Seed Stage Startup #1 Challenge

For seed stage startups, the #1 challenge is figuring out how to profitably acquire customers. In fact, this is closely aligned with what I believe is the biggest challenge for all entrepreneurs. In today’s world, the technology piece of the equation is much less difficult compared to 10 years ago, overall infrastructure costs are much less, and low cost outsourcing or crowdsourcing is readily available. Here’s what seed stage startups should focus on:

• Cost of customer acquisition
• Cost of customer on-boarding and ramp up
• Lifetime value of the customer
• Customer churn/attrition

My advice: focus on customers.