Fish with Multiple Lines
One of the most important things a startup CEO can do in the early days is fish with multiple lines. Keeping money in the bank is a primary objective and you don’t want to depend on a single crapshoot.
The single biggest thing you can do is develop as many personal relationships with customers as possible. The early CEO is the sales department. In the ideal case, those discussions turn into the cash the company needs.
Sometimes it’s not sufficient. Here are ways to fish with multiple other lines:
- Look for contractual development opportunities closely aligned with your product goals
- Keep discussions open with investors, including friends, family, and fools
- Network with strategic partners
- Apply for grants
- Look at local business plan competitions
The key is for the CEO to take the brunt of keeping these other lines in the water. You don’t want to distract the rest of the team from the company’s core objectives – Be Focused!
We used every single one of those to bootstrap AccelerEyes to success. Many of those lines snagged just at the moment we most needed them.
How do you fish with multiple lines in your startup?