There are a vast number of roads that lead to the launch of high performing startups, each offering a unique advantage. While some paths emphasize product design, others focus on Design Thinking; some insist on understanding customers, others in engaging the hearts and minds of employees; some believe in Business Model Canvas, others in Lean Startups. The author’s experience with startups across geographies, technologies, and industries has shown that while each of these approaches brings useful lessons and perspectives, no one approach is singly sufficient.
Unfortunately, in the absence of a clear blueprint, many startup founders either get lost or pick random strategies for increasing their chances of success. As a result, they get lost in the din of operations and drown in an avalanche of cash-burn while showing little or no improvement in internal efficiencies or market effectiveness.
The need of the hour is a clear roadmap that serves as a guiding light in a startup’s journey – one that provides a holistic view of the venture while keeping a sharp focus on the few issues that are critical to the startup’s current stage of maturity.
Introducing the Startup Maturity Model© (SMM), a global-first maturity framework that balances the art, science, and practice of launching exceptional startups. SMM’s unique five-level architecture allows founders to take the guessing game out of the equation as they follow an iterative approach for building innovative and scalable startups.
A PROVEN 5-STAGE APPROACH FOR LAUNCHING GREAT STARTUPS
PreviewLEVEL 5: LAUNCH AND BEYOND
Launch, sustain, and scale the venture.
Ensure that adequate resources, customer-facing processes, and organizational systems are in place to support the product/service
launch. Closely monitor the feedback of various stakeholders after the launch and make refinements to sustain and grow the
venture. This Maturity Level fuels growth, helps build operational systems, enhances customer impact, and drives the profitability of the new venture.
LEVEL 4: SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT
Create products/services that will delight customers. Prepare the organization for execution.
Develop product/service functionality in alignment with customer needs, desired differentiation, and business viability. Align solution
development with other organizational activities like operations, marketing, and sales. This Maturity Level enables the startup to
develop relevant offerings while preparing the organization for the launch.
LEVEL 3: VIABILITY ANALYSIS
Prototype solutions. Evolve robust business models.
Discover product and service features that address customer needs and wants. Uncover innovative ways of acquiring customers,
generating revenues, managing competition, and increasing profits through the Startup Operating Canvas. This Maturity Level
provides insights into viable methods of creating and delivering sustainable value to customers.
LEVEL 2: OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS
Understand market dynamics. Know your potential customers.
Situate the startup within the broader socio-economic and competitive environment. Analyze categories and segments of
customers/users who will be served, and empathize with potential customers to learn about their life context, needs, challenges, and
wants. This Maturity Level is critical for instilling an outside-in and customer-centric mindset in the founding team.
LEVEL 1: IDEATION
Find problems worth solving. Build a cohesive founding team. Discover exciting startup ideas.
Identify startup ideas that solve customers’ problems, tap market opportunities, and appeal to the founding team’s passion. Build a founding team that is balanced in their skills, resources, knowledge, and experience. This Maturity Level provides a cultural foundation of transparency,
empowerment, and continuous learning to the venture.
Note: The maturity Model for Building Enduring Organizations© and Startup Maturity Model© is neither endorsed nor reviewed by Carnegie Mellon University or the Software Engineering Institute. Capability Maturity Model®, CMM®, and CMMI® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
KEY PRACTICES THAT BRING LASTING SUCCESS TO STARTUPS
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