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When you ’re an early - stage inauguration , you are clamor for customers . It ’s imperative that you start up generating revenue as soon as possible because it is a metric unit that investor front at : how fast you ’re growing taxation between your source and your A beat .
If you are n’t beget a ton of revenue , you ’ll probably have a tough time when it derive to raising your next round . Alex Kayyal , a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners , speaking at TechCrunch former Stage in Boston last week , say that finding the right former partners is of the essence .
One issue that sometimes come up for former - point company is the exclusive big client . The company is large and influential , but you are n’t build a ware for the needs of one companionship . You need to handle a broad range of use cases to really jumpstart the receipts political machine .
Building a inauguration is like construct a house
“ I think as a inauguration one of the hardest things to do is saying no to tax income , and a customer , who is uncoerced to say , ‘ Hey here ’s a $ 200,000 baulk for your product , ’ ” Kayyal said . That ’s particularly true when that stop might be so much bigger than your next close client . But at the same time , you also do n’t require to be an outsourced development shop for one company , and that ’s a real peril with the one handsome customer phenomenon .
The trouble with one big client is that it has the power to throw its weighting around . “ You screw you see this all the time in retail with Walmart where they can prescribe terms . They can push pricing power , and as a modest company you ’re at their whim , ” he say .
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As tempting as it is to take the money and run , a startup ca n’t afford to take on a client at the cost of other customer . So sometimes saying no and in reality knowing when is the right metre to work on with a company like that is a key acquirement for young companies .
“ It can lead to a slippery incline where you ’re customizing codification and construction feature just for them , and unluckily that does n’t be the relaxation of the market , ” Kayyal said . “ Your actual goal is production - market fit and intersection - market fit that is repeatable across the industriousness , not just with one customer . ”
Keep your concern good example simple
