Startups are risky. As many as 90% of them fail. A key reason why startups fail is that the early days of new ventures very closely resemble research and development (R&D). And sadly, R&D projects don’t always work. Maybe the product isn’t perceived as valuable.
There are clear benefits to targeting the enterprise market. In the enterprise market, a startup may be competing against fewer companies, they may be able to reach profitability more quickly (thanks to greater deal sizes), and ultimately, should they become a market leader, new entrants
You may have launched a full product or, agreed on terms for a conditional purchase, or a customer might have purchased your product in full. But if your product takes a long time to demonstrate value, it will significantly impact your ability to learn, and
When building a startup, time is the great unknown. You may be able to find an opportunity, validate it, and reach product/market fit in three months. Or, it might take years. Investor Andrew Chen calls this time variable Time to Product/Market Fit (TTPMF). And unfortunately,
“If there could have ever been a magical time to build an enterprise software company, now is absolutely that time.” – Aaron Levie, Box Co-Founder & CEO When I was writing the first edition of Lean B2B, most of the fastest-growing startups were business to
“The first prototype isn’t meant to show a solution. It’s to show that you don’t yet understand the problem.” – Clay Shirky, Author Silicon Valley Group founder and product management expert Marty Cagan says that there are two inconvenient truths in products: At least half
To be able to get a sale through, you need to start by finding the person with the motivation to get the solution purchased. That person is often the internal change agent—sometimes called the champion, or coach. Change agents are willing to stick their necks
