Startup Phases

The major stages of a startup life cycle and what you should be doing at each one. Every startup goes through these stages as it strives to become the next unicorn like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix or Google.

1. CUSTOMER DISCOVERY AND VALIDATION PHASE.
Aka "We are proud of our Team!"

1.1. Idea:
• Concept.
• Market Research (Potential, TAM/SAM/SOM STATS, Competitors, Risks).
• Customer Research (Target Audience, Job Stories, Problems, Switch Forces).
• Value (Value Proposition, Unique Selling Proposition, Unfair Advantages).
• Business Model (Unit Economics, Pricing).
• Growth Model (Engine and Channels).
• Positioning.

1.2. Minimal Viable Product:
• Customer Journey Map.
• Rapid Prototyping.
• First Sales.
• Customer Research (Solution).
• MVP Development.

2. TRACTION AND CUSTDEV PHASE.
Aka "We are proud of our Product!"

2.1. Launch:
• Metrics, Analytics and Feedback Pipeline.
• Traction Map.

2.2. Market-Pproduct Fit:
• Defining Hypothesis.
• Talking to Your Customers.
• Rapid Prototyping.
• Testing The Solution with Your Customers.
• Did It Work? If False, Repeat the PDCA.

3. MONETIZATION PHASE.
Aka "We are proud of our Achievements!"

3.1. Channel-Model Fit:
• Channels Validation.
• Business Model Validation.

4. GROWTH PHASE.
Aka "We are proud of our Prevalence!"

4.1. Scaling:
• Scaling Team.
• Scaling Customers.
• Scaling Revenue.


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