Leadership, Pivots, and Investor Readiness

After careful research of Steve Blank, the first lesson that I intend to implement is getting out of the office and listening to the actual customers.  Researching and asking the necessary questions to test my hypothesis will be key to a successful business model.  Although I have completed several pieces of the business plan, now I must test my numbers and go through a series of levels to ensure that I am investor ready.  Steve Blank gives us a demonstration to test one on their investor readiness. 

                                                          

I firmly believe that if a person can demonstrate their capabilities on the metrics that truly work for your business model, investors will bite.  Having a sizable market that demonstrates growth and opportunity is also important.  Investors are going to be looking at how and when they are able to get their money back at a rate that compensable to your growth. 

Steve Blank also discusses how to be smarter than your average investor in one of his blogs in which is done through continuous customer discovery.  We really should be in tune with customer needs, listen, and apply the knowledge.  By demonstrating our insight about the market, and even when the market shifts, it gives us the competitive advantage.

 

Lastly, Steve mentioned the value of pivoting.  When analyzing the top ten companies in the United States, all of them have pivoted at one point to provide customers with the best product and/or service.  Pivoting is one of the key terms Steve Blank uses when determining how to adjust to the customer.  I think the business plan is a great concept, and it gives you your goals in writing.  But what I also believe, is that the business plan for me, will be revised regularly to fit all my necessary pivots in the market.  Being on top of government regulation, and the newest technology in ones field will help to know what’s to come and make adjustments throughout ones business.  Sometimes it takes awhile to get a large company of capacity to get everyone smoothly operating in a different direction.  As a new business owner, I want to be the leader.