Are you entrepreneur ready?

As I sit through my next entrepreneurial project, I have realized a few check points that must be done before your entrepreneurial journey. Here is a quick review.

1. Idea Validation: This step is the first step in your entrepreneurial journey. You need to find a problem to solve and a solution to your problem. Talk to your potential customer and validate the idea. Post validation check the attainability of the idea. This step will lead up to the next: Positioning

2. Positioning: You need to know the precise “positioning” of your brand.

3. Market size: How big is your market?

4. Revenue: How is monetization going to happen? Remember “FREE” is not a business model

5. Financing vs Bootstrapping: Think about bootstrapping before approaching investors. Have you done enough bootstrapping before thinking of financing? If you are planning to raise funds think through what investors are looking for. How will you value your company. What are valuations for companies in your sector? What are the different financing options? At what stage will you look for financing?

6. Customer Acquisition and marketing plan: What are the different ways you can aquire the customer. The digital world needs a different strategy to approach your customers. What are the costs, strategy and marketing channels? Do you have a differentiated strategy?

7. Getting the right team: The right entrepreneurial team is a mix of marketing, operations and technological expertise. Getting the right team will help the startup move. At the same time, it will also help you in getting finance.