Work Smarter, Not Harder: Implementing & Enhancing Your Internal Tools
No one is born with the innate knowledge of what it takes to start and run a company. It is a learned experience that cannot be taught in a book. In that vein, there is no magical list of internal tools, processes and software that you would know of or have used that let you
Growth, Retention & Relationships Make the Dollars Flow
If you are following the Entrepreneur Roadmap as laid out, you’ve developed a launched a product, and are reaping the fruits of your hard work. New customers are rolling in, and you are getting great feedback on your product. You are keeping a close eye on all your KPIs, and you’ve had some great conversations
5 Things To Think About When Expanding Your MVP’s Features
You’ve launched your MVP and its working like you expected. You’re satisfying a need for your users, collecting tons of data and analytics and likely generating some revenue. How do you capitalize to get the most of this data and your early-stage traction? If you have dedicated users for your product, they are likely willing
Securing Your First Pilot: Where The Rubber Meets The Road
You have arrived at that fateful moment when you need customers (prospects actually) to try your product. You have been developing, started marketing and selling, and now you need to get someone to commit to putting your product into active use in a real-world setting. The question is: How do you get someone to do
Engagement Is A Trip, Plan Wisely
As you move from the Development stage of product build into the Launch stage of the Entrepreneur Roadmap, you are going to find yourself making the sharp turn from inwardly-focused activities to rapid dives into marketing and demand generation. You’ll know you’re making this turn on your path when you find yourself caught up in
Wireframes or Prototypes… Worth the Investment?
Imagine explaining all of Facebook’s features to someone who has never used it. How would they remember how it all worked? Even if they could remember, what if their interpretation was different than what you said? The functionality of web and mobile applications, much simpler than Facebook, gets lost in translation often. There are plenty
Who, or What, is the MVP?
As an entrepreneur in our digital age, MVP is an acronym you will hear often. And, unless they’re specifically talking about you, MVP probably doesn’t stand for most valuable player. In fact, they more than likely mean minimum viable product. And by minimum viable product, they mean the product/project version you can release with the
From Try To Buy: Converting A Pilot To A Paying Customer
The goal of a pilot is to build up enough proof in your prospect’s mind that they can decide to purchase your product (or not). Contrary to what you might think—a valid and valuable outcome for an entrepreneur is to have the prospect choose not to buy what you are offering or you to choose
How To Build The Perfect Pitch Deck
Having an impressive pitch is a key component in raising capital. A great pitch can get an investor excited about your business and opens the door to the investors wanting to learn more and take you through a due diligence process. There are thousands of templates online that provide guidance on what slides to incorporate
When creating sales material, always answer the prospect’s question, “What’s in it for me?”
You’ve done it—you’ve completed this crazy sprint through the Entrepreneur Roadmap Methodology to Develop a product and get it out to the masses. Your weeks and months of hustling are done, and you can now sit back and watch as the customers fly in the door. Oh, if only it worked that way. Building a
Landing Your First Customer In 4 Easy Steps
If you are following JumpStart’s Entrepreneur Roadmap methodology, you probably have a checklist where you are running down the items completed. MVP? Done. Website? Built. Pricing model? Check. Contracts? Ready to go. Customers? Not a prospect in sight. It feels that way sometimes—you spend so much time working on a product and all the things
8 Questions To Ask Yourself When Preparing For Fundraising
Starting your own business is challenging. No matter how unique your idea is, it’s unlikely to get off the ground without proper funding. Securing the necessary funding to start and sustain a business is one of the biggest hurdles that every aspiring entrepreneur faces. Within Northeast Ohio, there is a significant and growing number of