What are Startup Milestones?

Startup milestones are step-by-step directives that give company founders prioritized guidelines to qualify, set-up, and launch a startup business. From the initial milestone of qualifying a new business idea to the pre-business steps of legally setting up a new business, milestones keep the founders both organized and focused.

Startup Milestones

04/17/2018,  updated:  7/09/2019

Scott McGlon

President, MP LLC

Every entrepreneur possesses specific goals & objectives for their new business.  Most goals & objectives take multiple steps to reach or exceed the original expectation(s) of the entrepreneur.  Startup milestones represent the step-by-step directives that give founders the guidelines that keep them both organized and focused.   While many milestones may be unique to your specific startup, there are certainly a few you need to take note of since they apply to 98% of every startup.  Below is a list of the many milestones that my past startups went through.  They were recorded on  many calendars dating back to 1998 when I first started my entrepreneurial journey.  Most entrepreneurs will reflect on the many milestones they knocked out and realize it represented their initial road-map to success.

To make it easy to stay organized, the following milestones have been categorized to match the progression of what many startups must or need to go through before and after launch.  It is important to note that the "Pre-Launch" category of milestones are all required.  Get them out of the way so you can focus on the meat and potatoes of really starting your business by knocking on your first door and getting the first dollar in the bank!  I threw in a few pre-qualifiers that will help determine if your business idea has legs.   

Determine if Your Idea is a Business  (Goal to complete: 5 days)

• Complete market validation of your idea.  Is it a problem and do you have the right solution?
• Research potential intellectual property conflicts, trademarks, trade secrets, current similar company names, and current design & utility patents.  This is easy to do but takes time.  Get on Google Patents search and USPTO.org and do every kind of search you can that relates to your business, industry, and business name/tag lines.  See who is doing what and at what capacity.  
• Complete competitive research : Determine who your competitors are – research what they are doing right, wrong, and how your idea solves an issue for the consumer.  Can you offer serious differentiation that can separate you from your competition?
• Determine who your target customer is and what it will take to get their attention with your new product or service.  
• Start thinking of potential partners, team members, and staff for pre and post launch.
• CRITICAL:  Get a panel of target customers to bounce your ideas off of (10 min.) – be honest and drive hard to get honest feedback.  There is zero pride in this step.  Let your potential customers disclose as much as they can - good and bad.
  

Pre-Launch  (Goal to complete:  2 weeks)

• Decide on a business name
• Establish company name, logo, and tagline (a tagline is optional and just serves as a concise catchy 5 to 15 word sentence that sums up the company)
• Write simple business plan (no more than 10-12 pages to start)
• Secure and register domain name (1and1.com, GoDaddy, namecheap.com)
• Launch minimum 1-3 page website and know the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) basics before launch  
• Have a panel of target consumers to bounce ideas off of – test your products and receive their feedback
• Secure a high-profile advisor from your industry that has demonstrated a diverse skill set and experiences
• Create and memorize initial elevator pitch - you are about to launch so get your sales pitch down since you never know who you will run into!
• Create a basic 10-12 slide pitch deck
• Set up basic company email/phone information
• Design & order basic business cards (Vistaprint with a coupon is easy and quick)
• Detail how much money you need for each step of the process
• Start initial budget outline
• Begin researching raw material suppliers, partners, vendors or other supply chain resources necessary for your products or service
• Set up a corporate bank account with local bank that will extend no fees!  Go with a bank that is going to help you, not charge you!

Legalese and Launch  (Goal to complete: 1 month)

• Set up a Tax ID, business license and registration, legal entity, file taxes
• Decide on your business legal structure (LLC, C or S corporation, partnership, etc.)
• Register your business
• Get a Federal tax ID
• Get a State tax ID
• Do you need any kind of business permits?  Every state is different so do your research on what you need for your new business. (DBA permit, zoning permit, home occupation permit, health permit, environmental permit, sign permit, fire dept permit, building or construction permit, etc.)
• Business License (your local courthouse will guide you on what kind of business license you need)
• Trademarks filings?, important copyrights? and/or will you pursue getting a patent(s)?
• Prepare a media kit, including press release template
• Set up accounting software with your initial chart of accounts (Quickbooks is the #1 startup accounting software)
• Secure, or at least identify, basic service providers - lawyer, accountant, banker, insurance, etc
• Develop seed funding plan if needed including your personal funds and the 3 F's (family, friends, and fools)
• Get your first press release ready to go announcing your launch through the two or three initial social media accounts for your new business

Revenue (Goal to complete:  12-24 months)

• Customer discovery - Define initial customer targets
• Define & test pricing structure
• Create working prototype
• Define the steps in your sales process
• Define & test revenue models
• Secure your first customer and make your first sale
• Establish and hit an aggressive revenue target for the quarter
• Double your current daily, weekly, or monthly revenue
• Find and pursue specific annual revenue goals
• Set up & actively use an Excel spreadsheet or Customer Relationship Management platform (CRM) that tracks your current customers, sales leads, and pipeline
• Double your customer/user base within first 12 months of operation
• Obtain favorable supply chain partners and negotiate good contracts (shipping, warehousing, fulfillment, etc.)

 
Traction – objective is to start getting your new company out within your targeted marketplaces and established.  Traction is not centric to just marketing but should also be focused on getting your business working toward its initial foundation.

• Win a business pitch competition
• Put both an SEO and Social Media marketing plan together and resources to manage both
• Secure a high-profile article in a regional or national publication or news outlet
• Prep & deploy a successful marketing campaign as you enter the market
• Build & deploy a successful product/service launch as you enter the market
• Land a major partnership
• Win a startup or industry-specific achievement award
• Secure seed funding from a credible source

 
Business Development

• Define the value target clients receive from your product/service
• Identify sources of referrals
• Create 6 Week or 90 Day Milestones
• Create a project management plan for accomplishing your milestones
• Request specifically desired features/functionality for the service/product from users/ clients
• Identify a test pool of users/clients
• Spell out/architect the basic functionality required for a Minimum Viable Product (or Service)
• Create a Minimum Viable Product or Service
• Complete user testing
• Launch a Minimum Viable Product or Service
• Work with users to collect feedback and implement into product/service updates

 
Team

• Create an organizational chart for the next 12 months of the business
• Add 1-4 co-founders/contractors to your team
• Set up and run weekly team updates or meetings with minutes
• Clarify founder roles, compensation, and responsibilities via founder agreement documents
• Resolve outstanding founder and/or partnership conflicts - there are at least 50 questions you and your partner(s) should have answered clearly with a signed partnership agreement before bringing in the first dollar.
• Clarify the cap table with founders & investors
• Secure the necessary team, tasks, and resources in order to meet deadlines, customer expectations, and your other critical milestones.

 
Resources

• Complete 12-months of profit & loss projections
• Complete 12-months of cash flow projections
• Have a mentor and/or business accountant review your projections
• Create a best & worst case funding plan
• Find and secure a part-time or full-time consulting, contract employment service, or temp service
• Pursue & secure startup/operating capital
• Define and set up a payment mechanism for clients (credit card, checks, lines of credit (don't extend lines of credit if you can avoid it until cash flow is strong)
• Identify an entrepreneur mentor that has been there and done what you want to!
• Set up an advisory council that you can meet with once a quarter to discuss the good, the bad, and the challenges you are facing.

Remember the objectives of working your milestones - keeps your priorities straight and in order, drives accomplishments and accountability, and keeps your most precious asset (time) on what's important. 
​Your feedback is always welcome!

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​Scott E McGlon is the President of McGlon Properties, LLC and the author of many blog post on MP Blog.  He has been a serial entrepreneur, entrepreneur-in-residence, investor, and president/CEO of many successful start-ups since 1998.