The Mindset
You have an idea and naturally you are excited about it. You want to launch it on day 1 and see it develop into a big business on day 2. Well, that’s far from reality albeit good motivation. That’s NOT how it happens. It’s actually the opposite of what you expect.
You start small, build it step by step over the period of time (sometimes years) until it shapes up into what you envisioned it in the beginning.
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How to do it right?
Naturally, there is an evolution process behind every success – there are NO shortcuts. In real world, there are several stages in the life of a startup where you execute your business plan, take critical decisions and then actually realize its true potential. Becoming a profitable successful company is an endeavor in itself and obviously you don’t want to rush into things and not act on your plans. Let’s just journey through the stages of a startup life – they are not strictly applicable to everyone but a casual outlook on common traits in each stage.
Early Stage
Your product is in basic shape. It works but it’s not a sophisticated solution for all the needs of your customers. It’s a humble beginning.
You want to spend more time on validating the prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) then actually executing the end-to-end business ready solution. Friends and family shall provide the required push you need at this stage.
Grow Some Following
You start getting clients of your product. It gives you confidence. You build your product further as you get feedback from your customers.
This is the stage you need to validate the concept and then spend more time on planning. Things like how you want to reach the next milestone, gather required resources, and engage more with clients. You are still not independent and are spending more than earning.
Concept Validation
Your customers like the added features. You get more ideas to improve the features. You add more value to win hearts of your existing customers and attract new ones. Win the hearts of more clients.
Here, you are pushing yourself as you bring in some some revenue. Less dependence on Friends/Family. Don’t feel accomplished yet. It’s just the beginning. Finetune your processes and spend time on planning.
Polished Skills
Your customers’ feedback is integrating well in your execution cycle. They are happy with your product. This means, you are iterating faster and better. Win the hearts of more clients.
You need to be cautious at this stage as well, as you might burn out your resources. Increase skilled workforce and keep a lookout for large investment round. You are going mainstream now.
Scale up your game
You have the muscle and experience to develop something bigger. You take leap of faith and develop a much better version of your product with investment of your time, money and resources. You are hopeful that this will be in demand.
At this stage, you are certainly taking bigger strides. Just keep the pace of it and strengthen your competitive advantage.
Become Competitive – Be Irresistible
You get more loyal customers who take pride in using your product. Its sophisticated, smooth and fast.
You might earn a badge of Unicorn. Not yet? Maybe? But lets just say that you have some dedicated customer base who will stick with you for a long period of time. It’s all because of your good planning and thoughtful execution with patience
What do you think about these stages? We would like to hear from you of your own experiences. How similar or different is your journey? Share your feedback in comments or write to us at info-at-clarity.com
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