Conceiving, Refining and Validating your Startup Idea

Finding Product/Market Fit: Using Consulting to Understand Customer Needs

March 21, 2011 • jraguin • 7 comments

Many entrepreneurs have a strong suspicion that there is an opportunity in a particular market, but lack the detailed understanding of customer pain needed to design an appropriate solution. The  following guest post by John Raguin, ex-CEO, and co-founder of Guidewire Software, describes how he and his co-founders tackled this problem. Recently, David Skok and [...]

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Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition

December 22, 2009 • David Skok • 122 comments

In the many thousands of articles advising entrepreneurs on what they have to focus on to build successful startups, much has been written about three key factors: team, product and market, with particular focus on the importance of product/market fit. Failure to get product/market fit right is very likely the number 1 cause of startup [...]

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In Building for Success, Business Model, Idea Conception, SaaS, Startup Help • Tagged , , , , , , ,
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Deale/1188785414 Martin Deale

    Such a cool initiative David Skok – nice job!! Thanks for sharing your useful new brain child with us mortals.

  • http://minglhq.com/ Jared

    Can't wait to see this post. Is it in the works?

  • http://minglhq.com/ Jared

    Can't wait to see this post. Is it in the works?

  • ImOnRu

    Conceiving, Refining and Validating your Startup Idea. None of this matters, unless you actually do something.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LADHNMG2IDUHYO357LYMFR5ZPA Dara Solomon

    Looking forward to some posts here and in the funding category :)

  • http://www.forentrepreneurs.com David Skok

    Hi Dara – My next post should address your interest. Thanks!

  • http://www.energiepraemisse.ch James Ferguson

    @dskok:disqus - A minor thing  http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/startup-help/idea-phase/ has two linksBrainstorming for New Startup Ideas: A Framework to Spur Creative ThinkingStartup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition
    But both point to Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition thought you would like to know

  • http://www.forentrepreneurs.com David Skok

    Thanks for pointing that out. I will fix shortly.

  • http://www.forentrepreneurs.com David Skok

    Thanks – now fixed.

  • JRNYC05

    Hi David,

    I’m looking to step into the entrepreneurial world. I have, what I think, a revolutionary idea in the social networking space. My question is more around forming partnerships. I’m not sure if this is appropriate here, but I figured I’d ask.

    I have two people interested in helping me bring the idea to fruition. One is a web developer and one is a designer. Since I don’t have up front cash to pay them I wanted to offer them a “piece of the pie” down the road when the site starts to generate revenue and be worth something.  How do I go about doing that? Do I create a certain number of available shares for the company and then offer them a percentage of shares?  And what legal document does this kind of deal go on?

    Thanks for any advice you can provide!
    Steve

  • http://www.forentrepreneurs.com David Skok

    Steve, the best way to go about doing this would be to give them a “piece of the pie”, i.e. promise them that they will get a certain percentage ownership of the unfunded company when it gets formed legally. I believe that a simple written agreement between the three of you to that effect is all that you need at this stage.
    (I should warn you that I am not a lawyer, and it would not be a bad idea to bounce this same question of a legal firm that is friendly to entrepreneurs and willing to provide them with advice prior to funding. )

  • JRNYC05

    Much thanks David. Appreciate the input and completely understand regarding the lawyer comment. It’s very difficult to find good, useful info on how to get started without paying someone a whole lot of money to tell you how to get started. Especially, when starting a “website company”.  Thanks again.

  • Mark Anthony

    Discover innovative startup ideas, disruptive new technologies and succesful business models at 100mills Startups Database 2011. Go here – http://www.100mills.com