Page 113 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

92 6 SECRETS TO STARTUP SUCCESS

I sought much advice when I started out as an independent
consultant. One piece that stuck with me came from a legend
in my field, who, in an interview, was asked to name the secret
that distinguishes successful consultants from the rest. He
thought for a moment, then he replied, “clients.” Although
most new founders understand the importance of building a
healthy pipeline of clients, they also routinely underestimate
what’s required to do it, even with a well-targeted offering.

Revenue is a lagging indicator. Your customer count will
be a function of how much time, attention, and, as necessary,
money you put into your marketing and sales efforts. The
look and feel of your particular approach will depend on
your business model and plan, who you are targeting,
through what channels, etc., which I’ll discuss in more detail
in Chapter Five. Whatever your plan for acquiring cus-
tomers, be sure not to take short cuts in this vital area.

2. Go for game-changing partnerships. A common theme among
successful entrepreneurs is that they don’t attempt to do it
all themselves. They create early alliances that bring stability,
customers, connections, capacity, or promotional support.
Whether it’s that first monster client account or a highly traf-
ficked website that features your product on its home page,
big-ticket partnerships can radically alter the growth trajec-
tory of your business. Microsoft was essentially born through
a deal to provide the operating system for IBM’s first per-
sonal computer. Modality’s first big break came as a result of
Mark Williams’s hard-earned partnership with Apple.
As David Thompson notes in his book, Blueprint to a Billion,
these alliances are often highly asymmetric, with the larger,
more established partner holding all of the power.12 Such
partnerships bring challenges and risks. You can become
overly dependent on a single mammoth partner, for example,
or lose direct contact with your end user. Making the right
alliances work in your favor will call for boldness, creativity,
persistence, and strong relationship skills.

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