What are the best ways to acquire and manage resources for your startup?

Leveraging the power of RBV, I once advised Tanisha (a startup founder) to focus on her core competencies when pitching to investors. By emphasizing her robust ethical supply chain and innovative materials, she was able to articulate a compelling value proposition. Tanisha participated in a startup accelerator focused on sustainability, gaining industry insights and networking with key stakeholders. This experience helped her secure a strategic partnership with a major textile company, further solidifying her startup's market position and enhancing its resource base. Through such targeted initiatives, startups can not only secure essential resources but also sharpen their competitive edge.

Incorporate a dynamic perspective into your RBV strategy. Recognize that resources and capabilities aren't static but evolve over time.

Company culture, above all things. You can hire the most intelligent people, buy the best widgets, rent the slickest facility, but the company is doomed if the culture doesn't facilitate it. I worked in an organization where "that's-not-my-job" was the culture, so few departments worked well with each other. Now that I run a company, hiring for a culture fit is the #1 priority.

Success of a firm depends upon the ability of the people to coordinate, cooperate and manage the work. It should always be a two way process. Resource management is also a key feature and understanding everyone’s strengths is the key potential for the success.

Highlight the importance of aligning your core resources with your core capabilities. It's not enough to possess valuable resources; they must be orchestrated effectively to create competitive advantages.

Diversify your core competencies portfolio strategically. Instead of relying solely on a few key competencies, explore the development of a broader range of capabilities.

In the first stage, crowdsourcing could be risky due to the high level of expectations it generates, which are linked to a consequent high risk of damaging the brand image (in case of low performance) and the potential loss of control (through equity offers). The FFF round (Friends, Family, and Fools) is a faster and often effective alternative, especially when supported by an angel investor. Angel investors typically bring relevant professional experience to the table and generally do not put pressure on exit timelines and valuations (unlike VC funds), although they may set expectations. Lastly, in most cases, they become emotionally invested in the project, which can be a significant advantage for the entrepreneur.

A hybrid approach to resources is what savvy entrepreneurs do, a blend that makes best use of what you have and what you need. Having a mentor to guide you on the side, can be a life saver, especially if you are spinning around on options and want to fast forward through that without hitting a dead end.

For start ups in the very beginning the focus has to be on the idea and thought of why does this matter, to whom does it matter and why will they buy your product or service. I've coached many entrepreneurs who spent money ( they didn't have) to invest in. Tech or.material items who didn't spend the brain power to answer fundamental.questions. What do you sell? To whom? Why? Who is your niche market buyer? Describe them in detail. What is your company values? What is key philosophies regarding your culture? Thought is key Time vusallizing ypur company as you want it is key. Building a successful company requires thoughtful dreaming. That Will drive success.

As a startup you need to have a comprehensive understanding of everything your software can do for you. One way to do this is by asking for help! When I worked at a startup we used a help desk software to manage incoming emails and chat. For phone support were used hard-lined phone systems that resulted in missed calls, low customer satisfaction ratings, and misunderstandings. I was having more trouble with the phone system than others so I did some research and found out that our help desk software had a solution we needed right in front of us. I reached out to the companies support team and within days they helped us setup a VOIP phone system and were able to better support our customers.