“If I decide to pursue an idea, what are the milestones I should aim for?”

Written By Editors Unbuilt Labs

by Marvin Cheung, Head of Research and Strategy

After reviewing existing literature and risks, you want to put the idea to action. 

“Starting a new business is essentially an experiment. Implicit in the experiment are a number of hypotheses (commonly called assumptions) that can be tested only by experience. The entrepreneur launches the enterprise and works to establish it while simultaneously validating or invalidating the assumptions. Because some will be dead wrong and others partially wrong, an important goal of the business plan must be to continually produce and build on new knowledge. Managers must justify moving to each new stage or milestone in the plan on the basis of information learned in the previous stage.” - Zenas Block and Ian C. MacMillan

The high level operational milestones include:

  1. Can you come up with an idea worth pursuing?

  2. Can you attract talent?

  3. Can you build an MVP?

  4. Can you monetize your MVP?

The steps to creating an MVP is not as clear cut since it is an iterative process. Nevertheless, the list below can serve as a guide:

  1. Complete the previous worksheets outlining your basic idea

  2. Register your business and secure any relevant licenses or permits. Y Combinator’s article “Foundations” discusses the common company formation methods.

  3. If you have proprietary technology, you might consider filing a patent application. Patent applications can take one year and up to three years, so you want to factor that time in. 

  4. Begin putting your team together if you have not already done so. Some founders find it easier to communicate their ideas to prospective team members or co-founders through a pitch deck, while others create one just for the fundraising process.

  5. Identify and test as many assumptions as you can pre-MVP. We will explore some of the low budget methods to validate your hypotheses in the next section.

  6. Complete the branding process. Do not forget to copyright your brand assets.

  7. After you have exhausted all existing literature, the last step is to build your MVP. 

Completing the MVP can take anywhere from one to more than three years depending on the industry you are in. As such, there is no “right time” to look for funding or incubator programs. It all depends on what is right for you and your venture. We give a high level overview of the types of incubator programs available and how you can put a pitch deck together in one of the sections below. 

Recommended readings: 

Worksheet: “Pre-MVP Checklist”

Editors Unbuilt Labs
Previous

“What should our MVP look like? How might we test our product with close to no budget?”
Next

How do I build an ESG-conscious venture?