The Go-to Source for Tips and To-Dos for Pre-Seed Entrepreneurs
Rev1’s Entrepreneur Toolkit is a handy, easy-to-use collection of practical tips and tools curated especially for entrepreneurs and founding teams. Think of the Toolkit as an online extension of the company-building instruction delivered in Rev1’s investor startup studio.
Using the language of entrepreneurship, the Toolkit matches milestones, risks, and critical success factors to each stage of startup growth. These blogs teach entrepreneurs what to do and how to do it.
Mitigate Risk · Achieve Milestones · Intentional Networking · Next Steps
For Pre-seed Stage startups, it’s all about defining your product concept, validating the market, and assessing the differentiating features that drive your business model for your company and the cost- justification model for your customers.
Mitigate Pre-Seed Stage Risk – Corporate Structure. Contracts. Taxes.
- Company Formation: Corporation or LLC – Don’t be the entrepreneur who hastily opts for the $49 Internet “set up an LLC today.” Choose a business structure that matches your vision and exit strategy.
- Choosing the Right Legal Structure and Governance for Your Company – Well-managed and governed companies raise capital more effectively and tend to produce clear paths to liquidity for their investors.
- 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Signing Contracts for Your New Company – Mistakes are inevitable, but many missteps are avoidable. There is more than enough opportunity to make original mistakes of your own. You don’t need to make the ones on this list.
- 4 Tips for Managing Startup Taxes from Day One – Taxes are part of doing business from day one, whether the company collects a dollar of revenue or not. Entrepreneurs who ask the right questions are better positioned to get professional help.
Pre-Seed Stage Milestones – Market Validation. Business Model.
- 3 Reasons to Validate the Market before You Invest in a Prototype – Charging forward to build a prototype based on the wrong market assumptions will blow whatever early funding your startup has. Learn what investors already know here.
- Market Validation Library – From-the-trenches, this deep dive explains the complete what and how of market validation for Pre-Seed Stage companies. One-stop shopping packed with actionable tips.
- Business Models for High-Growth Companies – Business models are not a one-size- fits-all; considerations vary based on the industry, the validated markets, and the value proposition the startup offers its customers. Can you build a credible business case?
- A Tech Entrepreneur’s Guide to Early Product Development – This high-level guide to introduce entrepreneurs to a customer-driven approach and the vocabulary to improve a startup’s chances of creating products that customers buy and use.
Pre-Seed Stage Networking –Trusted Relationships. Advisory Boards. Talent.
- Building Your Advisory Board – At the Pre-Seed Stage, learning to work effectively with an advisory board provides hands-on practice for dealing with the board of directors.
- 5 Ways an Advisory Board Can Help Your Startup Accelerate – In the Pre-Seed Stage, connect with potential mentors and experts to advise your company. Solidify these relationships, and when you achieve market validation in the Pre-Seed Stage. Add structure to the advisory relationships by inviting three to four individuals to participate on your company’s advisory board.
- Create a High-Growth Hiring Plan for Startup Success – Hiring decisions are the most important decisions that any entrepreneur makes. Here’s how to build a plan that works.
- 4 Tips Every Investor and Startup Can Use to Create Inclusive Entrepreneurship – Inclusion starts at company formation. The second team member should not look like the first. Diversified networks lead to better talent and deals.
Next Steps – Operating Excellence. Competitive Intelligence. Bootstrapping.
- 7 Practical Actions to Prepare Entrepreneurs for Success – In entrepreneurship, tenacity, and creativity win the day. Manage cash. Leverage assets. Tune entrepreneurial mindset that caused you to risk starting a business in the first place to help you manage through the journey.
- Analyzing Your Competitors: Your Company’s Life Depends on It – Every startup has competition that keeps customers from buying your product. Analyze the competition the way a customer analyzes it. Competitive Analysis. Feature Canvas.
- 5 Ways to Bootstrap Your Startup Finances – The Pre-Seed Stage is not the time to seek venture capital. Instead, heed these five tips for the Pre-Seed Stage.
Whether your idea is still just a dream or already has an address, there is no one-size-fits-all, turnkey approach to starting your company. The first thirty days of any new venture will prove that. On the other hand, many of the same issues and risks are present in almost all advanced technology start-ups.Use our experience to help your company succeed. Contact us.
