Summary

Most startup companies fail or at least, fail to reach their full potential. One study suggests as many as 90% fail within 5 years. Beginning with great ideas startups typically operate with constrained time, money, and the mix of skills needed to succeed. This forces them to make difficult decisions in charting their path to achieve their goals. Postmortems provide insight into the most common causes of failure. They are worthy of understanding as well as the actions available to avoid them.

Outline

• Reasons why startups fail
• Outside-in strategy development and planning
• Keeping a customer/buyer centric focus
• Balancing product development with market development
• Breaking out into the market and building a sustaining pipeline
• Using content to build a brand and get found by buyers

About your presenter

Jim Uchneat is a 30-year veteran technology industry consultant and software executive. Jim worked with both very large technology providers like IBM and SAP as well as innovative startups. Focusing on the intersection of best business practices and technology evolution he advised companies on strategic planning, market research, product strategies and go-to-market programs. As a software industry analyst, he published multiple studies a year on industry trends and emerging best practices. He also led retail industry initiatives related to collaborative planning and RFID best practices. Connect with Jim on LinkedIn.