The Founder's Manual

Book excerpt: Starting a company is an irrational act. Most successful Founders bring a unique combination of drive, determination, product knowledge, creative problem-solving skills, business acumen, stamina, and a keen sense of timing, to their fledgling enterprises. And the best of these know how to communicate with a variety of audiences by telling a great story. In the first section of this manual, author Ryan Frederick create a profile of the combination of skills, personality, and discipline that are common to successful Founders. A Founder has many audiences that compete for attention-The Core Team, Investors, Suppliers, and Customers to name a few. Each is critical to the success of a new enterprise and the ability to prioritize, communicate with them, and engage them at just the right time, is essential to the success of any start-up. With limited resources, failure to engage with any one of these important audiences at the right moment can be the difference between success and shutting down. The second section of the Founder's Manual focuses on strategy and the business decisions that go into moving from a concept to producing a deliverable and building a customer base. Here, Frederick focuses on defining a niche, becoming investable, finding customers, finding investors, working with accelerators, timing, and knowing limitations. Another important focus of this section is a Founder's role in establishing a culture that will ultimately define the enterprise, affect operations, and shape brand messaging as the organization evolves. The third section of this guidebook focuses on the process of creating a product that customers care about and will pay for. In addition to sound advice for managing your product and business relative to competing products, this section focuses on getting to know your customers, understanding the problem along with changing requirements, and designing solutions that customers will appreciate. It covers the important topics of timing, releasing early versions of a product, adding features, and keeping customers engaged throughout the process. In this essential guide, Ryan Frederick shares insights, gained from years spent working closely with start-up companies, will assist you in becoming a successful Founder.