"25 Steps to Found and Scale a High-Growth Business The Startup Checklist is the entrepreneur's essential companion. While most entrepreneurship books focus on strategy, this invaluable guide provides the concrete steps that will get your new business off to a strong start. You'll learn the ins and outs of startup execution, management, legal issues, and practical processes throughout the launch and growth phases, and how to avoid the critical missteps that threaten the foundation of your business. Instead of simply referring you to experts, this discussion shows you exactly which experts you need, what exactly you need them to do, and which tools you will use to support them—and you'll gain enough insight to ask smart questions that help you get your money's worth. If you're ready to do big things, this book has you covered from the first business card to the eventual exit. Over two thirds of startups are built on creaky foundations, and over two thirds of startup costs go directly toward cleaning up legal and practical problems caused by an incomplete or improper start. This book helps you sidestep the messy and expensive clean up process by giving you the specific actions you need to take right from the very beginning. Understand the critical intricacies of legally incorporating and running a startup Learn which experts you need, and what exactly you need from them Make more intelligent decisions independent of your advisors Avoid the challenges that threaten to derail great young companies The typical American startup costs over $30,000 and requires working with over two dozen professionals and service providers before it even opens for business—and the process is so complex that few founders do it correctly. Their startups errors often go unnoticed until the founder tries to seek outside capital, at which point they can cost thousands of dollars to fix. or even completely derail an investment. The Startup Checklist helps you avoid these problems and lay a strong foundation, so you can focus on building your business"-- Provided by publisher.
"Most books on entrepreneurship focus on strategic issues like product/market fit, deciding what market to be in, or what business to buy, how to get traction with customers, etc. Examples include bestselling perennials such as The Lean Startup, Art of the Start, Zero to One, Startup Owner's Manual, et al Simple Startup, covers a completely different part of the process: the concrete details of business launch, growth, and management. Most best-sellers that promise to tell people how to start a business do so very briefly, and quickly end up recommending that readers seek guidance from lawyers, accountants, and other paid advisors. Simple Startup gives readers the detailed insights they need to understand exactly what they need from each of these professional counselors, to ask the smart questions that will help them get their money's worth, and to make intelligent decisions independent of their advisors' recommendations. Simple Startup is aimed at those who want to make it really big, not just the home-based artisans, daycare providers, or dry cleaning stores. These are innovators and visionaries who have the passion, drive, and creativity to launch a great company, but who need a nuts-and-bolts guide to the hundreds of complex challenges that derail many a business on the journey from their first business card to a successful company sale or IPO"-- Provided by publisher.

Machine generated contents note: PREFACE Why Every Entrepreneur Needs This Book. instead of the other 93,210 books on Entrepreneurship INTRODUCTION 25 Key Action Steps for Every Entrepreneur PART ONE PREPARE TO LAUNCH 1. Translate Your Idea into a Compelling Business Model 2. Craft a Business Plan to Serve as Your "Plan A" Roadmap 3. Find and Know Your Competitors 4. Draft your Founding Dream Team 5. Allocate the Equity in Your Startup 6. Build a Minimum Viable Product and Validate Your Plan with Customers 7. Establish Your Brand with Online Public Profiles 8. Network Effectively within the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem PART TWO LAUNCH AND BUILD YOUR COMPANY 9. Incorporate as a Delaware "C" Corporation for Protection and Investment 10. "Lawyer Up" the Right Way 11. Recruit your Boards of Directors and Advisors 12. Select an Accountant and an Accounting System 13. Establish and Manage your Credit Profile 14. Open Bank, Credit Card and Merchant Accounts 15. Choose Your Key Technologies, Platforms and Vendors 16. Measure Your Business with Data Analytics 17. Round Out Your Team with Employees and Freelancers 18. Establish a Stock Option Plan to Incentivize Your Team PART THREE RAISE FUNDS; COLLABORATE WITH INVESTORS; PLAN FOR YOUR EXIT 19. Understand the Funding Process and What Investors Want to See 20. Nurture Your Investor Pipeline 21. Fundraise with Online Platforms 22. Survive the Term Sheet Negotiation and Investor Due Diligence 23. Get the Most from Your Investors, Now and in the Future 24. Understand Your Company's Valuation for Funding vs. Option Grants 25. Keep Your Eye on the Exit and Reap the Benefits of Success Coda: The Gust All-In-One Solution APPENDICES Appendix A The Startup Reading List Appendix B The Investment Due Diligence Checklist Appendix C Starting a US Corporation from a Foreign Country Appendix D Convertible Preferred Term Sheet Appendix E Convertible Note Term Sheet Appendix F The Founders Accord Acknowledgments Index.