Thought Experiments to De-Risk Your Startup
Just in case you got trapped, this is mostly a boilerplate which goal is not to help you but the author to get the appropriate image that would allow him to invest in companies that are doing well.> How do competitors view you? Think about your 2-3 closest competitors. If you asked their CEOs to truthfully describe your company's strengths and vulnerabilitiesWell, your 6 months old startup has no "strengths and vulnerabilities". It should also not have direct competitors. Only big companies have this kind of things. You have code, users and growth.> Are you ready for a Series A?
> Imagine that instead of being the founder of your company, you're an investorYou already ask yourself these questions.> The debate from hellThis one is decent and I'm nice. You already did this with your cofounder most of the time.> Was your MVP truly minimal?Who cares, you've survived.> Stomach-churning churn numbersYou will stress automatically about churn.> The missing keyDon't hire "key role". Only big companies do that.> Laughed out of the roomDecent and I'm nice.> Unexpectedly large marketBy the way, only investors say market when talking about startups. While this has sense, it's kinda a concept for big companies again. Your startup has early users and say pool / niche of those.> Unexpectedly small marketYou rarely have an unexpectedly small market. Most of the time you have no market at all: you have built something people don't want.> How does the trajectory of the world over the next 5-10 years align (or misalign) with what you're doing?If you're growing, you're "aligned".And on and on. The intention is not really to help you here I believe.