Hiring a Development Firm, Part 1: Vetting Candidates

So, it is time to hire a development firm…are you sure? You have a solid understanding of product-market fit for your target customer. You know the minimum amount of functionality you need to deliver to get them to use your product, keep using it and pay you something for it. Does that sound like you?

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4 Keys To Incorporating Customer Feedback In Your Product Roadmap

Now that you have a product in market (and it is in use) you may find yourself at a critical juncture—continued evolution of your product based on proof of product-market fit. If you’ve followed the guidance we’ve laid out over the course of our roadmap approach, you’ll have created a grounded Product Roadmap and built

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5 Personality Traits Of Successful Startup Employees

On the Entrepreneurial Talent Team at JumpStart, we pride ourselves on being able to identify those unique individuals who will thrive in the startup environment. Early-stage companies aren’t the right fit for everyone, and it’s important to know what you’re looking for when you’re thinking about adding new team members. Below, you’ll find the five

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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

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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

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When It Comes to Startup Success, The Market Is King

Entrepreneurs and investors alike often haggle about which is the more important ingredient for startup success, the product or the team behind it. Is the idea the sun around which everything else orbits? Or, are there truly rock star personalities out there who can turn even mediocre ideas into strong startups? Almost everyone I’ve met

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Understanding and Analyzing Financial and Operational Metrics

As a business begins to grow at a higher and higher growth rate, ie. changing growth rates quarterly or monthly, management must pay close attention to the financial statements and key metrics used to measure business performance and manage cash. These metrics are called key performance indicators (KPIs). These statements, metrics and trends help determine

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For Startups, Value Attracts Funding

At the most basic level, you cannot grow a startup without capital. And yet, getting too fixated on the capital-raising process risks losing focus on creating value, which is what potential investors are actually buying. Early-stage investing is a very risky business, which means investors are always looking for some early proof points of value

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