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Without a market, a business doesn’t have much of a future. Actually understanding the potential size and shape of the market is a critical step in the early stages of developing a business, as it will help to inform everything from your short and medium-term objectives, product development, right through to the way you pitch to investors.

Every founder wants to build a $1 billion unicorn company. How do they achieve this? Learn more with Antler

Defining a value proposition is one of the most valuable things a startup can do. Here, entrepreneur, TK Kader, explains how to do it in four steps.

If you are starting a business, it is important to ensure you meet your legal obligations from the very beginning. Not only will your startup be legally compliant, but it will also reduce the risk of major legal hurdles down the track.

A key element of running a company is successfully managing your shareholder relationships. Indeed, your shareholders are often subject to change—some may wish to exit the business, while others may join. Therefore, many companies use a shareholders agreement to manage these dynamics.

Every startup founder has a Hollywood-style fantasy that they’ll wind up in an elevator with a rockstar investor. As the fantasy goes, over the course of that 30 second elevator ride they successfully pitch themselves millions of dollars of investment and set their startup on the fast path to billion-dollar success.

Wondering what personal and professional qualities you need to launch a startup? Serial entrepreneur, Erik Jonsson, discusses the ins and outs of being a founder.

What drives you as a startup founder? It’s probably that you’ve seen a problem in the market that you believe you can attack more effectively than the incumbents. That means that by its very nature your business is going to be different to your competitors.

Building a startup is going to be the most rewarding, but challenging thing you will ever do. You’ve identified a significant gap in the market and an opportunity to make a difference. There’s a potentially successful business and lucrative exit at the end of it for you. But know that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and to get there, you’re going to have to move through several stages of funding.

It doesn’t matter what sector or vertical you’re entering, your startup is going to have to deal with competition. Your business idea should be a game changer in some way, but you’re also going to have competition and for this reason you will need to do a competitor analysis early on in the startup journey.

The Classical school of Economics chanted, "Supply, creates its own demand!” Fast forward to the modern era, the “supply first'' days are long gone. We live in an age of abundance, and new age entrepreneurs must find the customer demand before creating supply. In modern entrepreneurship, this saying has reversed: "Demand, create its own supply."

Finding the Problem-Solution Fit for your first product is not easy. You have no bearing on the right customer problem, no paying customers, and close to zero customer input while building the product. Unsurprisingly, one of the key reasons startups fail is “trying to build and sell solutions that customers don’t want.” According to a CB Insights report.

When you think about a startup, the words that come to mind are words like “potential,” “growth,” “opportunity,” and “ambition.” Startup founders have latched on to an idea that can change the world… but first they need to get their business accelerating, and to achieve their ambitions, they need to do it quickly.

Navigating equity splits with co-founders can be tricky. Here's expert advice from Bryant Galindo, a Founder, Mediator and Coach on how to do this fairly.

Defining your revenue model is one of the most important decisions for startup founders.

Ask most people involved in startup culture, and you would find that the consensus is that you’re going to be far better off finding a co-founder or founding team for your startup than trying to go it yourself.

Having a great idea will only take you so far on your startup journey. At the very earliest stages you’re also going to need to have some way to articulate the vision and galvanize investors and partners behind your idea. This is where the pre-seed pitch deck comes in, as a way of visualizing the idea behind the startup and focus people’s attention on why it is important.

In recent years, entrepreneurs have been able to find funding earlier in the startup process. It was not long ago that pre-seed funding was a rarity indeed. Even when a startup founder was able to secure it, it was usually a “friends and family” arrangement, with a parent or sibling chipping in to help kick things along, as much as a favor as anything else.

Metrics for pre-product and pre-revenue startups are often overlooked. We share what founders need to know when it comes measuring your startup, from day zero.

Vision and mission statements are a way of defining your company’s purpose, goals, and brand. Unlike “hard,” tangible value drivers (e.g., your coding team and financial assets) or “soft” drivers (e.g., a marketing strategy and management team), these statements are an intangible driver of value for any business. These intangibles are difficult to quantify and often seem to be driven by feeling rather than anything substantiated.

The MVP is how a startup really announces itself to the world. It’s the first look most people will get at the startup’s big idea and how it’s solving customer problems. It’s often very raw. Typically, you’ll find that the MVP is hardly recognisable compared to the product that you know and love today.

You’ve had an amazing product idea for a startup. You’re certain your idea is a game-changer you are ready to put your head down and start building. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could know, with confidence, that you weren’t the only one that thinks it’s a great idea? That what you’re about to build has a market that’s ready and waiting to buy your product.

Many entrepreneurs have incredible visions, but converting that vision into a successful startup often relies on finding the right co-founder, or co-founders. For one thing early-stage investors will look at your team before your idea, and secondly, co-founder(s) will be invaluable as a complement and contrast to your own skill sets as you start to build the business.

A trade mark is a vital tool in protecting your business and building your brand. It can bring value to your business, protect your products from competitors and help create a brand that customers are loyal to.

The problem statement is an all-important asset to the startup. It forms the core of the business and the reason for it to exist, by laying out the real-world challenge that your business is focused on resolving.

Looking for the right business idea? To get the gears turning, check out these 10 frameworks for generating startups ideas that address real-world problems.

TLDR: A vision without validation doesn’t mean much to an investor. Before seeking capital, make sure you’ve got the proof to back the vision up.

Whether you are a startup or an established business, protecting your brand is essential. Customers know and trust a business’ name and logo, and as you build your reputation, your unique packaging and design will attract new customers to try your products. Therefore, you want to do everything you can to ensure that other businesses do not copy your branding and steal your reputation and customer base.

As a startup, one of the biggest challenges will be the pricing of your initial product. You’ll fluctuate between a concern that if you price it too highly the product won’t stick, but if you price it too low, it will be impossible to build a sustainable business around it.

“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”

“Build it and they will come!”

When you think about a “moat”, you’re going to imagine an impenetrable castle, surrounded by a deep trench of water. That trench is what makes it so hard to successfully attack the castle. In business, the same principle applies—by creating a “moat” around the business, you can protect it from other businesses and threats.

Few things move as quickly as the Internet, and the best way to see that in action is to look at popular websites then, and now.

The best business movies will not only entertain, but also inspire. Here’s 19 of the finest Hollywood films that will teach you real things about entrepreneurship.

Early adopters play a vital role in the growth and prosperity of your startup. Not only do they provide your first source of revenue, but also provide impactful feedback at a time when it's still possible to make changes to the direction of your product. In fact, many well-known businesses had to pivot rapidly after receiving feedback from early adopters, which led to the thriving businesses they are today.

It’s a subject of great debate within the startup community: Do you need a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to seek (and raise) pre-seed funding?

As a startup founder, you are on a mission to grow and expand your business operations. At some point, you may require significant funds to achieve this goal. While you may be in a position to bootstrap your business for a while, startups often rely on outside finance to really take their business to the next level.

For startups, the Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) business model is often an ideal go-to-market strategy. Learn more about this disruptive approach here.