Start up lifecycle

Foundation structure of startup assessment is the startup lifecycle. we can Understand where a startup is in their lifecycle allows us to assess their progress. The startup life cycle is made of 6 stages of development, where each stage is made up of levels of sub stages.

1. I. The Startup Lifecycle
Our foundational structure of startup assessment is the startup lifecycle. Understanding where a startup
is in their lifecycle allows us to assess their progress. The startup lifecycle is made of 6 stages of
development, where each stage is made up of levels of substages. This creates a directed tree structure
and allows for more granular assessment by being able to pinpoint the main drivers of progress at each
stage. We call each of these stages the MarmerStages. However, in this report only the top level stages
are discussed. Our first four top-level stages are based loosely on Steve Blank's 4 Steps to the Epiphany,
but one key difference is that the Marmer Stages are product centric rather than company centric.

Our 6 stages are:
1) Discovery
2) Validation
3) Efficiency
4) Scale
5) Sustain
6) Conservation

Discovery

Your first task as an entrepreneur is to consider how you would like to change the world. Identify a
problem, come up with a solution and see if anyone – especially potential users and clients – might be
interested in your idea.
Beyond the possibility of getting accepted in a startup accelerator and gathering funds from family and
friends, this first phase requires developing the minimum viable product (MVP) that will enable
surveying the market and getting a sense of the project’s acceptance.
This is what Dropbox did at the beginning. The cloud storage website published a video explaining its
service using an MVP and, furthermore, the appearance it would have. This video was one of the
strategies that enabled the company to reach 75,000 users whilst in beta form.

Validation

A startup’s service or products go from being hypothetical solutions to a problem to hitting the street
and looking for the first clients ready to pay for it. At this stage, money will be the only way to effectively
measure whether the public validates your project.

2. This is precisely what growing numbers of technological companies do when starting crowdfunding
campaigns.
Pebble, the record-breaking smartwatch, managed to raise $10million in Kickstarter. This is an
impressive example of crowdfunding validation. People wanted a smartwatch, and they were willing to
pay for it in advance.

Efficiency

In order to successfully overcome this third phase, the best allies will be market studies and, more than
ever, the advice of a good investor. Listen to the voice of experience.
At this point, the entrepreneur has to analyse characteristics and variables of everything that surrounds
the startup (market, clients, etc.) in order to find the business model that adjusts best to the
environment.The aim is to increase the customer base in the most effective way possible, preventing
growth from stifling the project.

Scale

It is time to prove the business’s scalability – its capacity to grow in a sustainable manner (keeping costs
down). The startup must be ready to fight in international markets and offer great margins of benefit. It
is time to step on the gas and push the growth aggressively – it is time for the larger fundraising rounds.
That is how Airbnb and the controversial Uber have managed to grow to the point of being present in
countless corners globally. A couple of fundraising rounds of over $1billion in the first case, and around
$0.5billion in the second, show how these are good examples of internationalization.

Maintenance

Once the step has been taken to reach other markets with support of large fundraising rounds, it is time
to shore up the project’s bases so the structure that you have put so much effort into building does not
collapse.
Maximizing benefits and facing problems derived from the global dimension that the startup has
acquired are key in this phase. The greatest risk is taking for granted that, having reached certain
success, everything is done. Don’t stand by to admire your product; there are problems that can put the
longevity of your business project at risk.

3. Sale or renewal

Your business model works, or is at least credible. You have the funding needed to internationalise the
company, and you have carried it out successfully. Now what? Experience tells us that there are two
ways: to sell the startup to a giant (Google, Facebook, Apple…) or to go public and try becoming one of
the ‘unicorns’.
Only in this way you can acquire the huge resources that the brand will need to continue growing,
renewing its products, and reinventing itself constantly in order to confront a dynamic market.