What Is a Startup?
A startup is a company built to find a repeatable business, not a small version of a big one. Here's what that difference changes.
Beginner7 min readDaksh Bathla01
Business
What a startup actually is, how to find and check an idea, and what to build first.
9 LESSONS
How to Find a Business Idea
Good ideas aren't invented in a brainstorm. They're noticed — usually in work someone is already doing badly by hand.
Beginner8 min readDaksh BathlaProblem vs Solution
Most failed products solved a problem nobody had, very well. Here's how to tell which half of your idea you're actually in love with.
Beginner6 min readDaksh BathlaHow to Validate a Business Idea
Validation is not people saying they like it. It's people doing something that costs them something, before you've built anything.
Beginner9 min readDaksh BathlaWhat Is an MVP?
A minimum viable product is the smallest thing that completely solves one problem for one person — not a cheap version of everything.
Beginner8 min readDaksh BathlaCustomer Research 101
Finding out what's true about the people you want to serve — before you've built anything, and without a research budget.
Beginner8 min readDaksh BathlaHow to Talk to Customers Without Leading Them
Most customer conversations are contaminated by the person running them. Here's exactly how that happens, and how to stop doing it.
Beginner7 min readDaksh BathlaPricing Models Explained
How you charge changes who buys, how they use the product, and what you have to build. It's a product decision, not a spreadsheet decision.
Beginner8 min readDaksh BathlaHow to Set Your First Price
There's no formula. There is a defensible method — and the most common error is charging far too little, for reasons that feel like humility.
Beginner7 min readDaksh BathlaRELATED DEFINITIONS
CACCustomer Acquisition Cost
The average amount you spend to get one new paying customer. Take everything spent on getting customers in a period — ads, tools, the salaries of people doing it — and divide by the number of customers that period produced.
LTVLifetime Value
The total revenue you expect from one customer across the whole time they stay with you. Often written LTV or CLV, and usually estimated rather than measured, because most customers haven't left yet.
MRRMonthly Recurring Revenue
The predictable revenue a subscription business receives each month, counting only recurring payments. One-off fees, setup charges, and consulting are excluded — the point is what recurs without further selling.
ARRAnnual Recurring Revenue
MRR expressed over a year — usually just MRR multiplied by twelve. It's a snapshot of the current annual run rate, not the revenue actually earned in the last twelve months.
MVPMinimum Viable Product
The smallest version of a product that completely finishes one job for one person. "Minimum" refers to the scope of what it promises, not to the quality of what it delivers.
SaaSSoftware as a Service
Software you access over the internet and pay for on a recurring basis, rather than buying once and installing. The provider runs the servers, ships updates, and holds the data.
B2BBusiness to Business
Selling to organisations rather than individuals. The buyer is usually not the only user, purchases involve more than one person, and the decision is justified in terms of cost or risk.
B2CBusiness to Consumer
Selling to individuals spending their own money. The person deciding, paying, and using are usually the same person, and the decision is fast.
TAMTotal Addressable Market
The total annual revenue available if every possible buyer of your kind of product bought it from you. A ceiling, not a forecast.
SAMServiceable Addressable Market
The part of the total market you could actually serve, given your product, language, geography, and regulatory reality.
SOMServiceable Obtainable Market
The share of the serviceable market you can realistically win in a defined period, given your team, budget, and competition.
Churn
The rate at which customers stop paying you, over a given period. Usually stated monthly or annually, as a percentage of the customers you had at the start.
Pricing Model
The structure by which you charge — flat subscription, per seat, usage-based, tiered, freemium, one-time, or commission. Distinct from the price itself.
Value Metric
The thing you count when charging. A good one rises as the customer gets more value out of the product.