2,756
edits
Startup Validation: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 46: | Line 46: | ||
* How much budget did you allocate to different functions? | * How much budget did you allocate to different functions? | ||
==== | ==== Budgeting ==== | ||
* What costs over the last years/month (since inception)? | |||
* Do you currently receive a salary? What will your salary be after a successful funding round? | |||
* | * What is your current budgeting plan? If you are not cash flow positive do you know how long your cash will last before you need to cancel the project? e.g. 9m month run away cash. | ||
* How much money are you planning to raise? How are you planing to spend that cash? (budgeting plan) Are you planning (costly) investments in the near future? | |||
* How | * Do you see a way to grow faster (or more sustainably) by making certain investments (hiring developers, hirings sales reps, advertising)? | ||
* | * How much runway will you have after closing your funding round? How much money are you planning to raise in your next round? | ||
* How | |||
* Are you well prepared on the tax front (monthly payment of payroll tax, VAT) to avoid unexpected tax payments? What processes do you have in place for accounting/ tax and how automated are these? (Checklist here (starting with "1. How to start Finance?"): https://www.florianhuber.de/blog/know-your-numbers-finance-and-controlling-in-early-stage-startups/) | |||
| Line 59: | Line 61: | ||
==== Vision ==== | ==== Vision ==== | ||
* What is the Mission and Vision of your company? | * What is the Mission and Vision of your company? | ||
* Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? | * Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? | ||
* Do you have an exit plan? | * Do you have an exit plan? | ||
==== Product ==== | ==== Product ==== | ||
* What makes your product stand apart from competition? What is your USP? | |||
* Which part of your product are you most proud of? In which area do you need to get better? | |||
* Are there any (technical) explanations of your product available? | |||
* How could we independently validate the quality of your product? | |||
* Has the product gone through iterations? For how long is the product already in its current iteration? | * Has the product gone through iterations? For how long is the product already in its current iteration? | ||
* Can you sketch the growth curve during the different product interaction stages? | * Can you sketch the growth curve during the different product interaction stages? | ||
* Can you quantify the demand for your product? | ==== Market ==== | ||
* | * Can you quantify the demand for your product? (Revenue) | ||
* Which | |||
* How big is the total addressable market? How large is the serviceable available market? Which assumptions did you make in your calculations? | |||
* Which % marketshare do you think you can obtain and hold longterm. Why? | |||
* How do you market your product? How high are your Costumer acquisition costs and costumer lifetime value? | |||
* How | Revenue | ||
* Which | * How much revenue did you generate so far? | ||
* | * How much realistic revenue can you generate within your current vertical? (marketsize) | ||
* What are you revenue growth projections? What kind of assumptions, targets, kpis did you set yourself? What is currently the limiting factor for growth? | |||
* What are you expansion plans beyond that? Which verticals are you going to tackle next? When will you tackle those verticals? | |||
* Do you know what your customer acquisition costs (CAC) and your customer lifetime (CLV) is | |||
==== Clients ==== | ==== Clients ==== | ||
* How much revenue are you targeting per client? | * How much revenue are you targeting per client? | ||
* How many potentially clients did you already had talks with it? | * How many potentially clients did you already had talks with it? | ||
* How difficult is it to identify and start conversations with potential clients? | * How difficult is it to identify and start conversations with potential clients? | ||
* Do you currently have clients signed? If yes which ones? | * Do you currently have clients signed? If yes which ones? | ||
==== Partners ==== | |||
* Which business partners does your business model depend upon? | |||
* How many different partners do you need in order for your business to succeed? | |||
* How large is the pool of potential partners you can work with? Which % of them do you need to sign in order to succeed? | |||
* How many potential partners did you already contact or had discussions with? What are conversion rates when reaching out to people? How far progressed are contract discussions? | |||
==== Roadmap ==== | ==== Roadmap ==== | ||
* Do you have a built out roadmap? How did you construct that roadmap? How do you decide what to focus on? Are you willing to share that roadmap? | * Do you have a built out roadmap? How did you construct that roadmap? How do you decide what to focus on? Are you willing to share that roadmap? | ||
* Do you have concrete plans to pivot if plan A is failing? | * Do you have concrete plans to pivot if plan A is failing? | ||
==== Exit ==== | ==== Exit ==== | ||
* Are you targeting an exits or do you want to try staying independent? | * Are you targeting an exits or do you want to try staying independent? | ||
* What are your exit options? Who could be interested in buying you? | * What are your exit options? Who could be interested in buying you? | ||
* In which timeframe and at which valuation could an exit be realistic? | * In which timeframe and at which valuation could an exit be realistic? | ||
* Which kind of terms did you agree with lead investors on? (Liquidations preferences, drag/tag along etc.) | * Which kind of terms did you agree with lead investors on? (Liquidations preferences, drag/tag along etc.) | ||
==== Regulatory ==== | ==== Regulatory ==== | ||
* Which regulatory challenges are you facing? | * Which regulatory challenges are you facing? | ||
* How can you solve those challenges? | * How can you solve those challenges? | ||
* Are you able to fully comply with regulatory demands or do you need to take certain regulatory risks? | * Are you able to fully comply with regulatory demands or do you need to take certain regulatory risks? | ||
* How fast is the regulatory environment changing? | * How fast is the regulatory environment changing? | ||
==== Risks ==== | ==== Risks ==== | ||
| Line 112: | Line 131: | ||
* What are your two biggest direct competitors and who are your two biggest indirect competitors? | * What are your two biggest direct competitors and who are your two biggest indirect competitors? | ||
* Do you have an unfair/sustainable advantage over your competition? | * Do you have an unfair/sustainable advantage over your competition? | ||
* Which type of players are you seeing as your most serious challengers in the next years? | * Which type of players are you seeing as your most serious challengers in the next years? | ||
* In what… | * In what… | ||
==== Businessmodel & Moats ==== | ==== Businessmodel & Moats ==== | ||
* What is the endgame in your market? How strong are network effects? How much consolidations are you expected to see? | * What is the endgame in your market? How strong are network effects? How much consolidations are you expected to see? | ||
* What is the most valuable resource in your business? What will be the deciding factor which businesses are going to be successful or not? | * What is the most valuable resource in your business? What will be the deciding factor which businesses are going to be successful or not? | ||
* How will one business be able to take market share from the other? (Better product, pricing etc.) | * How will one business be able to take market share from the other? (Better product, pricing etc.) | ||
* Which types of moats are you hoping to build for your business? | * Which types of moats are you hoping to build for your business? | ||
* What are power dynamics between different players in your market | * Are there any moats that competitors have which are not obtainable for you? | ||
* What are power dynamics between different players in your market? (e.g. different vendors/partners, competitors, costumers) | |||
* How are contracts structured generally speaking? | |||
* How | |||
== Investment == | == Investment == | ||