The 10 steps to launch a Startup

Creating a business that works is not just a matter of having a great idea. A great idea will fail as a business if you do not pay attention to all aspects of the business and do not proceed with rigor and professionalism. Of course, previous experience and lessons learned from previous failures will help, and a lot. From eekox we want to encourage those who are undertaking and starting their adventure and that's why we leave you a small summary of the steps that you should not skip.

What is a startup?

Before we start, let's define what a startup is. According to the Chamber of Commerce, "a startup is a new or early-age company that presents great growth potential and commercializes products and services through the use of information and communication technologies. (....) They are businesses that go to market quickly to achieve the necessary growth and funding through digital transformation."

What are the phases of a Startup?

Although another day we will talk about the phases and their associated investment rounds in more detail, it is important to give a brushstroke to know where we are:

• Pre-Seed. There is only the idea, it's time to look for partners (if you don't have them and you want to have them) and sign a Partner Agreement with them. You will need some funding through the 3F (Family, Friends & Fools).
• Seed. It is time to validate the business and drive. You need to get funding through a participatory loan or a business angel.
• Growth Stage. The business model works and begins to have cash flow. But an injection of capital is needed for the business to grow according to the Business Plan. This is where investment funds come in.
• Expand Stage. The scalability of the business allows the startup to internationalize and attack market segments that are different or complementary to the initial ones. Expansion may be accompanied by alliances with other companies or the entry of private equity.
• Exit. This is the point we all want to reach, whether we execute it or not. It is the time to go public or to sell to another company. Or not.....

What is your business?

Startups are usually born from an idea. That idea is usually associated with an unmet need, or an unsolved problem. To go from idea to business, you need to ask yourself who will buy your solution and why. Doesn't anyone in the market offer an answer? And if someone does, can you improve it? And can you reach your potential customers? How?

Many questions that must be answered in the following steps. Making a Business Model Canvas can help you a lot in this definition. Here are some examples. And don't worry if the first time you don't know what should go where. It is normal. It requires dedication, time and effort but it will help you a lot to define your idea.

Is there a market and how does it behave?

Your market is defined by the number of customers you will be able to sell your service or solution to. Find out what is the potential market you have. In this way you will be able to estimate the maximum number of customers you can reach. And based on this figure, estimate how much of that market you can reach and can buy your product.

In addition to this sizing, it is very useful to know the trends. Is it a market with a growing demand? If it is growing, how is it growing? You may be able to find analyses on the Internet that give you this information. The more you can study the better your estimate will be.

All of this requires research and the creation of a business model. You will have to make assumptions, but never cheat to "crunch the numbers". Remember that Excel holds everything, but business does not.

What makes you different? Your value proposition

The value proposition is what makes you different from others. It is that differential point that will make customers choose you over other competitors. Define it at the beginning of your venture because it will be one of the main factors that will make your idea succeed. Although over time this value proposition will mature and be refined, never lose sight of it.

And if you don't find that differential value, you'd better change your idea.

Your target audience

When you have matured the idea that gave rise to everything and you have been shaping it to generate your value proposition, it is necessary to define who you want to address. Often, as you develop your solution, you will be tempted to open up the range of possibilities available to you and try to cover heterogeneous segments of the public. This is not a good idea. Identify your core solution and target the market segment that needs it. Don't try to go to several places at once. You won't reach any of them.

Tools to create a Buyer Persona profile can help you define your segment. Here is an example.

Who are you and how do you want to be seen?

Create your BRAND, with capital letters. Don't try to do it alone. Seek expert advice. It will be the best investment you can make at this stage. Developing a brand strategy will allow you to discover and define what your unique essence is and will allow you to align actions, ideas and people in the same direction. If you want to take a look, you can see what The Mood Project does.

Create your team. The Partners Agreement

You may have already taken this step, partially, at the beginning. You may have started thinking about your startup together with other people who will be your partners. Whether this is the case or you do it at a later stage, be sure to have a Partner Pact. The Partners Pact is a simple document that sets the basic rules for the operation of your startup, the commitments of the partners and the rules that will govern, in general, the future of your venture. Do not be tempted to think that it is not necessary, that you are friends and that you will never stop understanding each other. It may not happen, but it might. Besides, this Pact will protect you when new partners or investors come in.

You can find many examples on the Internet. Simpler or more complex. But their structure will always be similar. In this link you can download a template.

Generate Networking

It is essential that you network with the ecosystem in which you want to be. Your startup lives surrounded by everything that gives it meaning and it is essential that you relate to that environment, that they know you and that you learn from those who are there. The world of entrepreneurship is a world tremendously rich in experiences and you can contact people who are in your situation or who can help and advise you if they have already been there.

Coworkings are an excellent environment to develop an ecosystem and in them you can find valuable experiences and people that will help you in your adventure. If you don't know where to start, try eekox to find the space and environment that will inspire you.

What is the MVP?

Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) will be your first "productive" work. The MVP is a mock-up or a sketch of your solution or service that you will use to verify your business hypothesis. In many cases it will be a portal (maybe only a little more than a Landing Page) or an App with very basic functionality. Get it out there as soon as you can. It is a mistake to delay putting it into production to complete it as much as possible since it is a tool that you will be refining and expanding as you test and verify or discard hypotheses.

Validate the business model.

This is a critical phase of the business creation process. Up to this step you have been building a framework based on knowledge, ideas and ideas from your own or nearby environments. Now it is about using your MVP to get feedback from neutral customers/users. It's about verifying if your value proposition is right and your target audience really is.

In this phase you are going to need to be known in the market. It is not about having a massive arrival, but it is about having a neutral sample that allows you to verify to what extent your hypotheses, ideas and assumptions were correct in order to correct them, pivot or discard them. Inbound Marketing techniques can help you reach that audience. Here you can learn something about them.

Investment needs.

This whole process will cost you time and money. It will depend on each situation and each business idea, when and how much you will need to finance your birth and growth. But we will talk about this another day......