Building a Machine
In the helter skelter early days of a startup, founders jump all over the place to cover a bunch of ground. There are all sorts of perceived opportunities, customer development conversations, and product development tasks that must receive attention. Associated with the frenzy is the adaptability that provides startups with a big competitive advantage relative to big companies.
However, by definition, to become a bigger company the small company must start laying down roots at some point. And that is the point at which building a machine begins.
Some startups are defined by their innovative ideas, strategic positioning, PR buzz, or sheer luck. But many otherwise average startups can really break out into nice successes through great execution on building a machine.
Building a machine involves building repeatable processes to acquire leads, move them through a funnel, and convert them to paying customers. It involves managing and maintaining relationships with those customers, through excellent product updates and technical support. It involves both inbound and outbound marketing processes.
We were lucky to hire some great sales and marketing veterans in 2009 for AccelerEyes that imbued upon us the need for building our machine. The investments we’ve made along the way to build our machine are the life blood of our organization and provides great predictability for our outlooks each year.
What examples of “startups as a machine” do you look to in your markets? How have you made the transition from frenzied startup to machine building?