#startup guide

Continuing with the theme of helping any new business owners or big dreamers who are planning to start a new business this year, I wanted to clear up the vocabulary that is often used when defining what stage your idea/business is in.

Typically you will hear things like Seed, Series A, Series B, pre-seed, etc. It is not that these words/titles are insignificant or that they do not carry meaning, but as a founder or someone thinking about jumping in, these things only serve to cloud your understanding of what you should be focused on. To simplify things, you are only concerned with the 4 stages of a business.

I like to call these stages Ideation, Venture, Scale, and Growth. 

The Ideation stage is the initial stage that kicks everything off. This stage is the least expensive in terms of money but is arguably the most important stage. Your goal is to do as much market testing as you can do, in order to verify and hone your business idea. This is where most businesses die, as your first version of it will usually not be the best version, and the time and energy needed hone and verify usually filters out those who are big dreamers but not big doers.

The Venture stage is the first execution stage, usually given titles like seed, early-stage, or pre-series A. For those that make it to this stage, its time to put your money where your mouth is.  In this stage only 1 and 10 companies usually make it out, the rest either die or become “zombie companies”. The goal here is to prove through traction, that you are ready and can scale.  The things you are proving are product creation, deploying a product(s) with early customers, demonstrating product/market fit, proving out the sales dynamics that will support efficient growth, and making sure that you have a solid team that is ready to execute.

The Scale stage is a transition stage and usually goes by the name of Series A and sometimes given prefixes like post series A or pre-series A. Once here, companies either become lifestyle business through slow growth (not a bad thing), see rapid expansion, or they burn through their capital and die. The goal here is to take the processes and strategies you have created in the Venture stage and figure out how to scale them. The things being done in this stage are usually the deciding and implementing of infrastructure and hiring the team needed to scale your business to support rapid growth.

The Growth Stage is the final stage a company gets to and is usually called things like Series B, Series C, etc. This is a perpetual stage that usually ends in a company turning into a unicorn (becoming a titan of industry), plateauing by surviving, or not hitting the size needed and dying. The goal here is to take the systems and processes that are now ready to scale and expand them to grab as much market share as you can.  This stage usually has your company executing your processes and utilizing the systems in pace over and over like a flywheel trying to take market share.  There is usually only slight changes made to these processes and systems at this point for honing and adapting, but these things and your company are usually at a size or scale that makes it hard for you to make any large changes without disruption to the day-to-day activities.

I hope this simplification and summary of the stages of business decrease the intimidation of starting or continuing forward with your business/idea this year!

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out!

“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”  –Nolan Bushnell, Entrepreneur

Heard some good nuggets of advice and insight from this week in startups again, so I wanted to share them here.  

TWiST E540 David Rogier, MasterClass  https://youtu.be/L5DMuu67s4k

5:40 - Start of the story about how David got Dustin Hoffman. Take away: a lot of what founders have to do is centered around not giving up. It shows that sometimes, all it takes is for a founder to get a single yes. 

33:07 - “in the beginning you should try and do everything live” Take away: See how your clients use your product in-person to see how they interact with it. Then only after you understand how to make that interaction good do you then start thinking about scaling. After you have figured out the scaling, this is when you should start investing in scaling your product.

35:34 - Jason goes over why he missed investing in MasterClass. Take away: As an investor, sometimes the team is all that matters, if you see a team or person like this, just support them in any way that you can. On the flip side, as a founder, if you don’t have this “air” around you of being a winner, build a team around you that creates the feeling of “we are winners and we are going to win either here or the next one.”

TWIST E953  Neyborly CEO Ben Seidl  https://youtu.be/KO5uoeoX8nk

44:35 - “At the end of the day, if you can build a business that people can build businesses on top of, you got a really sticky and strong platform.” Take away: If you give people the tools and platform to build on, it makes you extremely defensible.

1:11:36 - “Right now we are a no-code business, it’s on Squarespace” Take away: Neyborly is a $1M business and they build it on a type form web builder platform. You don’t need to know how to code to start a business you just need to be creative and able to put the pieces together.  Also, Squarespace is a platform that allows people to build a business on top of it, showing off the point above this.

"When I evaluate companies, you’re really evaluating the person and their desire to win” - Jason Calacanis

The acronym/phrase often gets thrown around when discussing how to start prototyping and building your product, though it is not often expressed about how important the process of creating the MVP is to the success of your startup. The reason I say that is because the process serves as the first time you are forced to hone your startup idea into its core value proposition, with the intention of verifying your assumptions.  The act of doing so will have lasting effects on what you decide your core value add is, and thus how your product will be created and monetized.

The reason I say this is that in order to make an MVP, you will need to decide what is the minimum amount of things that need to be built in order to prove your value proposition to your customer segments. The trap here is that even though you may have multiple value propositions, you will need to pick the minimum amount to test, ideally one core value proposition.  This is where your market research will come into play.  Only the market can tell you which value proposition(s) will be the most important in bringing customers to your product.

As you can see, if your market research was not done well, it can lead to you choosing the incorrect value propositions to test. By testing the wrong value propositions, you will end up wasting time and possibly come to the conclusion that your product has no value proposition(s) to your market(s). If you do find that a minor proposition is enough to get customers, it could lead you to ignore your true value proposition and lead to poor product decisions that could lead to things like lower monetization ability, increased customer acquisition costs,, or lower lifetime value of your customers. All of these effects can have a serious impact on the success of your startup.

The main tip is that you have to have a thorough understanding of your market and the problem that you are solving for through quality market research of a large sample size. Basically, are the questions you are asking and the assumptions that you are making the correct ones, and is the number of people you have surveyed enough for you to confirm the assumptions and understand the pains of the market.  

Hopefully, it is clear how important the process of creating an MVP is and when you get to this point, that you take your time to make sure you are designing the correct MVP with accurate market data.

“The MVP has just those features considered sufficient for it to be of value to customers and allow for it to be shipped or sold to early adopters. Customer feedback will inform the future development of the product.” ― Scott M. Graffius, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Understanding the Local Advantage in Business Growth

Refining the Business Model to Fit the Market

After launching a product or service, fine-tuning the model becomes necessary. A business model refinement consultant supports this phase by identifying what parts of the business are working and what needs improvement. Whether it’s restructuring pricing, revenue streams, or customer segments, refinement is a key step to ensure growth is built on a sustainable model.

Starting Strong with Proven Playbooks

For new entrepreneurs, an Early-stage startup playbook is one of the most valuable tools. It lays out clear steps such as identifying customer needs, building a minimum viable product (MVP), gathering feedback, and adapting the offer. This approach reduces risk by basing decisions on real-world responses rather than assumptions.

Strategy Playbooks That Guide Execution

Many startups rely on a Playbook for startup strategy to plan their launch and expansion activities. This playbook supports teams in setting priorities, identifying key performance metrics, and managing their roadmap. It enables businesses to stay focused during critical growth phases.

A similar tool, the Startup strategy playbook, focuses more specifically on execution. It often includes go-to-market plans, customer acquisition tactics, and methods for tracking product performance — all aimed at helping the startup progress steadily toward scalability.

Scaling With Expert Guidance

When it’s time to grow beyond the initial market, a business expansion strategy expert becomes a valuable resource. This expert helps evaluate readiness for expansion, identify potential markets, and manage new operational challenges. Strategic scaling reduces the risks of growing too fast or entering the wrong market at the wrong time.

Strategy for Starting New Businesses

Before any product launch, crafting a strong new business strategy is crucial. This means defining the customer problem, understanding competitors, and positioning the solution effectively. A thoughtful strategy gives a startup a better chance at market relevance and helps allocate time and resources more effectively.

Reaching True Product-Market Alignment

One of the most important milestones in a startup’s journey is finding product-market fit. A clear product market fit strategy focuses on building a solution that customers truly need and use repeatedly. This typically involves customer interviews, usage analytics, and testing different product versions to identify what resonates.

In addition, a product-market fit strategy ensures that growth is based on real product value rather than marketing alone. By tracking key indicators like retention, satisfaction scores, and user feedback, founders can confirm that their offering meets real demand.

Final Thoughts

From refining a model to expanding globally, each phase of a business benefits from having a clear plan. Whether you’re using a Startup strategy playbook or working with a business consultant in Jaipur, success is built through structured thinking and consistent execution.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why should I work with a business consultant in Jaipur for my startup?

A business consultant in Jaipur brings valuable local insight, helping you navigate regional market trends, compliance needs, and customer behavior. This local knowledge is especially useful when developing a new business strategy that’s tailored to Jaipur’s unique business environment.

2. What does a business model refinement consultant do?

A business model refinement consultant reviews your existing business structure and helps identify areas to improve profitability, customer targeting, and operational efficiency. This is ideal once your product is launched and you’re gathering real customer feedback.

3. How does an Early-stage startup playbook help new entrepreneurs?

An Early-stage startup playbook offers a step-by-step guide to launching a startup. It usually includes strategies for market research, MVP creation, user testing, and initial traction-building — helping you avoid costly mistakes in the early stages.

4. What’s included in a Founder’s strategy playbook for startups?