To succeed on your startup venture, you need to make sure you have the right building blocks in order to survive and thrive. We created and designed a checklist that will definitely guide and prepare startup leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs, just like you—before launching and taking off!
Creating a startup is like trekking into the unknown—it’s not easy and many gave up half way already. That’s why it’s important, that you, as the startup leader and founder, is rightly anchored on a strong and solid foundation.
Passion plays a huge role in the life of every entrepreneur. It serves as the fuel that instills determination and perseverance to keep on moving forward. The big question is, what are you passionate about? This is your starting point!
Strength, according to Gallup, is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific task. Based on two decades of research and study, Gallup proposed 34 different kinds of strengths.
Take the StrengthsFinder Assessment and discover your strengths.
Clarify your Personal Field of Interest (PFI). Is it technology? If so, is it coding, IT, engineering computers? Or is it finance, crafts, or education? Which field would you like to focus on? What are the three topics of your interest?
Once you’ve identified your top strengths and PFIs, be obsessed in growing the skills and knowledge involved around it. Read books, watch educational videos available on YouTube, or enroll in trainings and seminars—whether online or face-to-face.
Assuming that you are now “somewhat” ready for the hard work, let’s move on to the next stage.
Passion and skills aren’t enough to succeed in building a startup. One must have a clear plan. The next building blocks are the blueprint of any startup venture. Once you’ve gained clarity on these things, then you just developed your very first business model.
Define the different groups of people or organizations your startup aims to reach and serve. As much as possible, be more specific. Remember, you can’t serve everyone (example: Vegan recipes won’t please meat lovers).
For whom are you creating value?
Who are your most important customers?
Gender. Age. Jobs. Interests… name it all!
Describe the bundle of products and services that create value for your specific customer segment. This is when you start thinking of the possible products and services you wish to deliver to your potential customers and target market.
What value do you deliver to the customer?
Which one of your customer’s problems are you helping to solve?
Which customer needs are you satisfying?
What bundles of products and services are you offering to each Customer Segment?
Describe how you communicate and reaches your customer segments to deliver your value proposition (example: Facebook Page, Amazon, flagship store, Netflix, Website).
Through which Channels do your Customer Segments want to be reached?
How are you reaching them now?
How are your channels integrated? (If you have multiple channels)
Which ones work best? (Make it your home base)
Which ones are most cost-efficient? How are you integrating them with customer routines?
Describe the type of relationship you establish with a specific customer segment. (example: Automation, customer service, assistant, consultation, freemiums)
What type of relationship does each of your customer segments expect you to establish and maintain with them?
Which ones have you established?
Describe the means through which you wish your start-up will generate revenue.
What are your products and how much do you plan to sell each?
How would they prefer to pay? (example: cash, credit cards, other financing vehicles)
How much does each revenue stream contribute to overall revenues?
Identify the most important assets required to make your business model work.
What key resources do your value propositions require? (example: People who are good at…, or technology your business need in order to function)
What key resources do your distribution channels require?
What key resources do your customer relationships require?
What key resources do your revenue streams require?
Identify the critical actions and tasks necessary to effectively implement and sustain your business model.
What key activities do your value propositions require?
What key activities do your distribution channels require?
What key activities do your customer relationships require?
What key activities do your revenue streams require?
List the network of suppliers and partners that make your business model work.
Who are your key partners?
Who are your key suppliers?
Which key resources are you acquiring from partners?
Which key activities do your partners perform?
Record all your expenses/cost needed to operate your business model.
What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?
Which key resources are most expensive?
Which key activities are most expensive?
You have now drafted your first business model. Keep on revisiting and reimagining it with your team until you “feel” like you’re hitting it perfectly!
Download the Free Business Model Canvas
No one can give you the best and wisest guidance than a professional business consultant. Just be careful on who you will choose. Check their portfolio if necessary.
Branding is the entire representation of any group, organization and business. It has two parts, Brand Identity and Visual Identity. So, make sure you give yourself the best branding people will never forget. Just like the rest of the checklist, designing your brand is crucial and is not easy. So, take some time to explore.
This is the time to start writing your…
Vision for your startup
The mission of your startup
Which key activities are most expensive?
Which key activities are most expensive?
This is the time to In interacting with the market, your brand must also possess a trait or characteristic just like you. Identify whether your brand’s personality is friendly, adventurous, sophisticated, playful, and so on.
Easy as it says, Brand Name must be unique and distinctive.
Is it memorable?
Is it easy to pronounce?
Is it relevant to your brand’s essence?
Another crucial part of your brand identity is actual interaction with your customers before, during, and after the purchase of your product or service. With exceptional customer service, make sure to create a positive experience.
Your brand voice will reflect your Brand’s personality and values that resonates with its target audience. It must be consistent in style, tone, and language.
Your logo will be the central visual element of your Brand Identity. A well-designed logo must communicate your brand’s personality, values, and story at a glance.
In line with the logo, your chosen typography should align with your brand’s identity. Whether it’s bold and modern, elegant and sophisticated, or playful and fun, consistent typography helps you establish a cohesive brand image.
The color palette is a set of carefully chosen colors that represents your brand. It must evoke emotions that connects your customers to your story and identity. Selecting the right color palette is crucial for expressing your visual identity that resonates with your market.
Photography style must be the type of images you will use for your marketing and communication materials. Just like the previous Brand Identity points, it must align with each other. It could be realistic, artistic, illustrated, or minimalist.
Patterns are repetitive visual elements that can add depth and texture to your brand. These may be derived from your brand logo, typography, or other visual elements.
It refers to the arrangement of visual elements, such as text, images, and graphics, in your marketing materials, website pages, and other brand communications. It is recommended for your lay-out to be visually appealing and in-line with your style and tone.
Icons are simple visual representations you will use to quickly convey information or concepts. These icons will be commonly used in your user interfaces, websites, and marketing materials.
Illustrations are unique, hand-drawn or digitally created visuals that can add a distinctive and artistic touch to your brand’s communication.
All these brand identity and visual elements must be aligned with each other to create a cohesive, memorable, and consistent brand experience for your customers.
You’re almost there!!!
Marketing is the artful blend of research, strategy, and creativity to communicate value, cultivate relationships, and drive customer action. For start ups, marketing is vital to create visibility and customer awareness. It drives growth by positioning the brand, showcasing value, and facilitating audience engagement, thereby increasing market share and profitability.
There are different marketing methodologies. Choose the best ones that works for you. Here are the top 10:
Content Marketing: Utilizing blogs, videos, infographics, and more to provide value and engage your audience.
Social Media Marketing: Leveraging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., to promote your brand and interact with customers.
Email Marketing: Sending targeted emails to nurture leads, promote offers, and maintain customer relationships.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your online content to rank higher in search engine results, driving organic traffic.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC): Paying for top positioning on search engine results pages, usually through Google Ads.
Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with influential people in your industry to reach their followers, increasing brand awareness and credibility.
Affiliate Marketing: Partnering with affiliates who promote your product and receive a commission for each resulting sale.
Event Marketing: Hosting or participating in events to directly engage with potential customers and industry peers.
Direct Marketing: Reaching out to potential customers directly, such as through mail or telemarketing.
Public Relations (PR): Managing your brand's image and relationship with the public, often through press releases and media coverage.
Now that you’ve identified your marketing methodologies (choose at least two), start writing possible contents and calendar everything. (Example: Release 2 nurturing emails per week + 3 video reels per day + 1 live sessions a week).
Nothing beats those who prepares everything in advance. After designing your marketing calendar, start creating all contents possible. If you can, use automation for scheduled posting so you can free-up more time.
It’s kinda pointless if you, as the startup leader and founder can’t communicate your startup and “what you do” to potential customers and investors.
Write a concise narrative framework that positions your customer as the hero, your brand as their guide, and clearly communicates their journey towards a solution.
An elevator pitch is a brief, compelling summary of your business or idea, designed to spark interest in about 60 seconds. It's a vital tool for networking and attracting stakeholders.
Before you go public, make sure you become a legal entity first, lest you won’t attract any investor and stakeholders (plus you’ll be tagged as illegal which is kinda dangerous and scary).
Here are the possible and most basic business structure in the Philippines.
Sole Ownership: Sole ownership or sole proprietorship is a business structure owned by only one person. Under Philippine law, it is subject to an eight percent tax imposed on self-employed individuals.
One Person Corporation (OPC): A corporation owned by one person only. Under a One Person Corporation, the company’s assets are segregated from the business owner’s assets, which means that creditors can only come after the company’s assets.
Corporation or Partnership: A Partnership is composed of a minimum of two owners. All the responsibilities and income are shared between the partners.
Though this is not required to any business, but if you truly believe in the future success of your startup, Trademark your brand. The advantages are: Exclusive rights of logo, preventing others to use your logo and those who are somewhat alike; Legal protection, as you can sue those whom you think are using your Trademark illegally or indiscriminately; Brand Recognition and Value Growth; License Opportunities and Consumer Trust.
Nothing beats a well-protected startup venture especially if your startup is promising, lest there’s a huge possibility that your business plan might be stolen or be eaten by bigger business ventures—which is something common. A wise advice is to hire a retainer as your startup corporate secretary.
Like a corporate lawyer, having an auditor seated on your board is a game-changer as it gives you 100% security in all your decisions and endeavors. Take note, 99% of startups do have their own lawyer and auditors in their first two to three years. It doesn’t just guarantee protection, but success as well.
The Startup Project
THE ULTIMATE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR ASPIRING FILIPINO ENTREPRENEURS & FIRST-TIME STARTUP FOUNDERS
By Mark Timothy Brion
