MB on VC: Quiet Your Ego and Listen to the Market
Startup success relies on how well you satisfy the market. These seven tips help founders listen, adapt, evolve, and scale the company.
Resilience can determine a startup's capacity to navigate the unpredictable entrepreneurial journey. It is the ability to absorb setbacks, learn from failures, and adapt while keeping sight of the idea and vision that inspired the business in the first place.
Consider this. For a startup to 'graduate' to small business status means it has achieved a few specific milestones. By general definition, the progress markers are $20+ million in revenues, multiple offices, more than 80 employees, and/or acquisition.1
These gateways take time, and with time comes risk.
By the end of the first year, 80% of startups will still be making progress on their path to growth. By the end of the fifth year, only 50% will be. And by the tenth year, only 30% will have survived long enough to have a chance to move out of startup mode. (Data is approximate.)2 The uncertainties inherent to scaling a startup come from inside the company and from outside forces. Misreading market demand is the biggie (it derails 42% of the startups that ultimately fail). But a weak founding team (23%) and competition (19%) also loom large.3
Knowing the potential potholes is important. Knowing how to avoid and mitigate them is vital. Resilience is the ability to prevent demise and perform in the face of challenges.
The BIP Ventures Performance Engineering Playbook is a digestible eBook with information and tools for building resilience. It is your roadmap for navigating the most common startup challenges.
Learn how to channel your energy toward a single solution, market, or problem. An intense focus can help you navigate complexities and make decisions with clarity.
Unearth the strength of your startup by self-assessing and asking crucial questions. Gain insights into your financials, customer needs, business model constraints, and team composition. Each one is important for resilient business building.
Understand the power of a partner that can balance data-driven capital investment strategy with a meticulous value-creation platform. It's an innovative approach shown to accelerate growth and enhance the chances of success.
Take a deep dive into the core pillars of high-growth business: Financial, Growth, Marketing & Sales, and People. Each fundamentals section offers decades of empirical knowledge and a set of books, podcasts, articles, and frameworks you can use immediately to strengthen your resilience.
We are passionate about supporting those who seek to solve the real problems that impact society. The people who dream up ideas and then embrace the real work required to bring them to life. This eBook compiles information and tools we have used to help startups in our portfolio grow and scale. This Playbook reflects decades of experience as entrepreneurs, operators, and advisors. We've had our fair share of wins and scars, and through them, we've earned an understanding of the fundamental building blocks of scaling a company.
Resilience isn't only about having the grit to weather any storm. It's more than the ability to transform obstacles into opportunities. It's about being willing and able to do everything necessary to build a company that lasts and grows. Download the Playbook to leverage our experience to your advantage.
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