Top 10 Mistakes We Made on Our Unicorn 🦄 Journey
VentureOn Partners consulting
Top 10 Mistakes We Made on Our Unicorn 🦄 Journey:
1. Under-pricing products to grab market share: This always leads to decreased profit margins, hindering growth and product improvement opportunities. (Understand your TAM, SAM well)
2 Premature scaling without a solid repeatable GTM model: Rushing into scaling without understanding market demand is disastrous, costing millions and hurting the business. (Get to know your metrics inside out)
3. Diverting Dev resources from core functionalities: Adding unnecessary features can distract from what customers truly need, impacting product development. (Loses focus and customers trust, fast!)
4. Forcing individual contributors into management roles: Not everyone excels in management, and this approach can create inefficiencies. (Have those difficult conversations early with key members)
5. Hiring “big dogs” prematurely: Bringing in experienced professionals without considering their fit can lead to wasted resources and team conflicts. (Seek external help if you have you to when hiring key roles)
6. Neglecting to focus on reducing churn and NRR: Churn is a critical metric affecting startup growth, and addressing it is paramount. (Get CS teams focused, and early)
7. Ineffective marketing strategies that don’t resonate with the target audience. (Cookie cutter digital marketing strategies will not work)
8. Poorly equipping the sales team: Proper org structure, training, resources, and support are vital for sales success. Timing is crucial for bringing in VP Sales or CRO. (This is a Key hire and is make or break, do not underestimate it)
9. Under-investing in rev-ops and sales enablement: These are crucial for streamlining processes and driving revenue growth. (Again, linked to #8, key hire will get this right!)
10. Entering new markets too quickly without proper research and preparation: Thoroughly understanding new markets is essential to avoid costly mistakes. (New geos are always tempting but reach out to those who have done it before to avoid pitfalls, this is money well spent)
Learn from our experience and avoid these mistakes. Reach out to Sean Diljore, Ricky Sevta, Curtis Thomson and Graeme Caplen for guidance on your journey 🚀
