses.
• Social-impact accelerators – If you’re interested in launching a social-impact business—for example, a company that provides clean drinking water to areas without access to it—some accelerators specialize in these types of businesses.
• Academic incubators – If you’re a student, you may be eligible to participate in an academic incubator that offers mentorship, networking opportunities, and resources to help you launch your business while you’re still in school. If you’re just getting started with entrepreneurship, you may want to apply to an incubator program.

When should you join an accelerator program?

The ideal time to join an accelerator program largely depends on the type of accelerator you’re interested in joining. For instance, you can apply to angel-focused incubators at any point during your startup’s lifecycle, whereas growth-stage incubators generally want you to have some traction before you apply. Early-stage incubators are looking for companies that are at the idea or prototype stage. Accelerator programs often receive a high volume of applications—so it’s important to do your research and make sure you’re applying to the right accelerator program.

Which accelerator program is right for you?

Before you apply to any accelerator programs, you should do some research to find out which ones are right for your specific business. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before applying to an accelerator program:

• What stage is your business at?
• What is your business’s focus?
• What does your business need most at this point in its lifecycle?
• What kind of accelerator program is best for your business?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can start applying to accelerator programs and researching which ones are a good match for your business.

How to get accepted into an accelerator program?

The best way to get accepted into an accelerator program is to make sure you’ve done your research and applied to the right ones for your business. When applying to accelerators, it’s important to keep in mind that the application process is often competitive. Here are some tips for applying to accelerator programs:

• Make sure you have a strong business plan – Your business plan is the single most important application document you’ll submit when applying to an accelerator program. Make sure you spend ample time on it and have someone else read it to make sure it’s clear and concise.
• Build supporting materials – Make sure you have a strong elevator pitch, and that you can talk about your company and its product or service in a clear, concise way.
• Make sure your team is ready – Your team is one of the most important aspects of an application. Make sure you have a solid team of founders who can represent the company well and who have the skills to take the company to the next level.

Summary

Startup accelerators are selective mentorship programs designed to help entrepreneurs launch new companies. Accelerators can vary in terms of their focus, their funding model, their duration, and the amount of mentorship and support they provide. Accelerator programs can be as short as three months, or as long as two years. Some accelerators offer equity in the form of convertible notes, whereas others offer more money upfront. Generally, accelerator programs provide startups with seed funding, advice, mentorship, and networking to help them get off the ground and become sustainable businesses with real potential for growth. Many accelerators will ask for a small percentage of equity in the company, in exchange for the resources and mentorship they can provide. When you’re ready to launch your business, you’ll want to make sure you’ve applied to the right accelerator programs for your business. Once you’ve applied, you can sit back and wait for the decision to come in.

Pre-Seed investing is a unique stage in the startup funding process. Although most people think of venture capital as being the only source of capital for startups, pre-seed financing fills a critical gap between angel investment and seed financing. Pre-seed investment is often the first substantial capital that a startup receives, but it’s not cheap. In return for their money, pre-seed investors expect to see much higher returns on their investment than they would with angel investments or seed funds. You won’t find many venture capitalists who are willing to invest in pre-seed companies because, although the potential rewards are high, so are the risks.

What is Pre-Seed Funding?

Pre-seed funding is money raised from a small group of investors before the company has gone through the process of raising a full-fledged seed round of financing. For this reason, pre-seed is also referred to as “friends and family” financing. Pre-seed investments are usually made with the expectation that there will be follow-on investment after the company has demonstrated its ability to achieve milestones. The idea behind pre-seed funding is to provide founders with enough money to take their ideas or products to market and test the product or idea enough to determine if it has potential to succeed as an ongoing business. Pre-seed funding is usually much smaller than subsequent seed rounds of funding and is often used for paying for legal fees, creating a prototype, or marketing the product so that it can be tested in the marketplace.

How Much Does Pre-Seed Financing Cost?

Pre-seed financing is typically done with friends and family, so the amount of the investment will probably be the amount of money that the friends and family members are willing to put into the company. Therefore, the money received from pre-seed investors is not based on a set valuation of the company. That’s one of the main differences between seed funding and pre-seed funding. With seed funding, the amount of investment is usually based on a valuation determined by an external source, like an investment banker or a venture capitalist. Pre-seed financing is usually done by friends and family who are investing their own money, so they’re not likely to charge the company a percentage of the investment or a set valuation. It’s important to remember that although pre-seed financing is usually done with family and friends, it’s still a legal transaction that involves a formal investment term sheet. That’s why it’s important to find out how much the other party is willing to invest and what they expect in return for that investment. It’s also a good idea to get a signed term sheet because that will legally bind the pre-seed investors to their promised amount and give you leverage to get more money from them if you end up needing more capital.

Pre-Seed Investment Basics

• Due Diligence – Pre-seed investors expect to do a more thorough due diligence on the startup than angel investors do. After all, if the startup is not able to raise further financing after the pre-seed investment, the pre-seed investors may lose all of their money. Therefore, pre-seed investors will want to do a lot more due diligence on the startup and its management team than angel investors do.
• Investment Amount – Typically, the amount of money that pre-seed investors provide is between $50,000 and $100,000. Sometimes, the investment amount will be higher, but very rarely will it be lower than $50,000.
• Valuation – One of the biggest differences between pre-seed and seed financing is that there’s no valuation for pre-seed financing. Usually, the pre-seed investment amount is simply a lump sum amount that the investor provides.
• Multiple Investors – Although pre-seed investors are likely to demand a larger percentage of the company as part of the investment (see below), they may still be willing to invest in a company that has one or two founders. In some cases, pre-seed investors may even be willing to invest in a single founder situation, although that’s less likely to happen.
• Multiple Rounds – Pre-seed investors usually expect to make a single investment in the startup, but they are likely to require the right to make additional investments if the startup succeeds. The pre-seed investors will likely try to negotiate a clause in their investment term sheet that allows them to make a follow-on investment if the startup succeeds.
• Seniority – Pre-seed investors are likely to want more seniority in the company than angel investors. In some cases, the pre-seed investors may even want to have more seniority than the founders themselves. After all, the pre-seed investors will be taking more risk than the founders, so it only makes sense that they would want more control over the company in the event that the founders want to sell the company.

Keys to a Successful Pre-Seed Investment

• Due Diligence – Pre-seed investors will conduct a much more extensive due diligence process than angel investors do. In fact, the pre-seed investors may request that the founders provide them with the information that they would have provided to angel investors. That’s because pre-seed investors want to make sure they get repaid as soon as possible if the company fails, so they want to see all the data that shows the company is likely to succeed. You should expect to spend a lot of time providing a lot of information to the pre-seed investors.
• Invest a Lot of Time – If you’re the founders of a startup that is seeking pre-seed financing, you’ll probably have to invest a lot of time talking to the potential investors. After all, the pre-seed investors will be investing a smaller amount of money than angel investors, so there will be fewer potential investors to talk to. Because there are fewer potential pre-seed investors, you’ll probably have to talk to several of them before you find someone willing to invest in your company.
• Be Flexible – Pre-seed investors are going to be very flexible when negotiating the terms of the investment. After all, they’re investing a smaller amount of money, so they can’t demand as much in return for the investment. Therefore, you should expect to have to be flexible when negotiating the terms of the investment. It’s important to remember that, although pre-seed investors will be more flexible than angel investors, they’re still investing a substantial amount of money in your company. The investment term sheet is a contract between you and the investor, and you don’t want to sign an unfavorable term sheet.

Top Mistakes Founders Make When Raising Pre-Seed Funding

• Expecting the Same Terms As a Seed Round – A lot of founders mistakenly expect the pre-seed investors to offer terms similar to those offered in a seed round. After all, the pre-seed investment is just before the seed round, so many founders think that the pre-seed investors will offer the same terms as a seed investor would. However, that’s not likely to happen because pre-seed investors are more risk averse than seed investors. In fact, pre-seed investors will probably offer lower valuation and higher equity percentage than a seed investor would.
• Not Being Flexible – Another mistake that founders make when raising a pre-seed investment is to try to get the same terms as would be offered in a seed round without offering any flexibility in return. After all, pre-seed investors aren’t likely to offer a valuation as high as a seed investor would, so you should be prepared to offer a lower-than-usual equity percentage in return for a lower-than-usual valuation.

Final Words: Be Careful When Raising Pre-Seed Capital

As you can see, pre-seed financing is a type of funding that comes with a lot of risk. That’s because the pre-seed investors are likely to be family members who may not have a lot of money to invest. In fact, many family members will probably invest whatever money they have available. As a result, if your company fails, the pre-seed investors are not likely to get their money back any time soon. So, before you consider raising pre-seed funding, you need to make sure you understand the risks involved.

Starting a company is hard. And if you want to go big, it’s even harder. There’s no magic formula, no shortcut to success; founders need to understand their market and build the right team from the start. Whether you are a first-time founder or have experience founding and growing other businesses, launching a seed stage startup is not easy. It takes time, money and effort to develop an idea into a viable business with staying power. Prior to launching your own company as a seed stage startup, you need to understand the challenges and be prepared for what lies ahead. Here are some tips on how to do it right from the start:

Run the numbers

A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into building a new product or service, and then have no idea how much it costs to produce or sell. You need to know how much it will cost to build, grow and maintain your business so that you can know how much you need to raise from investors. What will be the break-even point for your company? How long will it take to get to that point? These are some of the financial questions you need to find the right answers to before you can even begin to think about raising capital. It’s easy to get carried away when you’re excited about an idea. You want to move forward as quickly as possible. But you also don’t want to fall into the trap of spending money on things that won’t bring you closer to your goals. Before you make any major financial commitments, make sure you’ve done the math and have a plan for how you’ll recoup your investment and profit.

Understand your idea and your market

Part of running the numbers is also understanding the market you are going into. Who are your customers, what are their problems, and how can you solve them? This is the stage where you must have a deep understanding of the problem and the industry that you are going into. Start by taking time to understand your customers, the problem, and the market trends. If you already have a product or service, you need to understand your customers even more. You need to know who the real users of your product are, and what their experience is like. You need to attend to their pain points, question and concerns. Only then, can you solve them and be in a position to scale.

Know who you are building for and why

At the same time, you need to get clarity around who you are building for, and why. This is your core audience and customer base. Who are they? What do they want? Why do they want it? This is where you begin to understand what your product is, and what it means to the end user. This is where you begin thinking in terms of features, benefits and overall value. This is where you begin to truly understand the industry and the market that you are in, inside and out. If you are building a product or service that nobody wants, you’re going to have a very hard time getting traction. You might be able to hack your way to a little bit of sales, but you won’t be able to build a sustainable company. You can’t separate the product from the market opportunity. You need to understand why the market needs what you’re selling, or no one will buy it.

Don’t burn cash too fast; get the right resources now

If you’re going to start a seed stage startup, don’t start spending money too quickly or running on fumes. Don’t burn cash too fast and get the right resources now. Don’t do it all by yourself. Depending on how much you have raised and if it’s equity or debt, you might need to get some additional help, or get assistance on services. If you want to hire a lawyer, don’t say, “I’ll do it myself.” If you want to build a product, don’t build it yourself. If you want to explore the right PR firm, don’t do it yourself. If you want to get the right advisors, mentors and coaches don’t do it yourself. You don’t have to hire a team for your seed stage startup, but you do need to get the right resources to help you start and scale. Hiring contractors can be a good option to get the help you need, but make sure that you have a clear idea of what you need them to do, when you need them to do it by and how much it will cost.

Talk to potential customers, not just friends and family

You need the validation and support. But you also need to talk to potential customers, not just friends and family. They will tell you what they want to hear. They want you to succeed because they care about you. They want to see you succeed; they want to give you advice and they want to support you. You need someone that is not like you. You need someone that is not a part of your network. You need someone that is not part of your family. You need people that will criticize your product or idea, that will tell you where the pain points are. You need people that don’t care about you or your feelings. You need people that will only support you when your product is great.

Summary

These are the major things that you need to keep in mind if you want to start a seed stage startup. It’s not easy and it will take some time and effort, but the end result is worth it. Go out there and learn as much as you can, meet people, and get feedback on your ideas and products. It’s the best way to figure out if you’re on the right track and if what you’re doing is worth pursuing.