If your startup has venture capital, you probably promised it incredible growth potential when it raised the money. But when the growth stalls, investors start to worry. They may even suggest changing the management team. In reality, growth doesn’t happen in a steady fashion. In fact, most startups experience a premature flattening of the growth curve. It’s crucial for you to be prepared for this situation. Read on to learn how to deal with the inevitable growth stall.
In order to measure success, you have to create metrics. One metric you should track in the early days of your startup is revenue. You can either track this monthly or over a longer period. You should track revenue as a primary KPI at every stage of development, as this will help you identify pricing issues and percentage losses. Here are three metrics you should track. You can create multiple KPIs by using the OKR method. Ensure that your sales funnel is fully visible to customers and potential customers.
In the early startup stage, the team has a potentially scalable idea and a market that is ready to create value. The team may be small, with no formal structure, and may consist of one or two people. At this stage, the team is building the foundations for launch, while the market is still developing. They may also hire more employees. In general, a business is at its most successful at the early stages. It’s crucial for your company’s growth to have a well-defined plan that includes all of the major milestones in its early development.
As your startup grows, you need to find ways to maximize growth. A good growth rate during YC is five to seven percent per week. Anything above 10% a week is considered exceptional, while a startup that grows more than 1% a week is inexperienced. Pick the growth rate you can achieve and strive for that number every week. That will give you a benchmark against which you can measure your progress. You’ll be happy you did.
Choosing the right product is crucial for a startup to succeed. The most important aspect of a startup is the product story. As time goes by, a new product is created. Then, a product marketing strategy is needed. Depending on the type of product you’ve developed, you can use different marketing channels to drive traffic to it. In this way, your product can be marketing itself. That’s a smart move if your startup is on a budget.
Once you’ve developed a product or a concept, your next challenge is to scale your company. At this stage, you’ll need to seek outside feedback on the concept, conduct research on your target audience, and understand competition in your market. You’ll need to provide funding for the project, and work with a small team. You can even hire a professional manager during this stage. That’s a big help during early startup growth.
