Peering Clearly at the Future

Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are in the business of predicting the future. In order for young companies to grow and thrive, they must develop the products and services that meet the needs of future customers in markets that change over time. While some entrepreneurs are enormously successful based on luck, starting the perfect product at the right time based on a hunch, others are more scientific about how they predict market dynamics and plan new product offerings. For venture capitalists, whose objective is to regularly finance successful emerging businesses and to minimize business failures, a thorough and replicable forecasting methodology is a powerful tool…


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The Key Pillars of Business Model

All successful business ventures need a clear business model and experienced investors will want to see it before making an investment. Business model tells us how a business makes money. The key pillars of business model are 1) customer value proposition – how your product or service helps to solve a problem or provide a benefit; 2) a foothold – where is the niche customer segment of early adopters; 3) differentiation – how your customers view your offers as meaningfully different; 4) pricing…


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