SaaS Companies Are Always On a Journey of Discovery: First Things First
Here are just a few ways startups are discovering themselves and the world. I've devised a series of phases that I often think about when I meet a new company.
In truth, startups are going through all these phases simultaneously. Still, I always believe in "first things first."
The first thing is the WHO and the WHY. Do you know who might value this? Do you know what the pain is, and can you describe it effectively?
Skipping over Phase 1 will cause you a lot of heartburn later on.
Phase 1 (Who and Why)
Discovering what problem we solve
Discovering who might have the problem
Phase 2 (Completing your Solution, Narrowing Ideal Customer Profile (ICP))
Discovering the best ways to solve the problem
Discovering how intense the problem is.
Discovering which market segment experiences the problem more intensely than others.
Discovering what kind of company you are building: high margin, low volume, the opposite, or something else?
Phase 3 (Developing Go-to-Market)
Discovering other companies adjacent to your problem that are happy to go to market with you.
Discovering how big the problem is.
Discovering the most effective messaging for your target audience
Figuring out a Monetization Strategy
Phase 4 (Foot on the Gas Pedal)
Discovering where and how your market buys.
Discovering how to sell adjacent products and services related to your specialty.
Discovering how to enter new categories and markets geographically or through new market segments.
I find a lot of companies thinking they are farther ahead than they are -- wandering in the land of Phase 3 and 4 when they haven't clarified serious Phase 1 and Phase 2 items. It's almost less important even what item you put in each bucket and who disagrees.
Always answer these first:
Do we have a clear picture of who our best customers are?
Do we know why they might come to us?
Do we know how we solve their problems effectively compared to alternatives?
If you haven't nailed the answers to these simple questions, then progressing too quickly in the next phases will be much more challenging for you.
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