The Startup Playbook

Key Strategies Proven to Guide Early Success

Matt Teeple I Managing Partner I MXP I @2018

INTRODUCTION

Apple set out “to put a dent in the universe” through the experience its customers would enjoy using its products, and it certainly has. From a garage in Cupertino to the first company in history to surpass a one-trillion-dollar market capitalization. Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Cisco, Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and countless others have enjoyed meteoric rises from similar humble beginnings. Today, the world awaits as Uber and Airbnb move toward long-anticipated IPO’s, beneficiaries of a digital economy that was largely unlocked with the rise of smartphones and enabled by 3G wireless technology. Every great company begins as a startup and must navigate unique challenges, overcome long odds, and somehow deliver an experience far beyond what larger incumbents are capable of. We constantly hear of the great success stories, but the reality is that only 1 in 20 startups survive long enough to achieve liftoff. So, what are the distinguishing characteristics that set the winners apart?

​

      Great ideas and solid leadership are fundamental to every great startup, but history is littered with companies that had both yet still fell short. Over the past 25 years, I have been fortunate to work in various capacities with dozens of startups in Silicon Valley, many that would emerge as market leaders in their respective spaces. Each of them was tenacious and persevered through a unique set of challenges, but I observed several qualities that many of them shared which I believe were critical to their ultimate success.  The Startup Playbook is a summary of those strategies that set the best companies apart.

​

​

@ 2018 I Rights Reserved

​