Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup

STEP 10

Define Your Core

IN THIS STEP, YOU WILL:

• Explain why your business can provide customers with a solution that other businesses cannot nearly as well.

You need to figure out something that you do that will make you better than anyone else at producing a solution for your customers. This will be the new venture's eventual crown jewels.

So far, you have focused almost exclusively on meeting the needs of a well-defined target customer. Now you will start looking to the future by determining what about your business makes you special, what your “secret sauce” is.

The Core is something that allows you to deliver the benefits your customers value with much greater effectiveness than any other competitor. You are looking for that single thing that will make it very difficult for the next company that tries to do what you do. It could be a very small part of the overall solution, but without it, you don't have nearly as valuable a solution. What is it that you do better than anyone ...