Recently I was talking with an entrepreneur about his startup and the concern about potentially not being able to hire fast enough. After asking a few questions about product-market fit, repeatability in acquiring customers, burn rate, and more, it became clear that the business wasn’t close to the scaling phase. The entrepreneur was worrying about a non-issue.
Here are a few thoughts on nailing the basics:
- Ensure product-market fit is in place (see 5 Happy Customers With No New Bugs)
- Prove that the customer acquisition process is repeatable (see The Four Stages of a B2B Startup)
- Develop an Internal Meeting Rhythm and ensure everyone is aligned with a Simplified One Page Strategic Plan
- Create a strong corporate culture (see 23 Corporate Culture Ideas for Entrepreneurs)
Entrepreneurs would do well to nail the basics before worrying about scaling the business. Scaling brings on an additional set of challenges best handled with a strong foundation.
What else? What are some other thoughts on nailing the basics first?
David Cummings on Startups 
This does seem to be a bit of a theme with some Entrepreneurs. I’ve coached a number of early stage Entrepreneurs that have had similar worries, well before the business is ready. These are forward thinkers, that like to think strategically but seem to be a few steps ahead of where they need to be. It can be difficult to drag them back into the here and now, but they need to keep any eye on both the current and the future. Using a variety of tools, similar to the ones you’ve mentioned in your post, can be useful, along with giving them some comfort in defining the medium and long term business plan. An interesting post, thanks.