We are what our priorities are, and it’s as simple as that. This also applies to the businesses that we run; their priorities determine their purpose and, in the long run, their success. In effect, if we sift through the history of the most successful startups in the world to date, we’ll discover the fundamental reason for their success would be getting their priorities straight. Success in the entrepreneurial world demands timely actions and getting it right.
Of course, you learn all that as you progress, but people like Patrick Parker, who has perfected the art of building million-dollar businesses in an astonishingly short time, clearly knows the shortcuts. As an accomplished Tech Executive turned founder of SaaS Partners, a leading software company providing scalable solutions to entrepreneurs and businesses, he can help you prevent avoidable mistakes and focus on your priorities in order to expedite the attainment of a positive return on your investment.
“Unequivocally, funding is the most imperative part of kick-starting a high-growth startup as capitalization is one of most critical parts of a business; if your cash flow runs negative, your startup just ceases to exist,” says Patrick.
He says that each round of funding has different objectives and milestones. For an instance, seed/pre-seed founders try to build and launch their products in hopes of gaining early traction, hiring a few key employees, validating their initial assumptions about the market, and even possibly finding early signs of product-market fit.
“Less than 4% of startups graduate to a Series A and become eligible for funding,” says Patrick.
That is the time, believes Patrick, that startups need to focus on the following priorities to get past Series-A and ascend to the next round of funding.
Setting new goals and aligning the team
Getting funded is undoubtedly a significant achievement in itself, but it’s just the first of many baby steps. Startups need to be prudent here in making the most of the allocated funding. To that end, it is imperative to update your existing financial model and review current performance metrics. Just because you suddenly take on capital doesn’t mean that your strategy should immediately change. Therefore, it is strongly suggested to review where you are and then proceed with alignment across teams.
Take inventory of your resource needs
It goes without saying that in order to maintain consistent growth, you need to scale your team and hire the talent and set of skills that you feel are lacking in your startup. Patrick advises entrepreneurs to prioritize their hiring process and carry on with that in parallel with fundraising efforts “Make sure you are aware of the skill sets that you need to scale, and here’s a pro tip: hire in phases so that you can manage the onboarding and training processes without detracting your focus and attention.”
Set your budget
Last but not least, set a budget for new expenditures and ensure that you have the proper monitoring and reporting in place so that you can evaluate your Return on Investment (ROI) over time.
Everyone wants to see their business garnering success but practically speaking, success has its own demands. It wants you to be patient and persistent in pursuing what you want, plan and prioritize things accordingly, and put some action on display – only then do you win its favor. Tech ventures aren’t an exception.
The priorities Patrick has listed above are the result of his years of grinding in the industry. If you follow them in the true spirit, it won’t be an overstatement to say that success is guaranteed.
