The 100 Essential Questions for Starting and Scaling Your Company
Starting this Tuesday (12/7) I’m co-teaching a new class with Rana el Kaliouby in the Harvard Business Analytics Program (HBAP) at the Harvard Business School called "Startup Academy: The 100 Essential Questions for Starting and Scaling Your Company".
Many founders, CEO and startup leaders encounter these questions. The hope is that by presenting the questions and providing the answers to the crucial ones, HBAP entrepreneurs will be better prepared for the many challenges which accompany establishing a startup, financing, scaling and ultimately exiting it.
Here is the list of the 10 questions we ask students in the class to consider at each growth stage:
Financials: How much cash is in the bank? What is your current burn rate and runway?
Financing: What are the total capital requirements (TCR) of the business and how to adjust them over time? What financing vehicles are available and appropriate (options include bootstrapping, accelerator programs, venture and strategic)
Use of Proceeds: At each funding stage, what are the use of proceeds (UOP)?
Business model: What is the business model and go-to-market (GTM) strategy (e.g., direct, channel, or a partner sales strategy, or some combination thereof)?
Metrics: What key performance indicators (KPIs), objectives and key results (OKRs) are you tracking your company’s performance against?
Product: What is the minimum viable product (MVP)? How should you assess customer traction and satisfaction?
Team: What is the right size and composition of the team? What roles on the executive leadership team (ELT) are needed at each stage? What is the right mix of full-time equivalents (FTEs), consultants, contractors, advisors and board members?
Culture: What are the company’s core values? Does the team live by these values? How is team morale? Is everyone having fun?
Execution: Are the main functions of the company (Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Finance/Accounting/HR) operating optimally? Are the secondary functions of the company (Operations, Administration, IT, etc.) operating optimally?
Risks: What are the risks associated with your startup? How do you manage these risks?
If we are missing any key questions, let me know.
Sorry: The program has a closed enrolment approach. To learn more about the program. go here.
But if you have any comments, please leave them here. Thanks in advance.