The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business - Hardcover

by David S. Rose (Author)

An irreplaceable, start-to-finish guide for entrepreneurs building high-growth companies in the era of artificial intelligence

In the first edition of The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business, Rose tackled the other half of the investor-entrepreneur relationship, explaining - in straightforward, granular detail drawn from a lifetime of successful experience in technology leadership - how to build exceptional companies that grow exponentially and lead to life-changing exits.

Now, Rose revisits the advice he offered in The Startup Checklist with a brand-new edition of his widely read entrepreneurship classic. The Startup Checklist, Second Edition, refines and builds on the concrete, step-by-step strategies of the book, adapting them for a market that's been utterly transformed by artificial intelligence and rapid technological change.

In the book, you'll not only find the down-and-dirty tasks you need to complete to plan, launch, scale, and exit your company (and exactly how to perform them), but the "why" of what you're doing, the online tools and technologies you need to save you time and money, and the resources that will multiply your efforts. You'll explore the psychology and behaviors of your potential investors so you can understand what they're thinking without being told.

You'll also find:

• Comprehensive discussions of the most common - and crippling - mistakes made by startup founders and specific strategies for avoiding them (as well as their expensive, time-consuming consequences)
• Deep insights into how the accelerated pace of technological change is impacting the types of businesses that are attracting investments today and how you can get ahead of that curve
• How to incorporate the latest artificial intelligence technologies to streamline your processes, realize permanent efficiencies, and outrun your ferocious rivals
• A complete strategy guide for building a scalable, high-growth company, including specific approaches for incorporation, hiring, IP protection, stock issuance, fundraising, growth management, and structuring your exit

Perfect for entrepreneurs at every level of experience, from brand-new founders who want a one-stop, from-scratch guide to everything they need to know to build a high-growth business to seasoned entrepreneurs looking for insights into how new technologies have changed the game, the latest edition of The Startup Checklist is the ideal roadmap to contemporary entrepreneurship.

Front Jacket

This revised and updated edition of the bestselling startup guide is designed for a very specific type of business starter: the 21st-century entrepreneur deliberately setting out to create a scalable, high-growth business in a world driven by artificial intelligence. This is a business that incorporates AI at every stage, from ideation to exit; a business that will hire employees, issue stock options, raise money from outside investors, grow rapidly, and eventually either be acquired by a larger company or "go public" through an initial public offering. Starting that kind of business gets very complicated, very quickly, and making even small mistakes at the beginning can cause problems at every later step along the way.

These mistakes include the fundamental (starting a business that just doesn't make sense in an AI-powered world) to the painful (linking up with people whose interests are divergent from yours) to the tragic (getting equity allocations wrong at the beginning and never being able to recover), all the way to the really, really expensive (making simple mistakes at the incorporation level that result in five- and six-figure clean-up costs the first time a serious investor is thinking of supporting you).

This book is your one-stop checklist to starting up right in an explosively changing world. It assumes no prior knowledge about business or technology--just a strong desire to create something seriously big, and to do so in the most effective, most efficient, and least expensive way possible. David S. Rose, a serial entrepreneur who is one of the world's leading startup investors, walks alongside you throughout the process, providing the background you need to understand the whys in addition to the whats and the hows. He takes you step-by-step through the practical tasks of starting up a high-growth venture, introduces you with QR codes to the very latest AI-powered tools and technologies, and gives you a peek behind the curtains of the angel investor and venture capital worlds.

New to this edition is comprehensive guidance on leveraging AI throughout startup creation--from AI advisors and automated competitor analysis to AI-powered legal, HR, and analytics functions--plus updated tools and practices for building an Exponential Organization.

Among the concrete steps covered are:

• Translating your idea into a compelling business model
• Leveraging AI tools and platforms through every stage of building your company
• Allocating equity among your startup team
• Incorporating as a Delaware "C" corporation
• Recruiting your boards of Directors and Advisors
• Measuring your business with AI-powered data analytics
• Establishing a stock option plan
• Understanding the funding process
• Crowdfunding with online platforms
• Negotiating investment term sheets
• Reaping the benefits of success through acquisition or IPO

Start your venture the right way, with The Startup Checklist.

Back Jacket

Praise for THE STARTUP CHECKLIST

"Finally! The indispensable instruction book that takes you from your Big Idea to a Big Exit. In his inimitable wise and witty style, David takes founders through the nuts and bolts of how to start a company that can successfully make it all the way to the finish line. I'm giving copies to all of my entrepreneurs!"
--BARBARA CORCORAN, Business Expert and Star of ABC's Shark Tank

"I work with hundreds of first-time entrepreneurs and The Startup Checklist is the clearest, most useful resource I have seen for someone considering starting a scalable, high-growth business. Experience may be the best teacher, but right behind her is David S. Rose."
--ANDREW YANG, Founder and CEO of Venture for America and Author of Smart People Should Build Things

"David S. Rose has seen it all, over many years and across thousands of companies, and then, to the great benefit of the rest of us, has distilled the essence of what it takes to succeed. I can't say strongly enough how much I feel that following the checklist David has created will help you make your company more successful."
--BILL GROSS, Founder of Idealab

"Everyone knows that a great business starts with a great idea. But the journey from a great idea to a flourishing, profitable business is a lot longer and thornier than most people realize. I can't imagine a more experienced, savvier, street-smart guide along the way than David S. Rose's The Startup Checklist."
--HOWARD L. MORGAN, Co-Founder, First Round Capital

"This book is an absolute must for anybody looking to start a high-growth startup and get funding. David is an institution among high-tech angel investors, who brings his experience on both sides of it (as startup founder and angel investor) to play in this practical, realistic book."
--TIM BERRY, Author of Business Plan Pro software

Author Biography

DAVID S. ROSE is The New York Times bestselling author of Angel Investing, Founder of Gust, Founder of New York Angels, and Chairman of the U.S. Real Estate Market. He is an Inc. 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur, and early-stage investor who has founded or funded over 100 companies. Named a "world conquering entrepreneur" by Businessweek, and "New York's Archangel" by Forbes, he was the Founding Track Chair for Finance and Entrepreneurship at Singularity University.