Stage Description and Characteristics
The Idea Stage is the initial phase of the startup journey, where founders have identified a problem they want to solve and have a concept for a tech solution. At this stage, the focus is on refining the idea, validating the problem, and understanding the target market. Founders may have a rough idea but have not yet designed or developed a minimum viable product (MVP).
Characteristics of this stage include:
Idea generation and validation Market research and analysis Business model exploration
Key Challenges to be Solved:
Clearly defining the problem and understanding its urgency Identifying the target market and their needs Researching and validating the market need for a possible business idea Assessing desirability, feasibility, and viability probability Assessing the potential competition and differentiating the product or service from other existing alternatives
Key Milestones to Reach:
Early customer discovery Feedback Documented Clearly Identified potential target market and customer segments Completion of customer discovery interviews with at least 10 target market individuals Have some clear idea of a possible MVP Complete VOLTA Academy Worksheets Creation of a problem-solution fit hypothesis
Progress and Growth Tracking:
Track the completion of customer discovery interviews and insights gained Monitor the refinement of the value proposition and problem-solution fit hypothesis
Triggers to Graduate to the Next Stage:
Defined problem-solution fit Defined Problem Hypothesis A clear vision and mission statement A well-defined target market and possible target segments defined Strong signals from early customer discovery towards an urgent problem being solved Should move through Academy within 6 months
Subject Matter Expert Support:
Value Proposition Development: Specialists in crafting compelling value propositions can guide founders in clearly articulating the unique benefits their solution offers to the target market and differentiating it from competitors. Customer Discovery: Experts in customer discovery techniques can assist founders in conducting effective interviews and analyzing insights. Problem-Solution Fit: Advisors with experience in assessing problem-solution fit can help founders evaluate and refine their problem and growth hypotheses based on customer discovery findings. Market Research: Experts in market research can help founders understand their target market, its size, and its potential for growth. Validation Experiments: Conducting small experiments to test assumptions and validate the viability of the idea. 
Idea