How to Launch a Company in 10 Steps for Less Than $1500

How to Launch in 10 Steps for Under 1500 Taking a new startup idea to launch can be an intimidating journey for any new pirate. But, the faster you set sail, the quicker you can discover how smooth (or rough) the seas may be. Many a founder will go astray, but follow Adeo Ressi's 10 Steps to Launch, and before you know it you'll be sailing the startup seas! 1. Get your Domain and E-mail Working 2. Wireframes & Mock-Ups URL: http:// .com Ahoy! Your journey begins by setting up your domain name. Register the primary spelling as a .com and .co, and don't forget misspellings or you'll get pillaged later on! Then, set up your email for free with Google Apps. Next, produce wireframes and mock-ups of your site. Start to plot the key functionality of the product, and think through how it will look. PowerPoint can suffice, but true pirates use more advanced tools. name.com $5 – $20/month Google Apps Free balsamiq $80 8 PROTOSHARE $30/month 3. Logo and Materials YOUR NAME HERE NAME name A professional logo is a must! If you're not a designer, services like Elance & CrowdSpring can connect you with great logo designers. Then, have them create a PowerPoint backdrop, business card, & mock-ups as well. Elance Varies, ~$400 crowdSPRING Varies, -$400 4. Pitch Deck As you embark on talking to people about your idea, you will need a pitch deck. Your slides should be simple & must include your vision, market, product, revenue & team, and make sure to refine as you go. P PowerPoint $140 5. Launch a Site or Landing Page lawnchrock Free SQUARESPACE $8/month unbøunce $50/month Now you're ready to build a landing page or simple site to start bringing your brand together, and capture leads. Include your logo, description, screenshots or mock-ups, and an email sign up form. 6. Create a Company Blog 7. Test Marketing Use a service like AYTM to survey your target market, and then run a variety of online ads to discover the Blogging shows the world (and most importantly, search engines) that you are alive! Set up “blog.yourcompany.com", and start posting 2 times per week on industry news, your company progress, and other adventures. propositions & keywords that resonate with them. Now you have market research to integrate into your site & deck, and initial leads! < $100 for 100 responses WWORDPRESS youaket aytm Free B Blogger Free Facebook & $500 Google Ads 8. Survey Customers Blimey! Now you actually have to get out of the building (or ship) and talk to customers. Use surveys to learn who your leads are, their pain points, and what they would pay. Get them on the phone – does anyone want your product? The Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Development $25 .... Google Forms Free 9. Create a Sticky Note Roadmap 10. Just Launch! Don't get stuck in the doldrums and lose sight of the treasure. With your customer research in hand, grab some sticky notes & start planning - write down ALL of your planned features, sort them by category & importance, and identify any unknowns. Take the most important features from your roadmap, and use free online tools or good 'ol manual labor to best mimic your basic functionality. Don't worry about what your ship looks like – it just needs to float so you can get your feet wet. Then just fire the cannon & launch, test, collect data, and refine your idea! Sticky notes, pen, $100 whiteboard Need help getting your startup sea legs? Then attend a free Founder Institute event at http://fi.co/events