Tools for Founders
Startup Tools: Almost every new venture founder gets to a point of near overwhelm, or thinks, ‘I don’t know what to do’. I have found that there are two ways to confront the situation:
- try describing the situation in a different way; easy to say though hard to do;
- put yourself in a different circumstance so you can avoid your present conviction;
- think about what information can help you decide.
What do you see—the wife or mother-in-law, in the image on the right?
There is help at hand. There are many simple tools that you can use to facilitate both understanding and decision making—on setting strategy and monitoring performance. I suggest you take a look at them all to get an overview. Then when you face something tricky you will probably remember one of them that you can put to use.
The reasons for using these tools are many but include:
- uncertainty about what to do next, or what priorities to set
- you want buy-in from the team
- you want to tap into the knowledge, skills or experience of others
- if the issue is complex and you need to put some shape into thinking or data.
You will probably find as I have done over the years, that you will use more than one tool to deal with a single issue. Don’t be afraid to mix and match.
Some of the many tools in the list below are in the public domain and others I have created myself, based on long and painful experience.
Current List of Tools
This is a list of tools which I have found useful on the entrepreneurial journey. There are surely many others. Please tell me about your favorites that are missing. AND if you see errors, or things that you don’t understand, likewise, please let me know for the benefit of all users.
- Startup Statements of Intent A Formal Means of Defining and Committing to the Purpose of the New Venture
- Strategy Map Diagram to Show Organizational Strategy on One Page
- SOAR Analysis Strategize by Naming Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results
- McKinsey 7-S Framework A Visual Means of Considering All Strategy Components
- Business Plan Outline Table of Contents for a Business Plan, with Proportionate Space for Each Chapter
- Business Model Planner Simple Means to Define Characteristics for All the Criteria of the Plan
- Business Model Canvas One-page Way to Design, Describe, Challenge or Pivot a Business Model
- Self-Aware Startup Teams Johari Window Helps Founders Develop Greater Self-Awareness
- Mind Mapping Graphic Way to Plot Thoughts On a Theme to Better Understand
- Make Meaning Grid Beyond 'Features & Benefits', a Way of Determining 15 Kinds of Meaning
- Customer Profiling Grid Set of Questions to Closely Identify Characteristics and Behaviors of Clients
- Conscious Competence Matrix The Process of Learning a New Skill or Behavior
- Brainstorming Disciplined Way to Surface Latent Ideas, Both Significant and Insignificant
- Affinity Diagram Means of Grouping Seemingly Different Things to Tackle an Issue in Order
- Five Whys Technique Enabling a Group to Find the Root Cause of a Problem
- Effective Startup Learning Double Loop Learning: Things Right or Right Things—Get it Right Fast
- Value Proposition Matrix Test All the Components of the Value Proposition Across the Whole Value Chain
- SWOT Analysis A Grid to Log Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
- Customer Lifetime Model Ensure High Customer Value and Low Customer Aquisition Costs Over Time
- Fishbone Diagrams Graphic Means of Figuring Out the Components of a Problem
- PEST Analysis Means to identify Political, Economic, Social & Technological factors
- Effective Startup Learning Double Loop Learning: Things Right or Right Things—Get it Right Fast
- Startup Data Reliability Grid Successful Evaluation of Market Data for Strategic Decisions
- Risk Mitigation An Orderly Way to Consider Downside Risks
- Force Field Analysis Plot Those Forces That Restrain, and Others That Drive a Particular Course of Action
- Eisenhower Method A Way to Distinguish the Important and the Urgent
- Business Entity Types Decision Making Table to Decide the Right Legal Form for Your Venture
- Blue Ocean Matrix Four Main Actions to Move Into a Less Contested Space
- Startup Staffing Grid Means of Specifying Skills, Timing and How to Hire for Each Function
- Milestones and Accountabilities Chart A Tool to Ensure that Plans Are Actually Executed as Intended
- Marketing Strategy Grid Plot Four Marketing "Product, Place, Price, Promotion" vs. What, Why, When & Who
- Critical Path Analysis Identifies the Activities Necessary to Complete a Task
- Variance Analysis Identify Reasons for Differences Between Expected and Actual Amounts
- Sales Funnel Track the Buying Process From First Contact to Closed Sale
- Key Performance Indicators Metrics to Connect Strategy and Outcomes
- Goal Tracking Tool Simple Tabular Way of Setting and Tracking Work and Personal Goals
- Critical Success Factors Benchmarks for Essential Actions to Achieve Purpose of Objectives
- Breakeven Analysis Way to Calculate When the Business Will Move Into Profit
