Minimum Viable Project Management for Startups

In the fast-paced, unpredictable world of startups, the importance of established processes and project management cannot be overstated. While the allure of flexibility and rapid iteration is undeniable, a lack of defined procedures and project management can lead to chaos, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities.

5 Problems Startups Experience and Sources of Failure

• Inefficiency: Every company from start-up to multi-national has processes that need to be streamlined or improved. This requires significant time and effort. Start-ups need to be ninja masters of efficiency to stretch resources. 

• Lack of Scalability: Not everything scales. Growth without sacrificing quality or consistency are almost impossible to get and new processes, investments in tech or capacity take time and money. Building and/or designing scalability is often left for later, when it should be dealt with early-on to amplify to success.

• Market Risks: Most companies don’t identify what makes them special or have processes to identify potential market problems early on, or even later on. Competition can come from anywhere and can easily shift the investment thesis of a company. Start-up entrepreneurs may be passionate about their company, but blind to market realities.

• Lack of Communication: Almost every company lists communication as a problem or area to improve. Lack of communication can impact culture, morale, and ability to act quickly. Start-ups should have simple and frequent communication, as well as take advantage of the latest technology to make it easier. 

• No Clear Accountability: Startups to-do lists are long and resources are limited.While every company needs to prioritize, start-ups must take extra care in conserving resources. There are many examples of startups that have difficulty executing. Founders and early employees need to be adaptable to grind through tasks. 

Other sources of startup and entrepreneurial failure have been well researched, see for example: here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The MVIP™ Approach: Compress the Time It Takes To Figure §h!t Out 

It’s not what you want, but what you need first. MVIP™ clears the noise and focuses on what’s critical - project management, communication, and ensuring that efforts have been deployed and tracked to make the startup “investment ready” (see here). In concrete terms, this means that the startup has:

1. Worked on sales and marketing, which includes having identified target customers, developed marketing campaigns, and is building an actual sales pipeline. It is important to demonstrate pipeline and revenue growth where possible;

2. Readily available documentation for third party review, including:

   1. Financials reports and projections, and have explanations with respect to:  cashflow, burn rates, cost of customer acquisition, amongst other topics investors will want to address in a meeting (see, for example: here and here);

   2. Pitch deck and investment deck, and has honed its message/narrative;

   3. Product and/or service differentiators have been identified and can be easily communicated to others, including investors;

3. Its contract, corporate and IP house are in order. This means that the startup, minimally, has conducted a competitive analysis, including an MVIP™ Litmus Test, and possibly secured IP rights on its name (e.g., trademark) and technology, which usually takes the form of a provisional patent application, PCT patent application (to provide startup runway before national phase entry within the 30 month deadline), or already secured IP assets (e.g., patent, trademark, copyright, trade-secret, etc.). Not only does this demonstrate IP-savviness and ownership, but also efforts in value creation;

4. sought funding opportunities, including use of government grants and incentives (SR&ED, IP and/or patent boxes), and other programs like ElevateIP, which is a federally funded national program in Canada, designed to assist business accelerators and incubators in providing information and funding to support Canadian businesses’ efforts to understand, strategically manage, and commercialize their intellectual property. For more information, contact us.

5. Team Building and Culture: This process involves attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent, as well as creating a positive and productive company culture. 

Conclusion

Startups that invest in developing well-defined processes around project management are more likely to achieve sustainable growth and long-term success. First time entrepreneurs can significantly benefit from having mentors, advisors and project managers like those at MVIP™.  MVIP™ works with a range of businesses and suppliers to provide a roadmap for navigating the challenges and uncertainties of the startup journey, enabling entrepreneurs to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and achieve their goals.

Remember, processes are not meant to stifle creativity or innovation. Instead, they should be viewed as tools that empower startups to operate more efficiently, scale effectively, and ultimately achieve their full potential.

Contact us for more information.