Every day thousands of new startups are born around the world. The founders behind them believe that their ideas and solutions are powerful enough to find success. While some of them will indeed strike gold, the sad reality is that many others will fail after struggling to secure enough funding.
Even if your solution is novel and unique, it’s rarely enough. If you already have a fortune to your name, you might be able to brute force your way to success, but for others, funding can make or break you.
Data tells us that VC firms receive over a thousand proposals each year. As a result, 25% of new startups don’t receive enough funding to launch. In addition, 30% of businesses that do get funding end up failing.
In this context, let us explore core vision, one of the most important ingredients that allows investors to truly recognize and support your startup.
Why is Core Vision Important?
Many founders only start focusing on their vision when it’s time to bring people on board. However, having a core vision for your startup is something that needs to happen much in advance. To put it simply, a core vision is your long-term strategic goal.
However, It’s so much more than a mission statement, because it influences every decision you make for your startup. The birth of a company is similar to that of a story.
Just as any good story has a clear structure, a successful startup also needs one.
Some of the most important decisions you make as a startup happen relatively early on, often before seed investment occurs. “Who gets to be on the founding team?” or “Will you choose between bootstrapping or external funding?”
A strong core vision is invaluable to answering all the important questions that need answers when your startup is taking its baby steps. That said, how do you even begin to develop a good vision? Well, let’s find out.
Build a Stronger Vision By Taking Inspiration from Your Peers
There are many ways you can cultivate and build a strong vision. As long as you haven’t flubbed several high-level pitches, it’s not too late to deliberate on your vision.
As we noted above, core vision helps answer important questions, and the heart of finding your vision is asking tough questions. Why does your startup exist? Does this problem really matter in the first place? How do I want my solution to change the world? If it doesn’t, how will I adapt? The answers to these questions need to give you enough conviction in your startup.
Another way you can try is to look at other startups trying to find success like yourself. Amazon Web Services has a platform that can help called ‘Startup Showcase’ where you can find new businesses from across the world.
When you set out to discover AWS startup showcase, the upvote count can give you a good idea of which ones are getting attention. Take a look at how these startups present themselves and carefully analyze how they define their vision.
Next, put yourself in the place of an investor. Would you give them a second look? If not, why? What qualities would stand out when a startup talks about its vision?
An article published in the Entrepreneur lists different ones that investors keep an eye out for. They include a well-defined possibility for growth, plans on sustaining market position, and sound financial strategy. Take advantage of these insights and build your vision accordingly.
Core Vision Tells Investors You Understand The Road to Success
When you share your vision with an investor, it gives them several insights. On the surface level, the investor can gauge your passion and commitment to the mission. At the same time, there are other angles that are revealed by having a strong vision.
If your vision is about dominating a specific niche in the e-commerce world, it tells them that you aren’t going to be spreading yourself too thin. Similarly, if your vision statement involves realistic and clear timelines, that’s a huge plus.
According to Brian Devaney, an investor at venture capitalist firm Underscore, investors look for founders who can release products within nine to 12 months.
He explains that investors also look for your ability to manage long-term goals while also ensuring progress is being made for short-term milestones.
Long story short, when you release a product to the world, you have to remember that it’s a complex process. Even minor oversights and mistakes can mean the difference between success and failure. Once again, we need to reiterate that the vision you have for your product is so much more than a formality that comes up during pitches.
When you are an entrepreneur, you have to keep track of so many angles. In the midst of running and growing their business, many founders lose direction and get distracted by market trends and side objectives. Core vision acts like the track for a train, and guides every decision and objective you make.
