Build a Better Business

VC Interests and the Product LIfe Cycle Theory in Business Management

If you've made it this deep into the site to read this, I'm honored and aim to reward your time with a treat! This week I joined fellow founders at Trinet’s venture capital panel discussion on raising Series A funding and what it takes to level up.  We learned that while some founders assume growth is the primary success indicator and key attractor for VC interest, venture capitalists are actually looking for a focus on building a path to profitability. 

The event was held in a WeWork office and it was my first time entering one of the high-flying shared spaces of the famed company that acheived growth at all cost yet failed to post long-term profits. Panelist Shelby McKeown of Edison Partner said, if you “have economic fundamentals, there’s always money.”  Running a good business will lead to having a great product. As a 15-year career product manager, I encourage you to treat your business like a product by developing a well designed strategy that aligns to the progression of the software product life cycle, ensuring critical components are accounted for in each phase.

The product development stages consist of: Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline.

Before diving into tips, I'll summarize for those who might stop here. If you're still rocking with me then let's Michael Jackson glide down my listicle and finish with a treat!

*Using effective product management processes will help your business achieve its goals much sooner.

Development- Plan, test, assess.

While in the pre-launch stage of business, create a long-term roadmap and strategic plan to get there. Ensure you have the talent and resources either in place or in position to deploy when needed. Understand how you’ll attract and retain customers, maintaining them in a database. Employ the business model canvas to map out an overview of the requirements to deliver your product or service, which will direct your path to profitability.

Introduction- Know your value proposition.

Refine your messaging to communicate your key benefits to your customer segment(s).  If you haven’t identified more than one segment, brainstorm who are your direct, indirect customers and cross pollination opportunities to gain new customers. Identifying segments can be more efficient with data.  Let us help you implement data-driven strategies.

"If you have economic fundamentals, there's always money." – Shelby McKeown, Investment Associate at Edison Partners

Growth- Iterate, feedback loops and iterate again.

This is a time where sales, profits and market share should be rapidly increasing. Your business will be able to maximize on the above opportunities when you have a clear strategy for sustained growth.  This is one of our sweet spots at Moore Digital Works; devising innovative strategies for market development and customer retention.

Maturity- Reinvent and expand.

 I never had the pleasure of attending re:Invent in person while working at AWS due to COVID and budget cuts, but I grasped the essence of the massive, annual learning conference even while attending online.  AWS creates a premier learning opportunity for developers, IT leaders and their partners to transform their knowledge and business with proprietary solutions. Although you may not have the same resources to host an AWS size conference for providing and gaining insights, feedback loops are your guide for identifying small changes you can make to maintain and secure your customer base. Data insights are the key to undercovering a new challenge or an upsell opportunity that can allow you to expand.

Decline is a time to analyze, adapt and innovate.

Evaluate your market position and stay updated on trends to understand where the market is heading. Identify emerging opportunities where you can leverage your unique strengths. Review your operating model to ensure you are adapting processes and costs to market changes, positioning yourself to capitalize on new opportunities. Reposition yourself to seize new growth markets and thrive.

Moore Digital Works can help you build a better business.

We can help you design a plan of action for acheiving your long-term goals and guiding your business through every phase of the product life cycle, ensuring sustained succes and growth.

Treat yourself to these additional resources:

Business Life Cycle by corporate Finance Institute

Product Life Cycle: Importance for Business by Rob Paredes on SafetyCulture

Break of Dawn in CoWorking: The End of WeWork's Growth-at-All-Cost Model by Stephanie Ping at Tech Node Global

5 Ways You Can "Reivnent" Your Business with Minimal Cost by DP Taylor

And treat yourself to these ankle breakin' smooth clips we won't attempt to imitate!

Thanks for rockin' til the end, Karen Moore