Ever wondered if your startup has what it takes to become a unicorn 🦄?
Here are 8 ways to identify if you have the next unicorn👇
[1] Persistence: Are you able to stick with your idea & be there tomorrow?
[2] Energy Are you able to put all your energy (emotional & physical) into the idea & solving the problem at hand?
➤ Success is a by-product of the amount of energy you bring to the table.
[3] Advisors Do you have capable advisors who are able to fill the gaps where you lack?
➤ Great advisors are a source of network building, mentors, gap-filling, & much more.
[4] Priorities Are you obsessed with your customer? Do you understand their needs? Do you have enough insights to make impactful decisions?
➤ The secret to Amazon’s success is how obsessed they are with their customer. So much so, I think they might know us better than we know ourselves!
[5] Co-Founder Do you have a fantastic relationship with your co-founder?
➤ As my co-founder Deepak Kumar says, “Put more effort into finding your co-founder than you put into finding your other half!”
[6] Global Do you serve in the global market?
➤ If not, build local teams fast. Speak to clients in those markets & understand how differently you might need to serve them
[7] Opportunity How big is the opportunity? Is the market large enough?
➤ It’s okay to chase big or small opportunities as long as you know the direction you are going.
[8] Price Do you understand what your customers are comfortable paying for your product/service?
➤ Understand customer value creation – & charge a % of the value you have created.
Bonus:
[1] Challenges to think about:
A) People – How to develop talent? – How to provide opportunities? – How to help people grow? – How to attract the right talent?
B) Culture – How to keep the initial founding team culture across all verticals? – How to engrain client centricity across teams?
C) Relevancy – Are you successful today but not tomorrow? – Are you afraid to pivot?
[2] Challenges as founders:
A) Are you able to reinvent yourself?
➤ Leading a 20 v 200 v 2000 team is very different. Initially, you need to know how to do everything. Then figure out how to hire & delegate. Lastly, build systems that WORK.
B) Can you always bring talent?
➤ Apple is what it is today majorly because of Jobs’ ability to excite talent to work with him. The better you are in getting people into domains you have less knowledge about the faster…
YOU WILL BECOME A UNICORN!
I learnt all this from Fractal‘s CEO & co-founder Pranay Agrawal Thanks to Kalaari Capital for presenting these points.
#startup #founders #unicorn #success #successmindset #unicornstartup
