Startup CXO

Chapter 42Where to Start

Where to start can be daunting, but it can be simplified if you look at it through the lens of the three primary responsibilities outlined earlier. Focus on building the brand first because if you don't have a brand or a perspective on your brand or if you don't have the narrative or you don't have values or if you can't articulate your culture, then you don't have any reasonable way to go to the market. Imagine the following conversation:

Potential customer: What's the name of your company?

You: We haven't figured that out yet.

Potential customer: What is it that you're selling?

You: We're working on it.

Potential customer: What's the price of your product?

You: We don't know yet.

Potential customer: Why should I bother with you, your company, or your product?

You: We're good people. Trust us. We'll get there.

As excited as you might be to get out in the market and start selling your product, if you don't have clear thinking—from everyone in the company—about your brand and all that it entails, you'll never have the consistency and discipline to gain any traction in the market. You may be able to sell a few products, to generate some revenues, but without the brand you'll stall and you won't be able to scale, much less create a sustainable business.

Building and Maintaining a Brand

It's probably worth discussing what brand means because if you ask ten people what “brand” means, you'll likely get ten different answers. That's a problem for any ...