It seems like every week a new entrepreneur, armed with a revolutionary idea, becomes an instant billionaire. Flooded with venture capital the founders rocket into the marketplace capturing share and opening new space. Not all make it, but enough do to inspire hundreds of admiring entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps with their own “spectacular” ideas . Most fail.
The losers are not always victims of luck, although luck matters. Too often their great ideas encounter unexpected bumps. Too often overspending is used to cover up slow, lackluster performance. Too often growth simply doesn’t match expectations. More funding is sought. The more they patch things up the riskier the venture becomes. Lenders, vendors, and investors begin demanding more and more from the founders in order to go along. Eventually time and money run out.
There is a way to avoid this spiral. In the Advantage20 Entrepreneur Course there is a 2-video module called Perfect Your Business Model. In it you’ll find the 16 characteristics of an imaginary perfect business. One of the characteristics that is common to successful entrepreneurs can be summed up as “race to viability before you race for growth”. It’s much easier to raise the funds you need if you can demonstrate the viability of your great idea performing in the real world.
All new entrepreneurs should always strive for the viability of their great idea first and foremost.
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