In the part one of this series, the startup idea had been pitched to a panel of investors who happen to like the idea and most of them are ready and willing and to work with you
- You took the opportunity to look at a few term sheets before you made the decision to work with one of the angel investors
- The investors schedule a meeting with your team to discuss the way forward
- You finally agree on the terms both of you are comfortable with
- Sometimes you may not be comfortable with the terms, especially the equity you have to give away
- If you need a lot more insight on the equity distribution, read this
- Sometimes you need to give away that percentage to at least try out the idea and build something people would want to use
- You have finally signed your term sheet and and are preparing to formally begin your startup
- As of now, you may not have registered your company, your investor will help you do this
- If you are bootstrapping and need resources to register and incorporate your idea read Choosing the right legal structure
- You can also have a look at the Y Combinator Startup School Notes
- or Company Registration Choices
- You may need a lot more research on what will make the idea fly
IF YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MADE IT THIS FAR, YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE LIST OF STARTUPS OR COMPANIES IN YOUR COUNTRY.
- If you made that research early enough you may begin preparation for development
- If you were a geek you may have a prototype already on the market for testing.
- If you received funding from Y Combinator, your idea may already be in development stage with a beta almost ready
- If you are in development stage, all the better
- If you are beginning the process, read : Building an Insanely Great Web Service
- With that kind of knowledge, you are fully armed, of course you also have your advice team and support from your investor partners.
- You begin to draw your milestones and development plan
- With a completed Plan for both business development and product development , the runway may be almost ready for take off
- If you are not building the product in-house, you ,may now be thinking of outsourcing part of the development process
- If you are still figuring out whether to outsource or build in-house, read this:
Should tech startups outsource product development
Another coffee break , Hope to wrap this series in my next post. If I left anything out don’t hesitate to add your comment on it.