Are you a startup or early stage organization
looking to grow and scale?

We are a marketplace of business best practices—the same used by the world's most prominent and successful organizations.

To help you navigate through our knowledge base of 5,000+ documents, this page will direct you to the appropriate resources based on the stage of your startup—Existence (earliest stage), Survival, or Success. Learn more about Flevy here.



STAGE I: EXISTENCE

Existence is the initial stage for any organization. At this point, it's really just the founding team (which can be just a single founder).

At this stage, the founder manages everyone and everything. He wears all hats and most employees will wear multiple hats. There is no formalized structure. In fact, most business processes are ad hoc and not repeated.

The startup is characterized by Creativity and Chaos. Growth is driven by Innovation and Vision led by a highly creative founder.

The strategic focus at this stage is to discover the product-market fit. This entails experimenting with different Customer Value Propositions and Business Models.

Have a specific startup question?



STAGE II: SURVIVAL

Reaching this stage demonstrates the startup is already a workable business entity.

The startup has found product-market fit. Its Value Proposition and Business Model have been tested. The startup already has customers and satisfies them sufficiently with its existing products or services to retain them.

The strategic focus has shifted to focus on optimizing Cash Flow. Startups can get stuck at this stage if they don't figure out a sustainable profit formula—i.e. they earn marginal returns on invested time and capital. Depending on its situation, the startup may want to focus on Growth or Cost Containment.

Have a specific startup question?



STAGE III: SUCCESS

Congratulations! By this stage, your startup is a successful organization and has options for Growth. In fact, the startup should obtain resources to fuel its Growth—both organic and inorganic.

The startup should have well-formed, repeatable business processes, although they may not scalable. The startup may need to invest heavily in technology to systemize, optimize, and automate business processes. Such technology is necessary to support effective Strategy Planning, Performance Management, and Digital Transformation processes, which are all core focus areas at this stage.

It is also important to be aware that each stage requires a different management style. Therefore, it is common for the management team to also evolve as the organization matures.

Have a specific startup question?



Interested in a different topic?

We have organized our documents into 500+ Management Topics. Below, we have identified 40+ topics relevant to startups.

Read Customer Testimonials

 
"FlevyPro provides business frameworks from many of the global giants in management consulting that allow you to provide best in class solutions for your clients."

– David Harris, Managing Director at Futures Strategy
 
"Flevy.com has proven to be an invaluable resource library to our Independent Management Consultancy, supporting and enabling us to better serve our enterprise clients.

The value derived from our [FlevyPro] subscription in terms of the business it has helped to gain far exceeds the investment made, making a subscription a no-brainer for any growing consultancy – or in-house strategy team."

– Dean Carlton, Chief Transformation Officer, Global Village Transformations Pty Ltd.
 
"I have used FlevyPro for several business applications. It is a great complement to working with expensive consultants. The quality and effectiveness of the tools are of the highest standards."

– Moritz Bernhoerster, Global Sourcing Director at Fortune 500
 
"As a young consulting firm, requests for input from clients vary and it's sometimes impossible to provide expert solutions across a broad spectrum of requirements. That was before I discovered Flevy.com.

Through subscription to this invaluable site of a plethora of topics that are key and crucial to consulting, I "

– Nishi Singh, Strategist and MD at NSP Consultants
 
"Flevy is now a part of my business routine. I visit Flevy at least 3 times each month.

Flevy has become my preferred learning source, because what it provides is practical, current, and useful in this era where the business world is being rewritten.

In today's environment where there are so "

– Omar HernĂ¡n Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE
 
"As a consultant requiring up to date and professional material that will be of value and use to my clients, I find Flevy a very reliable resource.

The variety and quality of material available through Flevy offers a very useful and commanding source for information. Using Flevy saves me time, enhances my expertise and ends up being a good decision."

– Dennis Gershowitz, Principal at DG Associates
 
"As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value."

– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
 
"As an Independent Management Consultant, I find Flevy to add great value as a source of best practices, templates and information on new trends. Flevy has matured and the quality and quantity of the library is excellent. Lastly the price charged is reasonable, creating a win-win value for "

– Jim Schoen, Principal at FRC Group
Download our FREE Strategy & Transformation Framework Templates

Download our free compilation of 50+ Strategy & Transformation slides and templates. Frameworks include McKinsey 7-S, Balanced Scorecard, Disruptive Innovation, BCG Curve, and many more.