Donita Prakash

Figure out early what NOT to do. Startups drown by chasing too much. Don't boil the ocean. Figure out the one niche of a niche where customers are dying for your unique solution.

Don't just measure a bunch of KPIs because that is what you have always done or what everybody does. Measure what matters. Sometimes that changes over time. So re-evaluate frequently. And don't forget to measure how your audience is reacting to your KPIs. Measure employee's point of view (POV) regularly - are you setting the right goals, holding others accountable, communicating priorities well? Also measure customer's POV regularly. Net promoter score or other methods -the simpler the better but make sure you watch and trend.

I found this post from LinkedIn really helpful. Good place to start on thinking about how you develop tactics to execute your plan. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/business-infographics_goal-setting-strategies-for-the-top-1-credits-activity-7197477465550708736-XQPE

Don't invest in anything that does not further meeting your customer's needs and aligns with your proven product - market fit. (If you haven't proven product market fit go back to #1 above and figure out your customers and why they care.) The real killer of #startups is having too many things to chase. Yes you may be good at delivering x, y and z but there will be a hierarchy of customer needs and market fit that should focus you in on delivering that one thing really well.

From the beginning be sure you orient everything in your company from the customer perspective. Who cares about what problem and why does your offering uniquely solve that in the existing marketplace? If you don't know the answers to that, try some #customerdiscovery. One of my favorite reads (very quick) on this subject is The Mom Test https://www.momtestbook.com/

Be sure to interview not only your customers but your competitors, your potential partners, experts in the ecosystem, etc. You will learn more about your customer and their context that way.