2026 Startup Annual Planning In Less Than 1 Hour
Manageable planning for busy founders
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On the tiny, off-chance that you’re feeling overwhelmed with holidays, end-of-year sales targets, and — oh yeah — a new year starting in 3 weeks…
Here’s your playbook for Annual Planning in 60 minutes or less.
Yes, you can do a 12 day silent retreat with monks to fine tune your strategy.
Or schedule a one hour block on your calendar and get most of the value in 0.3% of the time.
If you have more time (like, TWO hours - gasp!), I share a few more planning strategies at the end.
But no need for all that. You can get it done in 60 minutes.
Ready…set…GO!! ⏳⏱️🏃♀️
Select a day where you will have maximum mental capacity (fewer meetings, lower stress).
Pick a “high energy” time (e.g. first thing in the morning).
Do it in a location with minimal distractions. Mix it up to feel refreshed and inspired!
Disable all notifications. You will not succeed if you are side Slacking!
#PROTIP
For extra accountability, add someone to the invite who will make sure you do it.
Ask yourself:
What is working?
What is not working?
What is the most important thing for the year ahead?
Where do I want to be by end of 2026?
You can do this ahead of time, within the hour, or both!
Feel free to add other questions but shorter is better for simplicity and time.
#PROTIP
Think about these questions before you go to bed. Jot a few things down on paper. Let your subconscious work overnight!
Download and copy this One Page Strategic Plan template (from Atlanta Ventures’ Resources).
Prep yourself with this overview and a real life example.
#PROTIP
Set a timer. Don’t overthink it. Trust your instincts. If you get stuck, jot something down and keep going.
If you can, let it sit for a day or two or even share with trusted folks for feedback.
If not (I promised <1 hour), after your first draft, simplify, simplify, simplify!
#PROTIP
Cut ruthlessly. The less you have, the more you and the team can align and focus. If you crush it and have all this extra time (said no startup ever), you can add more later.
Reminder from my boy Warry B: say no to almost everything.
Set calendar invites today for future touch points.
3 options:
Calendar blocks for yourself only
Team/leadership meetings to review (schedule now to hold the time!)
Working session with fellow founder, coach, or other accountability friend
Timing:
End/start of quarter - how did we do? what are next quarter’s goals and priorities?
Mid-quarter - are we on track? (Very helpful to us at Rigor.)
#PROTIP
Include your mission, elevator pitch, and goals in your Weekly Update.
I like a quarterly check point to zoom out and think strategically, but annual and quarterly goals need to be talked about weekly (and daily) to make progress!
Something is better than nothing and 1 hour will get you 80% of the value in 20% (or less) of the time.
5 Simple Tools For Annual Planning - common goal and accountability frameworks that work at startups
5 Annual Planning Strategies for Busy Startups (w/Tools + Resources!) - what to do if you have more (but not much more 😆) than 1 hour
5 Strategies For Annual Planning Success Despite Startup Chaos - how to actually make planning work in a startup
Did you get your annual planning done in 1 hour?? What are your favorite tools or frameworks for planning? Do you follow the same process for both professional and personal annual plans? I’d love to hear about your planning process — good, bad, and ugly!
(P.S. If you’re working through your Annual Plan and want feedback on priorities and metrics (or accountability!), come chat with us at Office Hours in January.)
ICYMI: At Atlanta Ventures…WE LOVE AUTHENTIC DEMAND!!!!!!!
Read MoreICYMI: At Atlanta Ventures…WE LOVE AUTHENTIC DEMAND!!!!!!!
It’s our guiding principle when finding new business ideas.
That’s why I spent a whole blog explaining Authentic Demand including 8 articles other team members wrote, 5 resources with examples, and 7 strategies to find Authentic Demand.
But wait…there’s more!
Today, we dig into specifics:
What do people say?
What are good signs?
What are real examples?
What are misleading “false positives”?
How long does it take to find the illusive and magical Authentic Demand???
Let the journey begin!
What They Say:
“Can I give you money now to build this?” (aka be a Design Partner)
“I also have a friend who would be interested. How do I get them involved?”
“I’d like to be a customer and also an investor.”
“When can we start?”
“I’ve been looking online for something like this but haven’t found it.”
What They Do:
Follow up with you, take a second meeting
Share honest feedback (because they care and want it to exist)
Login or engage with a prototype
Pay for it now (not “when this feature is added” → that’s a warning sign)
Make time to get set up
“You know it when you see it” is true…but not that helpful 😉
Here are specific examples I’ve seen or experienced with startups that found Authentic Demand:
Multiple customers get a tattoo of your logo.
You make a Youtube video of a hacked together version of your product and people comment asking where they can buy it.
Your marketing manager does implementations for a year because there’s so many new customers signing up.
100% quota attainment from every sales rep for multiple quarters.
You have 6 figures of revenue within one quarter of launching, selling a combination of services and off-the-shelf product.
Your customers are really mad about some critically bad bugs but they don’t cancel (because you’re still providing so much value).
Your team is troubleshooting a “high class problem” several times per week.
You hire multiple in-house recruiters to keep up with hiring targets.
To offer the counter-point, here are some things that may seem like Authentic Demand but are not, or things that may feel “normal” for startups but indications that you need to dig further!
Raising lots of money (“good at fundraising” does not necessarily mean Authentic Demand)
You need paid campaigns for new customers (if you’re paying a lot of money to get a new customer, that’s a yellow flag)
Customers like you (but don’t love you)
Easy to get new sales, but low retention/high churn
Getting meetings (that don’t convert to sales)
Many deals are slow rolling
Social media engagement (can be a good sign but this alone is not enough)
People telling you they like your idea (reread The Mom Test!)
Rate of sales is steady but not increasing
Everything feels like a f***ing slog (startups are hard but with Authentic Demand, they are also really fun)
It depends.
Every founder’s favorite answer. 🙃
Salesloft iterated for 3 years, while building a great community of their target customers, before finding the right product.
In our Studio, most founders spend several months researching and testing a specific idea before launching a company.
The “company” still starts very scrappy with one or more of these strategies to continue to learn and refine the offering.
Even businesses that are physical locations go through significant testing phases like the golf simulator at Atlanta Tech Village before launching Intown Golf Club or doing in-house wine gatherings and signing up 100 paid founding members before breaking ground on The Perlant.
So, successful companies can take months or years to find it.
What I have seen to be true:
When you have it, you feel it and it feels fast.
You’re struggling to keep up with the demand.
You’re getting lots of inbound activity.
You’re dealing with problems of growth, not moving mountains to generate sales.
It’s why it’s SO WORTH IT to take more time in the early stages. Better to spend a year finding Authentic Demand than spend a few months, commit hard, and then roll a boulder up a hill for the next 3 years.
Do you agree with the concept of Authentic Demand? How did you find your business idea? When did you know you were onto something??
Gratitude is a superpower for startups and life.
Read MoreThe quickest and shortest way to a more successful life?
Realizing how great your life already is!
Gratitude is a secret super power you can leverage in startups and beyond.
Even when startups are really hard, there’s still so much to be grateful for!
Any of these resonate with you?? What else should be on the list? What are you grateful for this year? (Here’s mine w/📸!)
Not possible without them. Even — or especially — when they’re mad.
Every dollar matters. Especially early on.
Extra, extra, extra grateful for cash flow positive.
It can be hard in the moment but if you take a step back, feedback means that someone (whether customer, advisor, investor, employee):
cares
believes in you
sees even greater potential
Angel investors, early employees, first customers. Those who took a chance on you — before it was a thing — have a special place in your heart forever.
That key person who loves doing what you suck at. Co-founder, COO, future COO, or world-class intern.
Non-dilutive grants, free website design, the legal advice that saved you thousands, deal negotiation advice, and, of course, conference swag. 😉😜😂
Small moments with big impact add up.
Partner, founder friends, non-founder friends, employees, advisors, coaches.
The people who join you for late nights, support your insanity, make you shut your laptop, ask the question that unlocks everything, and most importantly, care about you no matter how your startup is doing.
Here’s 5 free ways to show gratitude or go wild with something off this year’s gift guide. 😉
It’s never been less awkward to say you’re an entrepreneur at Thanksgiving dinner!
From historical figures and How I Built This idols to the entrepreneurial family members and local founders who pay it forward → thank you for blazing the trail!
No one ever gets enough but OMG are we grateful for whatever we get!
The power of a good night’s sleep is incredible:
Fresh ideas
Clearer outlook
More optimism
Better health
Financial, social, political freedom. Having life circumstances that make it possible.
Even when startups feel really, really hard, it’s a privilege to pursue the work, dream, and meaning of building a company.
Here’s my favorite before-the-holidays wisdom from Alex Friedman:
Idk who needs this but I’ve seen a few startups fail because of founder burn out. I haven’t seen any startups fail because a founder took a couple days off.
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!
The one thing all venture capitalists (VCs) have in common?
Patagonia vests! 😬😜😆
But after that, there’s huge variety.
If you’re new to the wild world of venture capital and startup investing, here’s a primer on the many ways VCs are different!
Many investors focus on companies of a certain size.
Typical categories are:
Pre-seed, Angel, Friends & Family
Seed
Series A
Series B (anything Series B or later is often called “Growth Stage” or “Growth Equity”)
Series C + beyond
How each firm defines a stage can vary. Some may say “Series A” is $1M ARR. Others may say Series B is $1M-$5M ARR.
“Size” is often revenue-based but number of customers, how much money you’ve raised, and how quickly you’re growing can all be a factor.
Why do investors specialize by stage?
You can’t be an expert at everything. (No, not even investors. 😜) Assessing and advising Pre-Seed companies is totally different than Series B.
It requires different people and systems.
Most investment firms pick a lane and are pretty careful to stay there.
Just like with startups, being focused and knowing your strengths is a key for success!
So many types of businesses out there!
Developing software
Building robots
Making food
Constructing buildings
…to name a few. All great businesses. All with wildly different skills, needs, and financial models.
It’s hard to be an expert in all of those things.
(Except for you. O’Daily readers are unprecedented geniuses, of course. 😁)
Most firms will hone in on business types where they have experience, connections, and competitive advantages.
A few examples:
Business Model: B2B SaaS, marketplaces, consumer apps, consumer packaged goods (CPG)
Industry: robotics, supply chain, agriculture, fintech, real estate
Customer, Mission, or Founder: maternal healthcare, underrepresented founders
I love this one — Laerdal Million Lives Fund is measured on lives saved!
Another common differentiation is geography.
Where is the firm located? Where do they invest?
Atlanta Ventures focuses on the southeastern United States.
If you have a business based in Europe, no matter how amazing it is, it’s very unlikely we invest.
Other firms have a HUGE presence internationally. They specialize in Latin American startups or focus on global expansion.
Geographic presence, focus, and expertise can vary wildly among investors!
Another way investors are different is how they invest.
How much money do they usually put in?
Do they lead (set the terms) or follow (come in with other investors)?
How do they think about valuation or deal terms?
Here’s some examples:
Some firms only co-invest.
Some firms (like Atlanta Ventures) prefers to lead and will often fill the whole round.
Some firms write smaller checks but have certain expertise or relationships to offer (e.g. development resources or enterprise relationships).
Usually there’s a balancing act on valuation too. Higher valuation but more caveats and protections. Lower valuation but cleaner terms.
Typically, the later the stage, the bigger the check. 💰
There’s no right or wrong, but it’s important to understand what an investor typically does so you know alignment and tradeoffs!
What happens after investment?
Investors and firms will vary in their philosophy and approach.
(And will usually tell you ahead of time how they work. They don’t want surprises or misalignment either!)
There’s pros and cons either way.
How much control and decision making does the founder have?
What kind of support and value do investors bring?
Are they hands on or hands off?
Do they bring in their favorite execs?
Do they have certain strategies they recommend or implement?
What are typical outcomes for their companies?
More involvement can be a big accelerant — unless it’s intrusive or distracting.
Less involvement can provide lots of autonomy — unless you don’t get enough guidance.
Understand what you want and how that aligns with an investor’s typical M.O.
ICYMI - not every investor is a hard-charging, in-your-face tech bro!
Lots of personality types among successful investors. There’s no “right” way to do it.
Do you want someone who will really push you?
Do you want someone who is calm and supportive?
Do you want someone extremely analytical or more of a people person?
Most founders appreciate a variety of styles and input from investors. It’s good to have a balance of personality types — while also being aware if something really doesn’t work for you.
Finding an investor whose personality meshes well with yours is important. It’s (hopefully!) a 10 year relationship!
They will tell you!
It’s on their website.
They don’t want to waste your time or theirs.
If it’s not specifically on their website, look at what else they invested in.
As far as their personality and playbook, ask questions during the courting process.
Pay attention to their responsiveness, what they help with, what they’ve done with other companies, how they act when hard topics come up.
People tell (and show) you who they are.
Investors and founders both want a great match!
What other ways are investors different? What surprised you about VCs? What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed among VCs?
I wore a sweater last week which can only mean one thing...holiday season!
Read MoreI wore a sweater last week which can only mean one thing:
The holidays are upon us! 🎁🎁🎁
It’s time to finalize the gifting plan for customers and employees.
Here’s a sample timeline (it’s crunch time⏳), lessons learned from real customer gifts, and 10 budget and remote-friendly gift ideas for employees.
Last year, we shared 50+ ideas for founders.
This year, we got recs directly from founders and top notch gift givers!
Here’s 20 more ideas from YOU (and me — I couldn’t resist adding some faves).
P.S. If you’re from Atlanta and want to shop local, follow the 🍑.
Time. Get hours back with services like 🍑Accomplished App or 🍑My Panda (on Angela Fusaro’s wishlist!) for household management or Base for flexible executive assistant options.
Gourmet Italian gift baskets. There’s a reason 🍑Mercato Di Bellina wins awards. Tal Baum (Atlanta founder and restauranteur) sent me one and blew my mind. Great for families too!
Luxury candles. Great call from Courtney Wilbanks. Who doesn’t love a gloriously delicious candle? Le Labo is a go-to and 🍑Brick and Mortar is a great local option.
Custom gift boxes. Check out the gorgeous options from 🍑EspyBox. They also have subscription boxes for your favorite dudes. Or make it themed with local items via 🍑LocalHippo (founded by Sara Maffey). Check out LocalHippo’s experiences for unique community building ideas!
Snacks. CT Smith clued me into customizable snack boxes from SnackMagic! You could also DIY with someone’s favorite snacks or local specialties. 🍑Edible Arrangements are also delicious with fruit and desserts. Great for an office to enjoy!
Booze. Beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, fancy mixers. Meredith Kowal doesn’t just give money-saving tax advice, she also sends gift boxes from Buonguido Wines. Get on her “nice” list! If you know your client well enough, 🍑Edibles.com ships gift boxes.
Signature scent. Craft your own perfume at 🍑Chémin. Also awesome for a unique customer or team event.
Coffee. Multiple folks said MORE CAFFEINE, uh, I mean, coffee shop gift card. They didn’t specify but I’m sure they meant 🍑Spiller Park and 🍑Kula Coffee. Civilized Coffee offers fantastic gift box options — love this share from founder Mark Patterson!
Easy, delicious meals. Gift cards to fave restaurants, meal delivery, or meals prepped in your house by a chef via 🍑Livin — great ideas from founder (and foodie) Loren Mount-O’Brien.
Relaxation. Massages, mani/pedi, blow out, spa day. What are your fave places in Atlanta? Jacey Cadet and I want to know! I’ve had great experiences, including with groups, at 🍑Suzy Q Nail Bar, 🍑Les Main Nail Bar, and 🍑Jiao Reflexology (foot massages).
Music. Jameson Hughes shared the story of a branded portable record player (with the Charlie Brown Christmas album!) gifted from Shannon Waltchack that’s still in use at his in-law’s house today. Head to 🍑Crates to grab a vinyl of a favorite album, easy to mail if needed (another great idea from Courtney Wilbanks).
Giving back. The most timeless gift that’s always appreciated? Make a donation to a favorite non-profit. I consulted the experts Brianna Jackson, CEO of Heart of South Downtown, and Karen Houghton, CEO of Infinite Giving. They shared more than I can list here so please let me know if you want ideas! A few that stood out: 🍑The Boyce Ansley School, 🍑Our House, 🍑Lazarus, 🍑Inspiredu, 🍑Extra Special People, Katmai Conservancy (fat bear contest!), World Relief.
What are you looking forward to this holiday season? What’s the best gift you’ve given or received? Any other favorite brands??
6 ways it will accelerate your company plus 8 key components to any update.
Read MoreThe longer I do this, the more I’m convinced that the humble Weekly Update might be the most powerful tool of startup success.
There’s a reason that every founder in the Studio, starting when they’re an Entrepreneur-In-Residence, does a Weekly Update.
Many of our portfolio founders do them too.
If you ask us for a suggestion — “what will help me as I’m building my startup?” — it’s one of the first things we mention.
(Authentic Demand is the other! Especially if you’re in the idea and discovery stage.)
Here’s why the Weekly Update is so powerful, why I think every founder who is serious should do it, and the key components of a great Weekly Update!
An email you send every week to key stakeholders (investors, employees, smart friends, your mom) with an update about the business you are building.
We like a Sunday update because it anchors week ahead and can be read Sunday night or first thing Monday.
Forces you to step out of the weeds, be strategic and thoughtful, look at your business as a whole at least 1x/wk. You can spot problematic trends and see new opportunities.
Every founder works hard. But knowing you’ll be sharing your progress with others, adds a little extra incentive to deliver value each week.
It’s weekly for a reason. Meaningful weekly progress over months and years is how great companies are built. Each week matters.
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day or your own creative brain, and all the sudden, you’re doing 10 projects but none move needle!
What is most important right now? Spending time every week to answer this question helps you (and your team) focus on what really matters!
“Asks” are a key part of a weekly update. What do you need help on? You never know what sales deal or business problem will get a key assist by someone who receives your update!
Weekly Updates keep you top of mind with your key stakeholders. Maybe they have an intro or idea for you. You increase the frequency and likelihood of serendipity with a weekly communication!
One sentence about your mission, your company elevator pitch, or something quick to anchor the rest of the update.
I can repeat verbatim the mission statements of several companies because it’s at the top of their weekly update. One time, I knew it better than the founder. 😉
What did you get done. What is important to do next.
With a bigger company, you may have department sections.
At the idea stage, you’re reflecting on your learnings and explaining what you’re exploring next.
Regardless of how you structure it, this is the (plant-based) meat of the update!
How are you measuring success?
Identify your business’s key metrics or goals and track those every week. Right at the top. Make it the same order every week.
DON’T HIDE FROM THE DATA!!!
Yes, it will evolve as you grow, scale, pivot, learn.
You don’t need to track sales revenue if you’re in the customer discovery phase.
But too often I see founders who don’t do this because they don’t like what it says.
Are your sales at $0?
Report that metric every week so that you stay focused on improving it!
What gets measured gets managed.
Open with a customer quote. Vary your email subject line. Have a “Points of Interest” section. Include a video or photo.
All real examples of ways that founders tell stories within their update.
It makes the update fun and adds humanity and depth to what they’re building.
Every founder is different. Every update is different.
It’s fun and expected for your update to reflect your style as a leader.
Look at a couple examples, try out a couple variations, and eventually, you will land on something that feels right for you.
If it’s always good news…
1) I don’t believe you
2) I can’t help you
Make sure to be appropriately candid about challenges!
You can be positive about it, have solutions you are testing, but don’t bury the bad stuff.
If sales are slow and you don’t mention it, you’re clueless, you’re delusional, you think I’m dumb, something is terribly wrong, or all of the above. None of which we want!
Let us help you! What do you need?
Most times, people can’t help.
But every now and then, they will know the right person, or it will remind them about a good sales prospect.
Asking for help is one of the things that accelerates the journey!
The shorter and cleaner, the better. Might sound counter-intuitive.
“I want people to know alllll the things we’re working on.”
But too much can feel chaotic, overwhelming, or unfocused.
(Note to self: take your own advice 😂)
That said, I get some updates that are quite long but they’re well-formatted and thoughtfully written so I read them fully.
Exceptions for everything!
Some founders do section headers with bullets. Some do more of a story-like format with paragraphs. Some do a table with metrics and a customer quote.
There’s lots of good ways to do it, it’s fine to test out new formats, but focus on finding a consistent structure!
If you mix it up too much, it’s hard to follow.
That’s a no for me, dawg.
If you want more speed, accountability, help, focus, and serendipity, it needs to be weekly.
A few caveats:
Every other week may be fine if you’re further along with a larger team, millions in revenue, more moving parts. (You will have other tools for internal alignment and communication.)
Monthly or quarterly is a good cadence for sharing more detailed financial updates with your investors.
Monthly or quarterly is perfectly fine for a general update (e.g. investors or other stakeholders you want to stay in touch with for the future).
The Weekly Update and these other updates ^^ are also different from your customer newsletter or a “general public” communication.
Yes, you’ll have certain info that’s shared across all communication types (Look at this customer testimonial! We have a new VP Sales! See you at this conference!) but don’t try to have one-update-that-rules-them-all. It’s messy and never hits the mark for anyone.
Need specific examples? Want a template to copy? Let me know and I’ll do another post!
I’ve seen founders use the following tools to send a regular update:
Email client with a bcc “to” list
Email marketing tool (not as often though unless they are much further along)
Any Weekly Update fans out there? What do you think makes a great Weekly Update? What has been most helpful to you while building?
Give yourself a little boost — no sugar, money, or days off required!
Read MoreIt’s almost Halloween which means it’s time for my favorite tradition.
Eat candy corn until I feel sick. Vow never to do it again. Repeat next year.
Who can resist high fructose corn syrup that tastes like wax!?!
If you, too, have regretted your sugar hangover and are looking for alternatives, or it’s just Q4 insanity and you need a break that doesn’t break the bank or the schedule…
Here are 10 ways to give yourself a little treat this week — no sugar, money, or days off required!
Not everything needs to get done.
Speaking from experience, there’s likely several things can be delegated, are no longer a priority, or just won’t get done so might as well accept it now and…ENJOY THE FREEDOM!!
Or excuse yourself from it.
(Are you the bottleneck?? Asking for a friend.)
Use that extra time to do a meeting audit or explore ways to have fewer meetings in the future!
I’ve spoken to many founders and execs who LOVE reading fiction. (Me too!)
Business books are great but sometimes your brain needs a break.
Fiction books I can vouch for:
City Spies by James Ponti - read with my kids, family friendly
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - rated book of the year by, like, everyone
Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas - romantasy all the way!
Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - mysteries with hilarious characters
Once A Runner by John L. Parker Jr. - a running nerd must read
If you genuinely love Dante’s Inferno, awesome. But don’t force yourself to read books that you “should.” It’s a treat, people!
Step One: Create “Pump Up” label in Gmail
Step Two: Go back and tag all the positive messages you’ve received
Step Three: Keep adding the tag as you get great feedback
Step Four: Reread these emails on a hard day!
Happy customers, thank yous from employees, a webinar attendee explaining why they loved your advice…you’ll have more than you think!
A small afternoon nap is a big productivity boost AND feels so luxurious.
It is hard to step away, but unwrapping 20 Tootsie Rolls takes about 15 minutes also! 😂
It’s hard to see progress when you’re in the weeds. Plus, every high-achieving person has imposter syndrome.
Upload your company weekly update (or your Pump Up emails!), add wins as they happen, or make a list of your accomplishments.
Then have your own AI superfan repeat it back!
“Can you summarize my experience in the most awesome way possible?”
“How much progress have we made since last month? Last year?”
“What is something amazing about me that I may not even realize?”
When you hear it from someone else, even a robot, it hits different.
Turn a Zoom into a call so you can walk outside while talking.
Do your meeting at the nail salon, golf course, park, new coffee spot, friend’s office, your back porch, whatever seems like a treat!
Our kids leave out their candy and magically the Switch Witch has exchanged it for toys in the morning!
Why not swap sugar for that amazing thing-you’ve-had-your-eye-on-but-couldn’t-quite-justify? Treat yourself!
(Note: you’ll need to be your own SwitchWitch. I’m not coming to your house with gifts wrapped in spider webs, okay?)
Block the calendar, move your meetings. If it’s not this week, plan ahead and DEFEND THAT DAY.
Give yourself the unbridled joy of having a full day of deep work, inbox backlog, strategic projects, or whatever else needs uninterrupted flow time.
P.S. I love this as a company-wide practice. 1 day/wk of no internal meetings. Huge productivity boost for everyone.
Order in or use the time to catch up with someone you like but haven’t seen in a while!
Bonus: if your guest is a work contact, the lunch is a business expense. 😉
What’s your favorite non-sugar treat? What’s your favorite sugar-filled treat?? What other ways do you treat yourself? Other low-cost, founder-friendly ideas??
“Authentic Demand” is the most important, most frequently discussed concept in the Atlanta Ventures Studio.
We bring it up with almost any founder at the idea stage.
We talk about it constantly when we are starting new companies.
“Where is the authentic demand??”
Today, I’m breaking down (overexplaining???) Authentic Demand.
What the heck is it? How do you find it? How do you know if you have it?
All wildly successful startups have found Authentic Demand.
Authentic Demand is when the market pulls you.
It’s when you are building something people want, you’re solving a hair-on-fire problem, the boulder rolls down the hill.
With Authentic Demand, you don’t need to execute perfectly. The business grows anyway.
Authentic Demand is when there are multiple winners in your space because the market is on fire.
Great founders can grind it out. They can get customers through their sheer force of will, sales skills, and relationships. They might even be able to hustle to a decent outcome.
But they will not build a large, high growth business without Authentic Demand.
A billion dollar company requires something beyond a great founder.
It’s the right timing, market, and solution.
From the founders that have experienced the non-Authentic Demand grind and then find a business with the Authentic Demand fly wheel — they say things like:
“I’m having so much fun!”
“This is the growth I was hoping for.”
“It is hard but feels easy.”
“It felt fast from the beginning.”
“I knew we were onto something almost right away.”
“These are interesting problems to work on.”
P.S. These are the same founders. Yes, you need a great founder. But a great founder in the wrong market will never build something big!
It’s the million billion dollar question!
And we definitely don’t have all the answers.
But here are some things that guide us as we start new companies or help founders in the early stages:
Use The Mom Test for customer discovery. Don’t pitch your idea, but rather, look for the most painful, expensive problems that someone is experiencing. Ask lots of questions of lots of people.
Look for small but growing markets. What will be a big market in 3-5 years? Picking the right market is more than half the battle.
Explore multiple markets and ideas. Don’t pick the first idea that seems promising. Spend time in the idea phase to see what “pulls” the most.
Testing. Lots and lots of testing. See what people will spend time on, pay for, share with their friends. Trust what they do, not what they say. 😉
Stay open. The first iteration is rarely the “winning” idea. Get started, put something into the world, and continue to learn and listen to customers. (Like, really, actually listen. Don’t just hear what you want!)
Financial constraints are helpful. It forces better listening, more testing, and scrappy and creative solutions. Too much money can actually blunt Authentic Demand signals. Fancy marketing, well-trained sales people, and a robust product can result in some revenue. But is it really Authentic Demand? Hard to tell.
You cannot research your way into Authentic Demand. It’s important to understand the market, competitive landscape, and industry, but it’s the conversations, experiments, and action that really lead the way.
7 Ways To Test Authentic Demand (With Real Examples)
4 Things We’ve Learned in the Atlanta Ventures Studio
4 Ways To Test Your Tech Idea (With Real Examples!)
5 Resources With Great Ideas On Getting Started
Build-A-Tech-Company Starter Pack
Here’s more from Atlanta Ventures folks about Authentic Demand.
Like I said, we talk about it a lot! 😂
The Hunt for Authentic Demand (David Cummings)
Authentic Demand’s Role in Startup Success (David Cummings)
Finding Authentic Demand (Jon Birdsong)
Finding Authentic Demand (A.T. Gimbel)
0 to 10 Unaffiliated Customers as 1st Major Milestone (David Cummings)
What Is Product Market Fit? (A.T. Gimbel)
Why You Should Start With Things That Don’t Scale (A.T. Gimbel)
3 Big Ideas When Launching Your MVP (Hubert Liu)
Stay tuned for more on Authentic Demand with real life examples, things that seem positive but are not, and promising early signs of traction!
How did you know you had Authentic Demand? What’s your guiding principal for finding a great business idea??
You made the hard decision to shut things down. What next?
Read MoreYou made the hard decision to shut things down.
It’s a rollercoaster of emotions.
But as an ambitious, optimistic person — I know you are because you started a company! — you naturally want to take action and move forward.
I’ve talked to many founders before, during, and after this transition, including ones who launched fantastic companies on the second go-round.
Here’s 6 things to help you get through it and get ready for (hopefully🤞) the next startup.
Closing a chapter, even when it’s the right thing, is hard.
You put your heart and soul into something and it didn’t work out how you hoped.
Take time to process that, explore your feelings, and come to terms with the experience.
If you skip this step, you run the risk of a “rebound” company or life decision.
I say mourn, not wallow. Don’t pretend it was nothing, but don’t let yourself sink into despair.
First of all, you did something brave and hard and risky. That’s amazing and most people will never do that.
Also, that first company is setting you up for whatever’s next. The lessons learned will be carried forward into something even better.
If you’re having a hard time, here are some things to focus on:
Exercise
Sleep
Healthy food
Human connection
Outdoors
Helping others
Therapy/coaching
BEING A BADASS WHO IS RESILIENT AND HAS MORE GREAT THINGS AHEAD!
What do marathon runners and founders have in common?
They have one of two visceral reactions when crossing the finish line:
I’m never doing that again
I’m definitely doing that again
Sometimes it can take a bit of time to decompress, but I rarely hear someone in the middle.
It’s a no or a hell yes.
You catch the founder bug — or you are glad you tried but happy to be done.
If you caught the founder bug, congratulations! Keep reading.
If you didn’t catch the founder bug, congratulations! Keep reading. (A few things won’t apply, but most will.)
What a lucky day for all blog readers!
Real talk.
How are your finances?
I know founders who poured their savings into their company, didn’t take a paycheck, have a family, or all of the above.
Sometimes, you just need a steady stream of income for a while:
Rebuild the savings account
Pay off debt
Enjoy some financial stability, health insurance, and overpriced coffee drinks
If you know you want to found again but need a “regular” job, what role or company would help you develop skills for your next company?
Founders are often strategic about this.
They get enterprise sales jobs, explore new industries, or work for amazing leaders — with a plan to take those learnings into the next business!
What are the things you wanted to do in the middle of startup chaos but couldn’t?
Do those now!
They don’t have to be wild and crazy. It might be as simple as:
Read a book
Meet a friend for brunch
Volunteer at your child’s school/team
Mid-day nap
Visit your parents
Anniversary trip
Anything else you wanted to do when “I have more time”
These are a gift to yourself and your loved ones and will help you recharge!
Get it in now…before you start your second company 😉
The post-mortem, good and bad, is key!
What went well?
What didn’t work?
What do you want to do differently next time?
How will you ensure you do it differently? What is going to change?
When were you having the most fun?
What are areas of weakness? How can you improve or mitigate those?
Most founders have already obsessed and agonized over what went wrong.
Here’s how to make it productive and action-oriented:
Write it down. Putting it into words forces clarity.
Set goals for the next business. e.g. I will do at least 100 conversations before building anything. If I don’t have $100k in revenue within a year, I’ll find a different idea. Put these in a calendar reminder for the future!
Look in the mirror. If it’s all your evil co-founder’s fault, you haven’t done the work. An evil co-founder was chosen and enabled by you in some way. Understand your patterns so you don’t repeat them.
Get an outside opinion. Talk to trusted advisors and ask about their takeaways for the business and your performance as a founder.
Last but definitely not least…
Start laying the breadcrumbs for your next endeavor:
Build relationships with people you like and respect
Find interesting topics and dig in
Run tests, research markets, try out new technologies
Do things that are fun, energizing, and fulfilling
I had a founder use the phrase, “Follow the stepping stones.”
She wasn’t forcing an idea or a process but rather naturally moving to the next question, meeting, or topic.
You never know who you will meet, what will spark an idea, or where the next business will come from!
If you’ve gone through this process, what helped you? What do you recommend to other founders?
P.S. If you’re exploring and want inspiration, A.T. Gimbel wrote a great post about markets in need of disruption and we’re always brainstorming ideas and markets in our Venture Studio!
How do you get important people to your events? Here's the step-by-step strategies.
Read MoreHow do you get people to your events?
Host it and they will come…is not gonna do it.
I’ve planned and attended hundreds of events — good, bad, and ugly.
Whether you’re hosting an event for prospects (most common), customers, or key stakeholders, the key to getting anyone to attend is having important, highly successful people there!
Get the bigwigs, everyone else will follow!
How do you get those busy, important folks there? Why are people attending events? What other strategies do you need?
Here’s the overview on the must-have components to get important people to your event!
If you host an event — especially if it’s a general, open to the public one — selling and job hunting are the primary motivations of attendees!
For smaller, invite-only events, it’s more nuanced — but almost always part of the motivation in some way.
Don’t fight it. Use it to your advantage!
The majority of attendees will be people who sell to your target attendee.
This is true of any event, large or small. People are busy. They make time for events with ROI!
Examples:
Venture Atlanta: Founders go to meet investors, investors go to meet founders. Win-win!
Dreamforce: Sales people attend to sell their products. Sales people are also users (and buyers) of Salesforce!
When we’d host Pardot user groups, we’d have two main buckets of attendees: new users and experienced users.
The experienced users were genuine Pardot superfans.
But often, you’d find they were also looking for a new job.
Makes total sense!
Meet other companies who use the same platform.
Talk to the company itself to see if they have customers who are hiring.
It was a win for us (great attendees) and a win for them (job hunting) and a long term win for everyone (more happy Pardot users at more companies).
The key to a great event is having successful, important people there. But they are busy.
Here’s 4 ways to make sure that key prospect or local legend is in attendance!
Want to get someone awesome and extremely busy to your event? Ask them to do a fireside chat or be on a panel.
Whether it’s for the PR, helping others, talking about themselves, or all of the above, you’re much more likely to get a yes for that than just a regular invite!
Panels and fireside chats are especially effective because:
no one has to prepare a presentation
you can have multiple people on stage, including the interviewer
Want to get a busy person to your event?
Give them a tiny plastic trophy and a round of applause!
Seriously though, this is why awards events or including a “lifetime achievement honoree” as part of an event are so effective.
Even the busiest person can usually squeeze in a thank you to their parents and “too many people to mention”!
One time, someone asked me to be a co-host for an event. Anticipating a sponsorship request, I cautiously asked for more details.
All I had to do was re-share a social post and attend!
So, no work or money from me but I got “credit” and a public shoutout?
THIS is event ninja skills.
The event organizers had a stable of co-hosts - everyone sharing to their networks with guaranteed attendance. Knowing the co-hosts will be there increases attendance and is a “hook” for regular attendees.
Here’s some other examples:
You know who attends PTA meetings? Members of the PTA (and their friends they roped into it 😉).
Who buys tickets and tables at fundraising events? The board members of the non-profit!
Want a great turnout at a customer event? Have a Customer Advisory Board. They feel ownership and responsibility to attend, especially when you send them a 1:1 request. (You can also make attendance required for your CAB - ha!)
I know many women founders who will always make time for lunch with other up-and-coming women founders. They genuinely want to help and pay it forward.
When I attended Main Street Demo Day, they had a brilliant variation of this:
They invited 10 people to be panelists over two different sessions. (Strategy #1)
Each panelist had a table where attendees could join for a smaller group discussion and Q&A. Attendees rotate after 15 minutes.
It was personal, efficient, high impact, and fun! (e.g. 15 min with each person = 10 hrs, but small groups = 30 min total)
This is the same reason that experienced founders will meet with less experienced founders over lunch. Small groups are efficient but personal, plus everyone needs to eat!
If you ask someone to be a speaker, but your event is in a dingy basement 3 hours away, that’s probably a no.
Ask a busy person to speak at a swanky restaurant that’s close to their house? Sure!
Here are 5 factors that can improve attendance but:
None of these are enough on their own!!!!
You need to layer together as many of these strategies as possible.
For example, when you combine networking, with great learning content, at a hot new restaurant, with well-known attendees, you’ll get a great turnout and worthwhile event!
People love to learn.
There’s different formats that work: peer-to-peer sharing, your company presenting best practices or insider info, a customer case study, advice from a panel, inspiring and educational content from your keynote speaker.
Note: You can get people to attend once with a great workshop title or premise. But you gotta deliver or they won’t come back.
All those high-profile folks who are hosting, getting awards, or on the panel? They are a big draw.
If the event is billed for C-level executives, you can expect folks who are:
newly promoted to a C-level title who want to meet new peers
folks with VP titles who aspire to C-level
PLUS: C-level execs who are selling or networking, of course 😉
At the most basic human level, we are all excited to be part of and/or meet more of the “cool kids.”
I’ll just tell you right now — if you invite me to a work meeting at a spa, I’m rearranging my week. 😂
Lauren Goodell, sales genius, did an event for C-level executives at a dry bar (get your hair blow dried) with 100% attendance.
Golf invites and the Porsche Driving Experience are go-to events for a reason.
Busy, successful people say yes to cool things!
When the invite said first-come-first-serve on our Founders Cup gift bags, I had multi-millionaire founders arrive right at 3p so they didn’t miss out!
(And I’m not judging because I am a SUCKER for free stuff. “Why, yes, I DO need 12 more pairs of sunglasses,” I say at every swag display. 😎)
Host your event at the hot new restaurant or club (why I host everything at The Perlant or Intown Golf Club #sorrynotsorry) and you’ll get higher attendance because everyone wants to “check out” the cool spot.
I love running so it’s an easy yes for me to attend Founder Funder Jogs!
Tapping into a secondary affinity for your event is another great way to drive attendance and engagement.
Examples:
College alumni
Religion
Race/ethnicity
Gender
Sports
Industry
Career or job title
Location
Lifestyle or age range (Moms, Under 40, GenX)
Usually it’s a larger category (business) with a sub-category (moms).
The more targeted the niche, the more natural the connection among attendees (e.g. Founder Moms Living in Decatur, UGA Lawyers Who Love Baseball).
Tradeoff: more targeted = smaller pool of potential attendees.
Timing, location, and parking all matter. Reduce friction!
If it's too hard, people will say
“Traffic is bad, I’ll never make it on time, sorry!”
“Sorry, couldn’t find a parking spot!”
What you want them to say is:
“Oh, it's quick to swing by!”
There's a reason the Founders Cup is 2-5p on Friday:
No rush hour traffic to get there
Rarely conflicts with work meetings (because Friday afternoon 😆)
Make it home for dinner
No special childcare
The easier you can make the event logistics, the more likely you’ll get a good turnout!
Want to host a great event?
You gotta know WIIFM (What’s In It For Me).
The human psychology WHY of someone’s attendance.
And it’s never (only) because they like your startup.
What’s been your best event and why was it great? Any other key drivers to add? What advice do you have for event planning??
Need help thinking through how to get attendees at your next event? Shoot me a note - I love this stuff!
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