Idea and formation of the team.
Definition of what, to whom, why and how?

Building minimum viable product (MVP).
Validation / iteration (or pivot)

Establish & strengthen the business.
Improve processes & KPIs

Vision and ambition, together with a potentially scalable product or service, for a large enough market. Plan on how to create added value. Small team, often starting as solopreneur, with no balanced skills and commitment structure.

Creation of a mission and initial strategy with key milestones on how to reach the addressable market. Generally two or three founders with complementary skills and an equity plan. Potentially already some additional team members under specific roles, participating in the equity schema.

A fully committed and skill-balanced founding team with a common vision and workflow. Building (or having already built) the first version of the product, with dedicated resources. A proper vesting plan and shareholder agreement (SHA) between members and a committed schedule and workflow.

Testing different assumptions and iterating marketing strategies and product features, looking to validate a specific combination of the two, demonstrate traction (aka growth in terms of usage) and generating initial revenue. First KPIs are also identified and followed. Starting to attract additional external resources (money, HR).

Primary focus on exponential growth by closely measuring KPIs on users, customers, revenue, adoption, and market share. Should and wants to grow fast. Might have (or is considering to) attract significant funding. Hiring and improving product quality and internal processes.

Achieved solid growth and expected to continue to do so. Can easily attract additional capital and HR. Depending on vision and internal goals, might continue to grow or try to continue like a startup. Founders might decide to exit or continue.

Idea and formation of the team.
Definition of what, to whom, why and how?

Building minimum viable product (MVP).
Validation / iteration (or pivot)

Establish & strengthen the business.
Improve processes & KPIs

Vision and ambition, together with a potentially scalable product or service, for a large enough market. Plan on how to create added value. Small team, often starting as solopreneur, with no balanced skills and commitment structure.

Creation of a mission and initial strategy with key milestones on how to reach the addressabl market. Generally two or three founders with complmentary skills and an equity plan. Potentially already some additional team members under specific roles, participating in the equity schema.

A fully committed and skill-balanced founding team with a common vision and workflow. Building (or having already built) the first version of the product, with dedicated resources. A proper vesting plan and shareholder agreement (SHA) between members and a committed schedule and workflow.

Testing different assumptions and iterating marketing strategies and product features, looking to validate a spcific combination of the two, demonstrate traction (aka growth in terms of usage) and generating initial revenue. First KPIs are also identified and followed. Starting to attract additional external resources (money, HR).

Primary focus on exponential growth by closely measuring KPIs on users, customers, revenue, adoption, and market share. Should and wants to grow fast. Might have (or is considering to) attract significant funding. Hiring and improving product quality and internal processes.

Achieved solid growth and expected to continue to do so. Can easily attract additional capital and HR. Depending on vision and internal goals, might continue to grow or try to continue like a startup. Founders might decide to exit or continue.