Best Practices for B-to-B Startups
These are the steps B-to-B startups should follow to best utilize the 1Mby1M Premium Program. [Note: Some of the links will only work if you are a premium member / scholarship winner]
1. Study the Customer Validation and Positioning modules in the curriculum. Positioning is key in identifying the target customer. Spend sufficient time with the Positioning module to ensure you have identified the right target customer base.
2. Do you have a clear understanding of your value proposition?
3. Have you validated it with your target customers? Validate. Validate. Validate. Immerse yourselves in the customer. Don’t just sit and prepare slideware based on assumptions. Understand the nuances and find the gap through which you can penetrate the market.
4. Do the Market Sizing module. A bottom-up TAM analysis is key. That means, you need your Business Model and Pricing Model validated.
5. Go through the Bootstrapping and Financing modules and figure out where you are wrt fundability if that is your goal. Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later generally works a lot better than otherwise.
6. Customer Acquisition is one of our most popular modules, especially the Sales 2.0 methodology for B-to-B sales. You will need to roll this out for your company to build repeatability.
7. While you are getting the pieces together, you should use the 1Mby1M private roundtables to get input. Your corporate sponsor often has closed roundtable sessions as well. Ask Maureen Kelly for details and schedules.
8. Here are the presentation templates we recommend you work with: Customer Pitch and Investor Pitch.
9. In your first 3 months in the 1Mby1M program, please try to get as clear as possible on all the strategy questions articulated in the Self-Assessment.
10. Roundtables. Roundtables. Roundtables. Curriculum. Roundtables. Curriculum. Roundtables.
11. Need introductions? Need PR? Check out the FAQ to learn how to use our network to get introduced and get covered. We have a GREAT rolodex and it is yours to use as you deem necessary.
