good startup vs bad startup

Taking action to

produce working

examples of the

great ideas.

Sketching, drawing, scribbling,

measuring, painting – not actually taking action.

Seeks VC funding

after testing

prototype and

measuring results.

Actively seeks $300million in VC funding after first test is started.

Concentrates funding

capital on helping the

customer: New tools for them to use, marketing

the product/service, generally placing

focus on the customers benefits.

Uses majority of funding on plush Italian sofas and awesome toys for

the toilets.

Searches for niche

market to target and test

the product with.

Then adapts as audience &

market grows.

Expects large audience and

demand right from launch day.

Ensures that there are plenty of

staff, hardware, software & resources to deal with the

inevitable crowd.

No one shows up.

Location of business

chosen is based upon

the need for: - Staff to have an easy commute

& access

- Customers can locate it easily

Looks for cheapest place in order to

attract customers on the basis of price

targeting.

Doesn’t consider location appeal or condition.

Has a

Great

Revenue

Plan

Feels that a revenue is the last of their

worries.

(Remember Instagram was a very, very, very rare example

of valuation to revenue)

Business Wants to remain viable

long term.

Startup

Looks for exit strategy before anything else.

Likes to learn

from past

successes.

Uses Failures as good story telling during networking events to build interest from

outsiders.

Wants to have a

brilliant sales

process in place to

stay a viable &

stable business for

the long term.

Won’t bother with a sales process or

will make plans for it during a toilet

break.

Tests, adapts &

learns from

great metrics

and data.

Plans to be great from the first

moment the world experiences the

product.

Looks to improve

efficiency within the

team and avoids

employing extra

team members.

Uses VC money to drive aggressive

recruitment & expects demand to

match current team numbers.

Is smart when

determining the need

for extra team

members.

Optimizes metrics and data from

quarterly targets & reviews.

Recruits 5 new team members

for every 1 new customer.

Job titles have little

meaning.

Approves and embraces

an open culture.

New recruits are given C Level

authority even if it does mean very

little.

Looking to somehow

put a dent in the

universe with

products and

services.

Making products to

flip and cash in.

Products & services

are produced to help

with problems that

the company has to

deal with.

Seeks out problems that people never thought they had

then tries to solve it with no personal experience in the

situation.

Has a valuable

product. Tries to sell

an idea.

Releases Minimum

Viable Product (MVP)

to test & measure.

Releases final product as first

release.

No testing or measuring completed.

Looks to build just

a small following

before any launch

is announced.

Expects a large following to flock on a whiff of

news.

Never puts work in to actually start building

any means of a following.

Embraces the

‘smaller’ aspects of

exposure with SEO,

Referrals, Web

adverts and Events.

Waits for big time bloggers and the blogging world to

pick up on the product and

generate exposure.

Approaches

business

development

with an open

mind.

Already planning for a

large blue chip to buy the company.

Biz Development

involves working

closely with

other

companies.

Holds auditions for which company

has the right to use products or

services.

Puts together

a Freemium

model.

Never wants to charge for products &

services.

Decides to undercharge.

Continuous A/B

testing takes place

throughout the life

cycle.

Changes things when they feel that

they are bored.

Early Beta

testing. No Beta or

testing.

From day one its

about collecting

contact information of

potential users &

customers.

Release day is the start of

contact capture.

Always knowing

that you need

less than you

think.

Always looking to spend more

than they need.

Puts emphasis on

solid long term

viability of the

startup.

Emphasis on who will they sell to;

Microsoft or Amazon?

Remains agile for as long

as possible.

Employs freelancers ahead of permanent

team members. Basically minimum amount of

long term contracts as possible.

Signs contracts for the long term, hires lot’s of team

members and avoids

freelancers.

Releases a part finished

product, giving the

chance for people to

experience it before

further changes are

added.

Makes half-assed attempt at a product, just wants to have

revenue to keep shareholders happy.

Has a limit on

new services

& add-on’s.

Every brain storm becomes a

released service or product.

Limits the number of

meetings had.

Invites only the leaders or

senior members of the teams.

Meetings arranged to discuss the

choice of kitchen fragrance.

Uses estimates &

metrics for analysis of

the whole process &

future projections.

Works on estimations,

which are always wrong.

Works through the

complaints to take action

on the most common

problems.

Every issues is solved with a new update or a new

product release.

Fine is great. Constantly

tweaking & never releasing.

Uses test results

to ‘know’ what the

market wants.

Tells the market what

it wants.

Beta testing

consists of a

limited number

of variations.

Produces 11 variations for

the Beta stage.

Creates value. Creates waste.

Accepts that

something

doesn't work and

drops it.

Holds onto a failing project,

with intent to drop it.

Talks to customers

during Beta testing

for insight.

Changes only what they

feel is wrong.

Has progressive

targets set close

together.

Quarterly reviews.

Sets yearly targets with

nothing in between.

Sets to increase

revenue on a monthly

basis.

Achievable but hard targets.

Has revenue spikes with PR

work.

Wants to please the investors rather than build

a solid stream.

Brilliant strategy

to cover

growth, revenue

& products.

Uses hope as a strategy.

Anticipates some

screw up’s along the

way.

Apologises and corrects.

Chooses to ignore screw

up’s.

Tests pricing

models and

ranges during the

early stages.

Raises prices once final

release is out and has mass

audience.

For further reading on Startup & Business

success check out the following books:

- REWORK

- The Lean Startup

- The Ultralight Startup

Check out Tactical Sales Blog for more tips & advice on sales, business

& much more.