4 Questions Entrepreneurs Must Have Answers To If They Find Their Start-up Slowing Down Due To “Investor Interference”
Vineet Nayar
Founder, Sampark Foundation & Former CEO of HCL Technologies | Author of 'Employees First, Customers Second'
I repeatedly hear from young entrepreneurs that, as fund managers come in, they introduce too many controls for cash flows, income projections, budgeting, risk analysis, financial modeling – the list is endless. This is what I call spreadsheet asphyxiation.
If a start-up entrepreneur has clarity at all times on these 4 simple questions, I believe the start-up can be rejuvenated, and the investor’s trust can be won:
1. What specific problem are you solving? Does your product solve a unique problem or offer a unique solution to an existing problem?
2. Who will be willing to pay a premium for your product or service? Is the thing that differentiates your product critical to the customer? Why would they be willing to pay for your service?
3.Who do you want on your core team? Are your team’s objectives aligned with yours?
4. Why are you doing this? Is the startup being built to last, to sell, or because you enjoy solving a challenging problem?
Frontend Developer @ 5day.io | Angular, TypeScript, JavaScript, RxJS, MFE
3 年Sir, How to get the the Answer of your second question.. Means what execution should an Startup should take to validate that the customer will pay the premium..
At times a frugal approach might be of help to a start-up to begin with. Many a times there is a possibility of getting a funding relatively in a not very difficult manner from investors for a new brilliant idea. There might be an error on the part of start up in making the judgement on priority, where the money should be spent. Entrepreneur should ask few more questions - At what stage of my business do I need substantial funding? Can I operate on a rental place? Do I really need to own it? Is this source of funding good for the health of my start-up? What are the alternate sources of funding including the government schemes available? Many a times government schemes are never explored for historical reasons of red tapism. It might be a good idea to give it a chance to explore whether there are any changes happening on this front as well. At times paranoids survive and the Page 3 persons get carried away with a glamour quotient attached to their venture. However it is very subjective and a matter of individuals choice.
An Experienced Business Development Professional across IT Services and Products.
8 年Great article sir and these are some very pertinent questions which every entrepreneur should be asking themselves.