IOI
It needs the correct caregivers to care for it tenderly throughout its early days. Your startup, too, requires the appropriate people from the start. When the product/app has faults or defects, it howls all night. And, more significantly, it necessitates regular monitoring and care, as even a tiny blunder might be disastrous.
The first 100 days of a startup’s life lay the groundwork for the rest of the company. A firm’s founder should be mentally prepared for the challenges ahead, as well as ready to make key decisions that will help the company survive in difficult times.
Here are 11 things you must do in your startup’s first 100 days.
1. Research, research, research!
Learn everything you can about your market. You must have a thorough understanding of the market you are catering to in order to mould your product for the best market fit.
What are your rivals up to? What are the demands of the customers? How are buyers reacting to the items of your competitors? What are the flaws in the products of your competitors?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to bridge the gap between what the consumer wants and what existing solutions can’t provide.
2. Get your objectives in order.
It is your obligation as a founder to define your company’s vision and goals for yourself and your staff. These first 100 days will help you figure out what you want to focus on and how to deal with the problems that come your way (yeah, challenges!).
Setting goals will keep you focused and on track. Don’t be concerned about attaining your objectives when you set them.
3. Draw up a blueprint.
For the first 100 days, focus on establishing a blueprint for the future — the product roadmap, prospective revenue and expenses, and the likely funding you’ll need to meet these goals. This will serve as your compass for the journey ahead.
4. Your pillar is your team: Concentrate on forming an A+ team.
A symphony is impossible to whistle; it requires an entire orchestra to perform.
Building an A+ team is critical to achieving your objectives, and this will be incredibly difficult since building a team without funding is extremely difficult.
However, potential co-founders, key team members, and even middle and junior team members must be prepared to sell their idea.
Don’t be discouraged if people prefer other well-funded startups and established companies to your startup while you’re trying to grow a staff.
5. Have a good time along the way: Create a fantastic culture
Company culture does not necessitate the creation of presentations and blogs. Just find out what kind of culture your company needs. Focus on having fun, celebrating successes as a team, and leading from the front.
6. Maintain a positive mindset at all times: Make an effort to gain family support.
Building a startup is an emotional roller coaster; keep your cool and remember why you’re doing it. During this time, you must be psychologically stronger than before. Please talk to all of the significant members of your family (particularly your parents and husband) before you begin to ensure that their expectations are met.
They may be the first to criticise, but in times of difficulty, they would be a pillar of support. Believe me when I say that you will encounter similar situations frequently during your business journey.
7. Develop a thicker skin.
When starting a business, you’ll run into a lot of sceptics, and you’ll need a thick skin to deal with them. Your well-wishers might not agree with your plans.
8. Fundraising
While it may appear premature, you will need to plan your fund-raising cycles within the first 100 days.
How much would you need to raise to reach your $XX goal? What are the accepted valuation standards in your field? In your industry, who are the most active investors? You must respond to the following questions.
It’s preferable to speak with entrepreneurs who have previously made the journey. Research may also be quite useful in determining who the best investors are and when to begin fundraising.
Always select the best investors for the best terms and price. It’s dangerous to choose the incorrect investor. Make sure you’ve done your homework on the potential investor. Before you sign the dotted line, it’s a good idea to have a professional legal adviser, a CS, or an experienced mentor/founder review your documents.
9. Concentrate like a laser.
Given the scarcity of resources, founders’ strongest currency in the first 100 days is their own bandwidth and energy.
- Don’t allow doing ten different things dilute this.
- Do only one thing, and do it well.
10. Never stop learning new things.
For an entrepreneur who is just starting out, there is no end to what they can learn. During the first 100 days, the founder must be open to a lot of learning, whether from external or internal sources.
Interacting with people from various backgrounds teaches you a lot that you can apply to your own product. Read a lot and read books on certain talents that you lack every day (for instance,hiring,product,culture,etc.)
“Let’s Build a Company: A Start-up Story Minus the Bullshit” by Harpreet Grover and Vibhore Goyal — a must-read book for first-time entrepreneurs — is one of the books that can be read in the first 100 days.
11. Find a mentor.
Making key judgments on a regular basis is one of the most difficult things for an entrepreneur to do, thus every first-time entrepreneur needs a sounding board or a mentor.
People who have been through this process previously and can provide fair counsel without being judgmental are the perfect mentors, not necessarily family members or the greatest names in the startup field.
Try to actively seek an ideal mentor for yourself throughout the first 100 days of creating your firm. This will be an iterative process, so keep connecting with a variety of people and analysing who appears to be the best fit for the role.
