Introduction

Running out of funds is the second largest reason for startup failures. (CB insights)

You need fuel (money) to keep this business engine running. Unless you already have a lot of money or are bootstrapped (good luck!), you must seek outside capital. Besides growing the startup, raising the first round is another major struggle for you, especially when your product is still at an early stage, and there are only a few customers. The world is flooded with distractions, and as a founder, you might quickly get occupied with many small but required activities (meetings, research, networking, etc.) and information. You need to figure the company ’s priorities out and map them in your head. The startup needs real work that directly impacts the progress. It’s standard advice: a new company should focus on building a great team and successful product (that your customer loves to recommend). You would also love to hear one of your consumers say - “This new thing has made my life easy.” And with that market presence, it’s difficult for funders not to get invested. The former may seem like a simple thing to do, but it’s hard to implement. You can’t quite grasp the importance of this unless you see your business failing. Around of startups fail in the first two to five years. You can’t leverage the amount raised until you have a great team that can build a lovable product and control avoidable costs. You will trip and fall as a founder, but making important things right at your company can make your business profitable. And investors prefer businesses that are profitable in the long term.