How Interim Executives Set up Startups for Success (Part 1)

Many interim executives drive startups to success by helping them create a product people will want.

Interim Executive Startup Tips: Make a product people will recommend

The degree to how successful a startup is going to be can be gauged by how likely a person is going to tell their friend about it. Sam Altman, partner at Y Combinator says, “If you can build a product that is so good people spontaneously tell their friends about it, you’ve done 80% of the work that you need to be a really successful startup.”

Think back to how you found out about Facebook, Google or the iPhone. Most likely it was from a friend or family member. If your product is so good that people will be talking about it, you’re getting free marketing. And not just any marketing – word-of-mouth marketing which is the most effective kind there is.

Interim Executive Startup Tips: Make it easy to understand

A product or service that is easy to explain and easy to understand is one that is going to stick in the mind of people who hear about it. If you can’t explain in a few words what your business does, it could be a sign of unclear thinking or a need that is not significant enough.

Interim Executive Startup Tips: Enter markets with exponential growth

Startups should look to join markets that are about to grow or soon to grow exponentially. Facebook, for example, was able to jump onto the social networking bandwagon before it took off. Same goes for Google; Larry Page and Eric Schmidt recognized the potential of the internet’s growth early on and created a search engine to catalogue webpages.

Don’t just target markets today, identify the markets of tomorrow.

This is part 1 of a series. To read part 2, click here.

To learn about how Cerius Interim Management can help you, please visit our home page by clicking here.